Peru is a country I’ve been excited about; I just thought there were a lot of dishes that sounded interesting. I always research upcoming countries weeks in advance and I find myself particularly anticipating the cuisine of certain countries. The food from Peru I made this week did not disappoint!
Peru is the third-largest country in South America, located on the west coast next to the Pacific Ocean. Its heritage can be traced back to the 10th millennium BC, making it one of the countries with the longest histories of civilization. There were many notable civilizations during the ancient and medieval periods, including the Carale-Super civilization (the earliest in the Americas) and the Inca Empire.
In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire conquered the region and Charles V referred to it as the Kingdom of Peru. In 1821, Peru declared independence, though this was not won until 1824, after a succession of military campaigns.
A long period of political and social instability followed, which has still not quite eased completely today. However, Peru ranks high in social freedom, and is a representative democratic republic with a growing economy, focused on mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and fishing.
What Do People Eat in Peru?
Peruvian cuisine, like that of most countries, is made up of the traditional recipes and ingredients of its native people, merged with the influences from the immigrants—in this case, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and African.
Traditional staple foods include corn, potatoes and other tubers, legumes, and seeds from the amaranth family, such as quinoa. Peru has the widest variety of potatoes in the world! Popular staples introduced by the Spanish include rice, wheat, and meat such as beef, pork, and chicken. In the coastal areas, seafood is very popular.
Common flavorings include chilies, ranging from spicy to fruity, and herbs and spices including cilantro, parsley, coriander, cumin, and oregano.
Peru has around 20 native fruits that can be eaten fresh or cooked, as well as a wide variety of vegetables, both traditional and those that were introduced by the Spanish.
What I Made
- Aji de Gallina (Chicken Stew)
- Lomo Saltado (Beef Stir-Fry)
- Chupe de Camarones (Shrimp Soup)
- Papa a la Huancaina (Potatoes with Spicy Cheese Sauce)
- Causa (Mashed Potatoes with Tuna Filling)
Scroll down to read about other popular Peruvian dishes I didn’t make!
Aji de Gallina (Chicken Stew)
This dish consists of shredded chicken in a spicy, creamy sauce, served on top of potato and often garnished with boiled eggs and black olives. I omitted the olives because I am not a fan! Aji amarillo is a yellow chili pepper that provides the spicy flavor of this dish, and while it’s not easy to get fresh or even frozen, I did buy some that has been dried and ground; you can find it at The Spice House online. I wasn’t sure how flavorful it would turn out but I think it worked pretty well!
First, I poached some chicken thighs in water with carrot, celery, onion, ginger, parsley, and salt. This serves two purposes: the chicken is cooked and ready for shredding, and the water turns into a flavorful broth that serves as the base for the dish. I took the chicken out of the broth and shredded it, and set it and the broth aside for the moment.
I sautéed red onion for a few minutes, then added garlic, ground aji amarillo, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, and turmeric. After another few minutes, I added chopped parsley and bread that I had mashed into a puree with some of the chicken broth I made earlier.
Next, I poured in more chicken broth, as well as the shredded chicken. After simmering for a half hour or so, I stirred in ground walnuts, Parmesan, and milk.
I served the aji de gallina over slices of cooked potato, topped with a hard-boiled egg and some parsley. It’s also common to serve this with rice, but I didn’t feel I needed it.
I think my aji de gallina was a bit saucier than it was meant to be, but it tasted amazing! I’m sure the chicken broth helped a lot. I had some left over and tried it by itself, and it was honestly good enough to just drink on its own. I’m definitely going to make this one again!
This recipe came from Pisco Trail.
Lomo Saltado (Beef Stir-Fry)
Lomo saltado is a Peruvian stir-fry that often has French fries in it, but they can also be served on the side. That’s the route I took!
I began by seasoning some pieces of beef sirloin with salt, then searing them quickly in a hot wok. I transferred the beef to a plate, then added red onion to the same wok. I cooked it briefly and then removed that too.
Next, I added scallions to the wok, and a few minutes later I added sliced yellow bell pepper (to at least look like aji amarillo, which is what the recipe called for). I added tomato wedges, then garlic and ginger, followed by soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, and the beef and onion. I sprinkled in some ground aji amarillo at this point, then stirred in chopped cilantro.
I served the stir-fry with rice and French fries on the side. Personally, I didn’t really need both, and since I can take or leave rice I would choose to just have the fries.
This dish was easy and flavorful! I think I cooked my tomato pieces a little too long since they didn’t hold their shape as well as those in the recipe photo. Luckily, I don’t think this affected the taste.
This recipe is from Serious Eats.
Chupe de Camarones (Shrimp Soup)
This is a spicy chowder-type soup featuring shrimp, vegetables, aji amarillo, and a dash of milk or cream. It’s often topped with a poached or fried egg.
