Planning a trip to Lima, Peru

[chefmd]

Couple photos at the Wong supermarket.  Good to know that gluten free situation is not limited to USA

 

[MelissaH]

What did you think of the cui? Was it more difficult to eat than rabbit (or any other meat), or did you just need to turn your brain off completely? Would you eat it again if it was presented to you? Would you specifically search it out?

[chefmd]

I liked cui.  It tasted somewhere between Peking duck and roasted pork.  Will definitely eat it again.  Not sure if I will specifically look for it on the menu.

 

I eat meat and meat comes from the animals.  Growing up in Russia we raised rabbits, chickens specifically for food.  You knew exactly what was in your soup.  

 

I think that you are either an omnivore and eat meat/animals or become a vegetarian and eat none of it.  I respect both approaches.  What I find strange is when someone complains about hunting being inhumane while consuming 24 oz steak.  

 

I hooe not to come across as offensive, just trying to answer MelissaH question

[BonVivant]

Any interest in checking out Nikkei food? Lima is the place for that. Have you had alpaca? Get a steak from the butcher and cook it yourself. I like the alpaca steaks I had in Peru (and Bolivia).

 

Didn't know any better in my youthful reckless, unwise days I went to Peru mostly for something else (photo below). Didn't even know anything about Nikkei food, which was probably still in its infancy then. Directly after returning from Peru (and Bolivia, same trip) I got into food photography, and the rest is, as they say, history. Now no longer youthful but am still reckless and naive in the ways of the world

 

A 4 day hike in the most horrendous weather.

[chefmd]

@BonVivant

Thanks for your suggestions.  I am about to post Nikkei tasting menu at Maido.  I would not think about alpaca but now will try to find a steak.  Tomorrow we do not have any food plans except for trying ceviches in different restaurants.

 

are you doing food photography for living?  Would love to see your work!

 

And no hiking for us

[chefmd]

Nikkei experience tasting menu at Maido restaurant, #13 on world 50 best restaurants.

 

http://www.maido.pe

 

The obligatory pisco drinks

 

View of the restaurant

 

Few bites of raw fish

 

Ceviche before Leche de Tigre addition

 

Squid and sea snail dumpling

 

Fish and octopus sausage that to my husband's delight tasted like chorizo 

 

Scallop and bonito nigiri

Clam ceviche served with Leche de Tigre that was turned into frozen powder

 

 

Sea bass

 

Green rice tamale

 

Cassava soba noodles served cold

 

Seafood soup finished in percolator device

 

 

Sea urchin rice.  My favorite dish (although there was not a single bad dish).

 

Dessert that looks like seafood

 

Another dessert that looks like seafood

[chefmd]

Went to Modern Art Museum in Barranco.  Cool sculpture in the garden.

Vending machine with soft drinks priced under one dollar.  Fanta called my husband's name...

 

Small outdoor cafe

 

Quinoa and apple drink for me.  I liked it.  Slightly sweet but mostly savory.  Got me thinking if I can use quinoa in gazpacho instead of bread.

 

 

 

[chefmd]

Ceviche at Punto Aziul.  Appetizer Leche de Tigre for me.  Small pieces of fish in spicy liquid.  Large corn kernels on the side were very tasty, not sweet, nice chewy texture

 

Full size ceviche for my husband.  Pieces of fish were bigger.  Most of it came home as leftovers.  I drained marinade and keep it separate from the fish so it will not over cook.

 

Very hot sauce and extra limes.

 

Complimentary crunchy corn snack

Chica Morada to drink

 

 

[chefmd]

Can't go to Peru without having Pollo ala Brasa!  And can't beat 1/4 chicken special for about 3 dollars.

[chefmd]

And another gorgeous sunset.

 

[chefmd]

Left over ceviche fish cooked this morning to make breakfast sandwich.  Bread roll was partially eaten by me last night (while reading eGullet of course) because I was hungry

[Smithy]

The food all looks good.  (Nice sunset photo, too!) What can you tell us about Pollo ala Brasa? What seasonings do they use?  The chicken portraits in that place crack me up.  Is that restaurant a chain, or a one-off?

[chefmd]

From Wikipedia:

Pollo a la Brasa, also known as Peruvian chicken or Blackened chicken or Rotisserie chicken in the United States and Charcoal Chicken in Australia, is a common dish of Peruvian cuisine and one of the most consumed in Peru, along with ceviche, papa a la huancaina, salchipapa, and Chifa. The dish originated in the city of Lima in the 1950s.

 

in Arlington, VA where we live, it is simply known as Peruvian chicken.  There are a few restaurants that make it and it is very tasty.  Leftovers reheat nicely.

 

Don Belisario is a small chain, there are three restaurants in Lima.  Not sure if there are more elsewhere.

