Peruvian Cuisine

Beautiful, Delicious, and Diverse!

Peruvian culture is deeply rooted and gorgeously illustrated through its food. Two main factors that contribute to the diversity of Peruvian cuisine are Peru's geographic makeout and its history of ethnic fusion. Microclimates, soil conditions, historial movements, conquests, freedom fights, and migrations had to take place to create what we know now as the Peruvian Cuisine.

The foundation of Peruvian cuisine begins with Peru's landscape. There are different areas like the mountains (La Sierra), the coast (La Costa), and the areas near and within the jungle near the Amazon Rainforest (La Selva). Before the arrival of Spanish conquerors, Peru had multiple tribes, communities, and empires, leaving a distinct mark on the ingredients commonly used before outside influence. Most of these early people took advantage of landscape and the early native foods they offered. For example:

• Early coastal crops included shellfish, fish, chili peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, various tubers, beans, gourds, guava, lúcuma and pacae (a huge, boomerang-shaped legume). Because the coast is so vast, it has heavily influenced Peruvian Cuisine. Moches (Andean civilization from the Moche river's valleys in Peru) are believed to be Ceviche's first inventors. Before the Spanish came and introduced lemons and limes, the fish from Ceviche was cooked in passion fruit juice.
• Early tropical crops included peanuts, sweet potatoes, yucca, and coca. It is also said that throughout time, the rainforest has provided various typs of crops and fruits. However, do to the how fast evolution occurs in tropical rainforests, it is hard to determine exactly what those foods were.
• Early mountain crops included quinoa, tubers, legumes, maize, a variety of prickly pear cactus, and a variety of potatoes. It is also believed that the most ancient traditional dish of Peruvian food, Carapulcra, was born around because of this landscape. Aymara tribes (indigenous peruvian people dating back to 200 BC) made it with alpaca or llama meat, accompanied by potatoes that were harvested and dried out prior to cooking. Around 1200 AD, this was the main landscape occupied by the Inkas (one of the latest indigenous people prior to the colonization), they mastered the food preservation crafts of smoking, drying, and salting food. One technique in particular involved storing their meats and vegetables high on the slopes of the Andes Mountains. The cold temperatures froze the food and the low atmospheric pressures at the high altitudes dried the food out.

During the 16th century Spain colonized Peru. Spain fused its culture into Peru bringing along connections to other European countries, the Middle East, Arab/Moorish influences, and Africa. In addition, Peru later saw the influence of Japan and China as a result of immigration in search for land and gold during the 19th century. These historical events led to important changes in Peruvian agricultural practices, culinary techniques, and availability of newly imported foods. Let's look at some Popular Peruvian dishes and how they have been influenced by other cultures!

• Ceviche - one of the most iconic dishes from Peruvian cuisine. It consists of marinating raw, fresh fish (cut into small cubes) in lemon juice. The sour flavor of lemon makes ceviche a whole experience in our mouth, as the citric bathes our tongue.
  The main influence here is Spain for introducing lemons to "cook" the fish. It is also believed that there is an African influence on Ceviche because people of African origin prefered spicy foods and favored the spicy chilli peppers. This resulted in the variation of spice you find with Cevivhes today, where it can be ordered with no spice, mild, or spicy. In addition, after Japan migrated to Peru in the late 18th century, the dish became more popular because it resembled a similar dish called "Poke." This lead to Cevivhe's growth in popularity overall.
• Pachamanca - a traditional dish from the Amazon where a big communal meal cooked in a pit with healthy soil and includes a wide array of marinated meats like pork, chicken, lamb, beef and goat. It also contains ingredients like sweet potatoes, habas (green Lima beans), yucca, ears of corns, chili, and Huacatay.
  This type of dish dates back to the Inkas, where the meats of choice were llamas, cuy (peruvian guinea pig), and any native wild-life caught. After the Spanish came, other meats like poultry, beef, pork, lamb, and goat were added to the meal and was very much favored. It is said that it has been heavily influnced by the African culture because more parts of the animals have been included, such as the hearts, kidneys, feet, and sometimes intestines.
• Anticuchos - a very tipical and popular Peruvian dish. Beef heart marinated, skewered, and seared over the grill. Served with, boiled potato slices, peruvian corn, some sort of spicy peruvian chili sauce.
  This dish dates back to the Quechuas people, where they used llama meat. Cow meat was introduced by the Spanish. However, the real influence for this dish was the African and Arabic influence. Eating organs became normalized because of these cultures and the cow heart was much more preffered.
• Arroz Chaufa - the most popular result of the Chinese-Peruvian mix, which consists of fried rice mixed with soy sauce, some seeds, and proteins like pork, beef, or even shrimp.
  The main influence for this dish came from a large Chinese migration in the 19th century. The Chinese working class first introduced Ginger, sesame oil, and sillao (soy sauce) to peruvian ingredients. Immigrants would combine all leftovers with the rice and sell it to earn some extra income. This led to the rise of Chifas, the small businesses made by Chinese immigrants. These establishments gained so much popularity, there is this area called the Barrio Chino (Chinatown). It is one of the many gastronomic destinies in Lima.
• Tallarines Verdes - a popular dish that consists of pasta with a peruvian pesto sauce, commonly accompanied by a steak, but it is also possible to combine it with pork or chicken. Some people would also add roasted potatoes to this dish, or better yet Papa a la Huancaina (potatoes served with a spicy cheese sauce).
  The main influence for this dish were te Italians that migrated to Peru around 1880. They were quick to open cafeterias, restaurants, and other establishments that would make Peruvians fall in love with their cooking ways. They introduced peruvians to revolutionary ways of cooking broccoli, zucchini, chard, cauliflower, eggplants, and most importantly pastas. Soon enough, this Peruvian version of Italian pasta with pesto became a popular and tradtional dish of Peru.
• Tiradito - a dish that presents you with raw fish cut in small stripes with a bittersweet sauce. It is a dish that is starting to gain popularity and nobility nowadays in Peru and its tourists.
  Tiradito is a perfect example of Nikkei cuisine, the fusion between Peruvian and Japanese cooking ways. So the influence? Japanese! In the late 1890s, Japanese immigrants made their way to Peru, ready to expand their knowledge about food and plants. The Japanese made themselves at home with the abundance of seafood available in the coasts of Peru. In fact, Sashimi was the main inspiration for Tiradito, where Peruvian ingredients gave this version of Sashimi a sweeter taste. Japanese fishers gave another direction to the Peruvian cuisine, adding strong condiments, cutting techniques, and other options to eat (introducing octopus, shrimp, and raw presentation).