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21º C
Lima cloudy |
Capital: Lima
Area: 1,285,215.6 km2
Regions: Coast/Highlands/Jungle
Population: Approximately 30 million
Currency: Nuevo Sol (PEN)
Time zone: GMT -5
The cat’s long been out of the bag that Peruvian food is “the next big thing” in the international restaurant circuit, as stated by the legendary magazine Esquire. We Peruvians have likewise rediscovered our cuisine and its value to the core of our identity and national pride, and it is beginning to resonate across borders, a phenomenon that has been made possible, in large part, to a handful of extraordinary Peruvian chefs who matched our culinary traditions with techniques and influences from Spain, China, Japan, Italy, and Africa.
There seems to be no end to the variety of food in our national cookbook, but certain dishes can be labeled dazzling examples of this unparalleled cultural trend. Maybe the most famous of them all is cebiche (chunks of freshly caught fish seasoned with salt and chili pepper, marinated in lime juice, and accompanied with Julienned purple onions), considered the personification of simplicity and flavor. There is an extensive list of appetizers, entrees, and desserts with their own regional identities and varieties.
Traditional Peruvian, or criolla, cuisine is usually well seasoned and prepared with a decent amount of chilies, so, if this is not what you are accustomed to, order it mild (“con poco ají”). Among the best and most popular dishes are: lomo saltado, aji de gallina, carapulcra, anticuchos, tacu-tacu, seco, and arroz con pato. It is impossible to try Peruvian food without tasting some of its many seafood dishes (raison d'être of the popular cebicherias), visiting a celebrated chifa (restaurant specializing in Chinese-Peruvian cuisine), relishing a rotisserie chicken at a polleria (restaurant whose primary dish is chicken), or sitting down at a trendy Peruvian-Japanese restaurant (that serves Nikkei cuisine, which second generation Japanese immigrants developed). In the Andes, the main dishes are guinea pig, potatoes, stews made with tubers and grains (quinoa being the standard there), and soups, whereas in the Amazon, it is fish, exotic fruits, and little known spices.
While the quality of Peruvian wines from southern coastal valleys is significantly improving, it is pisco brandy (made from grapes and attaining a high degree of purity and a pleasant aroma) that is the undeniable local VIP. The Pisco Sour (a frozen cocktail made with pisco, key lime juice, sugar, a touch of egg white, and drops of Angostura Bitters) has practically turned into the way Peruvians introduce themselves… and their famous hospitality. Also worth tasting are chicha morada (made from a local variety of purple corn) and Algarrobina (a cocktail made with pisco, egg yolk, and carob syrup).
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