Tag Archives: Cusco

More about Peruvian Food

(Lima, Peru)

I really enjoyed my culinary tour of Cusco and all of the food that I ate in Peru.  Looking back at my photos, even though I included a number of them in my blog already, I see that there are quite a few more food-related ones that I’d like to share.

I haven’t paid too much attention to appetizers in this blog, but they were invariably very tasty.  One of my favourite dishes was the quinoa-stuffed piquillos with honey and goat cheese; unfortunately, the photo didn’t turn out very well.  Below is a salad and some appetizers from our first day in the Sacred Valley.  There was also a very, very hot pepper that didn’t quite make the photo!

Soup, main course, desserts still to come!  Salad and appetizers in the Sacred Valley, Peru
Soup, main course, desserts still to come! Salad and appetizers in the Sacred Valley, Peru

Next, there was the alpaca.  Some people find it too dry for their tastes but I found it perfect for mine.  I don’t eat a lot of red meat and, when I do, I prefer it to be well-done.  My favourite version was probably the blueberry alpaca I had in Aguas Calientes after returning from Machu Picchu.

Blueberry Alpaca in Aguas Calientes, Peru
Blueberry Alpaca in Aguas Calientes, Peru

As a result of my preferences, I didn’t try either anticuchos (skewered beef hearts) or ceviche (raw fish/seafood “cooked” in lime juice).  However, it was easy to find other interesting food to try.  We dined in Lima on both the first and last days of the tour; on both occasions I had a variation on drunk chicken!  On the first day, I had chicken in port sauce over a local version of risotto that was made from wheat rather than rice.  On the last day in Lima, I had chicken in beer sauce with green rice (with a bottle of Cusquena to complement the meal).  It was a nice way to end the trip.

Chicken in beer sauce (Lima, Peru)
Chicken in beer sauce (Lima, Peru)

I also managed to visit another food market in Cusco, the day after my culinary tour.  The photo at top of this post was taken in the “fruit district”; the photo directly below was taken in the “potato district” of the market.  The diversity of food in Peru was astonishing – there were approximately 1000 varieties each of both corn and potatoes.  The corn was often huge:  the kernels were about 5 times the size of what we are used to in Canada.

Some of the potatoes at the Mercado de Wanchaq (Cusco, Peru)
Some of the potatoes at the Mercado de Wanchaq (Cusco, Peru)

Way back in February, Ian B. asked me whether I would ever eat at an overseas McDonald’s restaurant.  Although I didn’t deliberately set out to do so, I did just that on my final day in Cusco.  A variety of factors led to this, including the fact that the Cusco franchise was right on the main square and was showing the Belgium/Argentina World Cup quarter-final.  I settled on the “Chicken McBites” meal, supplemented with both local “aji” sauce and ketchup for the French fries.  The convenience and novelty made it interesting, although the best part of the meal was the aji sauce.

My "Chicken McBites" combo in Cusco, Peru
My “Chicken McBites” combo in Cusco, Peru

I’m now back in Canada until the first week of August.  I expect that I’ll have some more to say about Peru but right now I am enjoying spending a few weeks at home and (finally) getting to play a few soccer games.   I’m also using this time to plan as much as I can for my remaining months of travel.  I’ll be talking about this critical “halfway point” in a future posting – my itinerary will be taking some unexpected but exciting turns!

McDonald's restaurant on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru.  Note the Scotiabank next door!
McDonald’s restaurant on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru. Note the Scotiabank next door!

My culinary tour of Cusco

(Cusco, Peru)

July 4 was a free day for us in Cusco, so I decided to splurge and take an “optional” (e.g. for an extra fee) culinary tour.  I am wary of optional tours but this one turned out to be well worth  it.  A bonus was that there were only two of us on the tour, although Miguel also brought along an apprentice to observe.

We began the tour by going to a huge traditional market in a “non-touristed” section of Cusco.  Along the way, our guide Miguel pointed out a number of notable local restaurants and street food vendors…and explained some of the economics.

According to Miguel, a typical Peruvian income is barely 800 soles/month (around US$300/month).  Meals are available for between 3 and 5 soles (let’s say US$1.50).  This contrasts with the prices in tourist restaurants, where main courses are many times more expensive.  However, this doesn’t mean that tourists should run to “eat local”, as there are some issues that could make a good deal become very bad.  It mostly has to do with the different bacteria present in North and South America.  It works both ways; I’ll be talking about this and some other health issues in a later post.

Miguel prepares some fruit for tasting (Cusco, Peru)
Miguel prepares some fruit for tasting (Cusco, Peru)

The market itself was logically organized.   Closest to the entrance were the “fast food” stalls, while farther away were sections devoted to cheese (see photo at top), vegetables, fruit, bread, seafood and other specialties.  Miguel had arranged for us to have fresh samples of cheese, chocolate and (especially) fruit.  I’d like to describe them all, but I can only remember the name of the prickly pear.  There was another fruit (see photo above) from which you had to scoop out a glutinous grey jelly with your fingers – it sounds grim but tasted great.  I bought some chocolate that contained salt from the same salt pans I had visited a few days before.