I began by cooking red onion for a few minutes, before adding garlic and ground aji amarillo. I added tomatoes, salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano, and cooked for a few more minutes before adding the shrimp. Once the shrimp were cooked through, I removed them from the pan and set them aside.
Next, I added water—I had intended to use some kind of seafood Better Than Bouillon but they didn’t have any at the store, even though I know I’ve seen it there before. So I just went with water instead and hoped there would be enough flavor from the other ingredients. I did add just a little fish sauce to try and add some seafood flavor. I was also meant to add a sprig of mint but I added some dried mint instead; I didn’t want to buy fresh mint when I only needed one sprig.
I added the vegetables next—potatoes and butternut squash. After they’d had a head start, I added corn and peas. Usually, this soup would be made with lima beans, but peas seem to be a common alternative and I already had them in the freezer.
After a few more minutes, I added a dash of cream and returned the shrimp to the pot, and added some eggs to poach. Once the eggs were just done, the soup was ready.
I served this with cabbage, cilantro, and queso fresco on top, as suggested by the recipe. I though the fresh toppings went very well with the soup; though I do think it could have been better with some good seafood stock. I’d love to make this again someday with the proper ingredients.
The recipe I used here is from Pisco Trail.
Papa a la Huancaina (Potatoes with Spicy Cheese Sauce)
I thought this was an interesting dish, and it also happened to feature some of my favorite ingredients: potatoes, eggs, and cheese. So I knew I wanted to try it! This is usually served cold as an appetizer.
This is super simple to make. I started by slicing and boiling some yellow potatoes, and I started the eggs boiling separately.
For the sauce, I added evaporated milk to a blender with some oil, queso fresco, breadcrumbs, salt, and ground aji amarillo and blended until smooth (well, mostly smooth; as you can see my sauce was a little lumpy). I served the sauce over the cooked potatoes, garnished with boiled eggs and parsley. Black olives are also a common garnish, and there is often lettuce on the plate.
Usually, the sauce would include a paste made by blending aji amarillo peppers, but I thought my version still tasted quite good. I’m not sure if the queso fresco in Peru might taste a bit different, because I think this would be better with a stronger cheese flavor. But overall, it was okay. It’s on my list of things to try again some day if I can get a fresher version of aji amarillo.
This recipe comes from Peru Delights.
Causa (Mashed Potatoes with Tuna Filling)
This is another interesting dish; it looks kind of like a strange burger but the ‘bread’ is made from mashed potato and the filling is usually a tuna or chicken salad with avocado slices.
First, I boiled yellow potatoes and mashed them. I added a little oil, lime juice, ground aji amarilo, salt, and pepper.
Meanwhile, I started boiling an egg. I also took some canned tuna and mixed it with mayonnaise, red onion, salt, and pepper. I sliced some cucumber, which I used instead of avocado. I’m gradually warming up to avocado but I still wasn’t sure I wanted to buy it for this dish, especially since I wouldn’t need the whole thing for the small amount I was making.
To assemble, I lined ramekins with plastic wrap and added a layer of potato, then tuna, then cucumber, and then more potato. I realized pretty quickly that I probably made the potato layers too thick, but it wouldn’t have been easy to fix it at that point.
I covered the ramekins and refrigerated them for a few hours. Then I took them out and removed the causas from the ramekins; the plastic wrap made this very easy. I garnished my causas with some parsley and a slice of boiled egg, which are fairly common. Peruvians must love eggs as much as I do!
I thought this was good; having cold mashed potato was a little odd but it worked in this context.
I didn’t strictly follow a recipe for this, but the one I was looking at is from Cravings Journal. I made the potato mixture as instructed but otherwise kind of freestyled the rest.
Other Popular Peruvian Dishes
- Ceviche – fresh fish ‘cooked’ by marinating it in lime juice, aji amarillo (a mildly spicy yellow pepper), onion, and salt. Ceviche is considered Peru’s national dish.
- Taco tacu – a way to use up leftover rice and beans by combining them into a cake or fritter that is then fried.
- Arroz chaufa – Peruvian fried rice, which has all the common Chinese flavors of soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, but also often includes ingredients more common in Peru, such as aji amarillo, cumin, and cilantro.
- Tallarines verdes – long pasta coated in a pesto sauce made from queso fresco, spinach, and basil.
- Suspiro a la limeña – a dessert consisting of a caramel pudding base topped with port-flavored meringue.
Final Thoughts
I really liked all the food from Peru, but nothing came close to the aji de gallina. If I were to create a top 10 list of my favorite international dishes from this challenge (and maybe I will once I’m done), I think this dish would be on there!
There won’t be another post for around a month since I am going on vacation. However, when I get back, I will be showing you food from the Philippines!