34 minutes ago, Wayne said:Very evocative blog and again great photos.
Brings back a lot of memories which trigger some questions. Apologies beforehand if they've already been covered.
Is Cuy popular in Ecuador? I remember eating a lot of it prepared many ways.
Coca leaves were almost always available in the Peruvian markets to be chewed as a mild stimulant with about the same effect as a double expresso or two. Always in the high altitude villages. Does/did the practice extend to Ecuador?
Other things are the sheer variety of potatoes available, ceviche, great tasting chicken and the variety of soup/stew combinations.
Sorry for rambling down memory lane
Cheers.
Cuy is extremely popular here; in Ambato alone there are probably 20-30 places devoted to roasting and serving cuyes and rabbits. You can also buy cuy, pre-peeled, whole or in parts, from the same butchers who specialize in rabbit in a couple of the mercados if you want to cook your own. EDIT: I actually wrote extensively about the hunt for a good cuy in my first foodblog here, five whole years ago -
Coca leaves…. Perfectly legal to grow, chew, and offer to Pachamama; perfectly illegal to refine. Highland Ecuadorians go more for coca tea than they do for direct chewing of the leaves; you get the same altitude-resistance effect, but your face doesn't go numb the same way, and it's less habit-forming. Our highlands are actually a bit higher than Peru's, and for the residents of the highest paramos, coca tea is what keeps them alive. I live at 3,000 meters above sea level; not the highest altitude available even in my own city, but not the lowest either. I buy coca tea in convenient teabags at the supermarket, and I can buy coca-leaf lozenges at the health food store. I use both when I want to do something really physically taxing, like set up for a tradeshow or hike up to the big flag across the valley from me, which is in the closest provincial park and marks a 4,000 m vista point.
And yes, chicken does taste very, very different in Ecuador than it does in either North America or Europe. I think this comes down largely to the way it's raised and the way it's fed, although breed might play a part - North American chicken tends to be Cornish Rock if you don't raise your own; Ecuador at least is a majority farmer of Naked Neck (sometimes called Churkeys for their size) instead, because it's got better heat resistance than other breeds, but gets big just as fast. I recall being extremely disappointed in chicken last time I was in Canada; it was bland and even the texture seemed off.
The soup war between Ecuador and Peru is ongoing. I've lived, and eaten copiously, in both countries; I think Ecuador is the winner on sheer variety as well as on flavour - Peru relies too heavily on adding heat rather than paying attention to balanced flavours or nuance.