PERUVIAN FOOD

MY FAVOURITE FOOD
My favorite food is Peruvian food; this is the most exquisite food I´ve tried. That is maybe because I am Peruvian and most of my life I´ve been fed by rice, potatoes, chicken, pork, lamb, and fish. Most of these meals include one of the different kinds of "aji", or Peruvian hot pepper, which mainly are: yellow aji pepper, red aji pepper and red rocoto pepper.

Nowadays you can find more than 200 varieties of potato in the Lake Titicaca area. They range in color from purple to blue, from yellow to brown. Sizes and textures vary as well. Some are smalls as nuts; others can be as large as oranges
Anyway it is also good to have a plate of dishes made with fish and cuy (which is an animal very similar to rabbit in taste.
But I´d like to share with you some of the delicious dishes and food you can find in this country:
Pescado y Mariscos (Fish and Seafood) – Anything with fish is a great bet. Ceviche is the most famous. Peruvians "cook" fine white cod in lemon juice, serve it chunky with onions and spices. In the mountains, you can find "trucha," the local fresh Andean trout, generally farm raised.
· Comida Criolla – This is the term for the traditional Peruvian dishes. Aji de gallina (spicy chicken stew), lomo saltado (stir-fry beef),

chupe (fish stew) anticuchos (marinated beef heart). Vegetables play a major role in these dishes.
· Chifa – This is the term for Chinese restaurants in Peru. From very elegant to simple, all seem to serve excellent food in and around Lima. Peruvians love to celebrate events at the Chifas.
· Inca Cola – The color of this soft drink is bright yellow and it smells like bubble gum.
· Aji de Gallina: shredded chicken in a spiced milk sauce.
· Adobo de cerdo: Pork sauce, served with white rice.
· Arroz con Pollo: Boiled chicken seasoned with a green sauce. Served always with green rice (rice cooked with albahaca)
· Anticuchos: marinated grilled beef heart.
· Carapulca: It is made from dried and diced potatoes with pork, steak and rice.
· CauCau: Consists of tripe and diced potatoes
· Ceviche: Fish or mixed shrimp with lemon. The seafood is cut into small pieces and then mixed with lemon juice and left to sit for 1hr. Next, it is mixed with onions, celery, , salt and black pepper. The dish is served cold.

· Escabeche de pescado: Boiled fish seasoned with onions, aji and lemon juice
· Ocopa: boiled potatoes in a seasoned sauce of cheese and nuts
· Pachamanca: This is a typical dish from the desert. It consists of lamb, pork, meat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and a tamale. First, one has to heat rocks on the floor using firewood. When they are hot enough, the food is placed inside a sac and buried in the hot rocks. The food has to be repeatedly checked to see when it is done because the temperature is unstable.
· Papa la Huancaina: Potatoes served with a special spicy sauce, olives, lettuce and egg.

· Papa Rellena: meat-stuffed potato patties.
· Parihuela: Fish, shrimp crabs, mussels and octopus. Served with yuca and rice.
· Rocoto Relleno: Typical dish with meat, onions, peanuts, milk and eggs, everything baked inside of the delicious rocoto (pepper), with potatoes and cheese.
· Seco de frejoles: Boiled beans with a lamb stew in green sauce, always served with white rice and raw onions seasoned with lemon and aji.
· Roast cuy, or guinea pig, is considered a delicacy, and is traditionally served for very special occasions.
For all these mixtures of meat and seasoned sauces is that I love Peruvian food
I hope you have the opportunity to try one of these delicious dishes and even give your opinion.