 

here is a link to the recipe that you can make at home

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-segal/roast-chicken-peruvian_b_2728658.html

 

[chefmd]

Today we had lunch at Central, #4 restaurant in the world.  A few words about our experience and after that I will post photos of food without comments.  I managed to make reservations at the bar but there was no show in the dining room so we moved there.  It was the only restaurant in Lima where reservations were next to impossible to make.  While in the bar area, we had pisco drink with coca and Chilcano with plum and cardamom.  

 

We were given a complimentary bite and the waiter mumbled something about not eating the white stuff.  I assumed it meant white stuff on the bottom of the box.  I bravely bit into "taco" on the plate but the white shell was pure salt!  It got me free water and a different waiter

 

Menu choices in the main dining room.  I covered up vegetarian options just to be funny.  We went for 16 courses.  

 

when my husband spilled green sauce, he got a cute cocktail napkin to cover it up.

Chef Virgilio Martinez was at the pass the entire time

 

after lunch the entire kitchen team engaged in deep cleaning.  Chef was cleaning work station, sweeping the floors.  There were two people cleaning inside the hood.

 

The menu.  I am 90 percent unfamiliar with the ingredients.  Spanish menu did not help either.

[chefmd]

Probably the best meal of my life.  The most exotic for sure.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 hours ago, chefmd said:

From Wikipedia:

Pollo a la Brasa, also known as Peruvian chicken or Blackened chicken or Rotisserie chicken in the United States and Charcoal Chicken in Australia, is a common dish of Peruvian cuisine and one of the most consumed in Peru, along with ceviche, papa a la huancaina, salchipapa, and Chifa. The dish originated in the city of Lima in the 1950s.

 

in Arlington, VA where we live, it is simply known as Peruvian chicken.  There are a few restaurants that make it and it is very tasty.  Leftovers reheat nicely.

 

Don Belisario is a small chain, there are three restaurants in Lima.  Not sure if there are more elsewhere.

 

here is a link to the recipe that you can make at home

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-segal/roast-chicken-peruvian_b_2728658.html

 

 

The instructions are to:  "Combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, paprika, cumin, and oregano in a blender or mini food processor.  Blend until smooth."  However the picture very clearly shows garlic and garlic is mentioned up above.  Did garlic get unintentionally omitted?

 

Is the oregano used for Peruvian chicken European oregano or Mexican oregano?

 

[chefmd]

I am pretty sure there is garlic in the mix.  I tend to use whatever spices I have while loosely following the recipe.  Can't claim authenticity! 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

38 minutes ago, chefmd said:

I am pretty sure there is garlic in the mix.  I tend to use whatever spices I have while loosely following the recipe.  Can't claim authenticity! 

 

Thanks!  I was going to start making this tonight but from reading a bit online a number of people call for using Aji Panca.  I just ordered some Aji Panca from amazon and plan to use it in place of the paprika in the recipe you linked.

 

Can anyone else comment about the oregano to use?

 

[chefmd]

Ahi Panca seems to be in a lot of recipes in the cookbooks that I read prior to this trip.  Lima by Virgilio Martinez is one of them, I have it on kindle, but Google books seem to have quite a few pages available for viewing.

https://books.google.com.pe/books?id=ALsnCgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=lima+cookbook&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=lima cookbook&f=false

[JoNorvelleWalker]

And now in addition to the Aji Panca, I seem to have bought a spice mill.  Sometimes I hate eGullet.

 

[chefmd]

21 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

And now in addition to the Aji Panca, I seem to have bought a spice mill.  Sometimes I hate eGullet.

 

I hate it sometimes too. I now have sugar plum fairies dancing in my head telling me that I need Spinzall

and having night cap weakens my fiscally responsible self.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

OK -- I found an old. untested recipe from @Jaymes that calls for Mexican oregano:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/41032-el-pollo-loco/?do=findComment&comment=576303

 

 

And another question:  is Peruvian chicken traditionally spit roasted on a rotisserie or grilled? 

 

@chefmd enjoy your centrifuge!

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I hate to be a pain, but would the citrus in Peruvian chicken be lime or lemon?

 

[chefmd]

@JoNorvelleWalker you are not pain at all.  I am happy someone is reading <3

 

it seems that the dish goes back to a chicken farm owner of Swiss origin Roger Schuler and was initially simply brined in salt solution.  And now there are various spices involved.  It was cooked on manually rotated spit over coals but a la Brasa means grilled so cook it as you choose.  Limes over lemons for sure, can't recall seeing lemon on this trip.

[chefmd]

Our last day in Lima.  Going home tomorrow.  Wish we could stay longer.

 

Bacon and cheese sandwich for breakfast, it was cooked kinda like French toast.