The "toad bucket" - Cusco, Peru
The “toad bucket” – Cusco, Peru

Just before we left, Miguel showed us the “toad bucket”.  Apparently, toad juice is a traditional remedy for certain male afflictions.  There was also a roadside guinea pig vendor:  these were not pets, however, but lunch.

Roadside "cuy" (guinea pig) vendor (Cusco, Peru)
Roadside “cuy” (guinea pig) vendor (Cusco, Peru)

Miguel hailed a local cab to take us to the restaurant where we would prepare our own meal.  Prices are negotiated in advance:  this ride cost 3.50 soles (about US$1.25) for all 4 of us.  It was chaotic and the rules of the road were improvised…but somehow I didn’t feel unsafe.

At the restaurant, we immediately began work on preparing “Lomo Saltado”, a typical Peruvian dish that actually has Japanese roots.  It is essentially a beef stir-fry with soy sauce and vinegar, although I elected to make mine with alpaca instead.  I had alpaca a couple of times earlier in the trip and it is a lot like steak, except that it is more tender and much less fatty.

Raw materials for lomo saltado are ready for cooking
Raw materials for lomo saltado are ready for cooking

I have even more respect for chefs, as a result of my experience.  I did fine with the chopping and marinating, but mixing and tossing the ingredients over the flame proved to be quite a challenge.  It didn’t help that the hood was quite low and forced me to stand at an awkward angle, but I think I would have had trouble even if I could get closer to the flame.  Some well-timed interventions from Miguel helped me complete the task without any problems.

My completed lomo saltado - I ate mine with brown rice, but French fries are often added too.
My completed lomo saltado – I ate mine with brown rice, but French fries are often added too.

It tasted great – definitely the best lomo saltado I had while in Peru.  But we weren’t done yet!  With a lethal-looking assortment of liquors , it was time to mix drinks!  Our main focus was on the famous Pisco Sour, except that we upped the ante by using passion-fruit liquor instead of lime juice.  I counted 3 heaping ounces of alcohol in this concoction, although it may well have been more.  These variations made the Pisco Sour sweeter and even more potent!  We made another strawberry/pisco/ginger drink after that, but for some reason the details aren’t as clear.  I blame the altitude.

I’m really glad that I took the culinary tour.  We gained lots of insight into not only Peruvian cuisine, but also the dual economies that operate in Peru.  I really feel like I experienced Peruvian life today, even if it was only for a couple of hours.

Journey to the Sacred Valley

(Urubamba, Peru)

June 30 was an exhausting day…but well worth it.

The alarm was set for 4:00 a.m. so that we could be at the airport in time for a 7:15 a.m. flight to Cusco.  Cusco is located in the Andes at an elevation of 3500 metres above sea level, so it will come as no surprise that the approach to the runway was very interesting.

Lima is essentially at sea level and was about 20’C when we left.  We disembarked to a temperature of 4’C in Cusco although we didn’t feel any altitude-related symptoms.  That would come later!

Hiking above Pisac, Peru
Hiking above Pisac, Peru

I have been skiing at elevations up to 3800m, so I thought I would be OK in Cusco.  However, when we began climbing at the Incan ruins above Pisac, the effects of the altitude kicked in loud and clear.  Each step was an effort – my legs just didn’t want to leave the ground.  There were some steep steps that I normally would be able to sprint up.  Here, though, I had to stop after every four steps.  I also felt vaguely dizzy and felt a headache coming on; most of the classic altitude symptoms were there.

The key difference is that I usually have several days to acclimatize to the extreme altitude while skiing.  One hour is simply not enough time to adapt to the much thinner oxygen.   Nonetheless, I explored the Pisac ruins to the extent I could and really enjoyed being up in the mountains.  The scale is much larger than I had expected, even though Pisac is one of the smaller sites that we’ll be visiting.

Terraces and ruins above Pisac, Peru
Terraces and ruins above Pisac, Peru

Lunch was a communal Andean feast.  I took pictures of nearly every dish and almost everything was spectacular.  The coastal cuisine in Peru is understandably seafood-oriented but the Andean cuisine seems more to my taste.  From quinoa to purple corn beverages, it was all very colourful and very tasty.   I’m looking forward to trying more of this cuisine during my time in the mountains.

Some very hot peppers/tamales at Huchuy Qosqo
Some very hot peppers/tamales at Huchuy Qosqo

After lunch, we journeyed to the Incan ruins above Ollantaytambo (shown at the top of this post).  This was even more impressive than the ruins  above Pisac.  The scale is astonishing, but I think the engineering and the Incan insight into the sun, the earth, etc. are even more surprising part.   When they carved faces into the mountains, they also positioned them so that they would be illuminated on June 21 of each year.   Even without the wheel, they managed to get huge rocks on top of mountains.  They also built their structures to withstand earthquakes, using techniques that are still being used today.

Climbing the ruins at Ollantaytambo, Peru
Climbing the ruins at Ollantaytambo, Peru

I also learned that calling them “Inca” is not entirely correct.  The word “inca” means “king”, but our guide said that it is probably more accurate to call them “Quechua” (after the language that all of the people spoke).  After all, there were only a handful of kings.

Some of the practices are hard to understand from a modern perspective.  For example, when a king died, his servants would have to die too so that they could accompany the king to the next world.

Edge of a cliff above Ollantaytambo, Peru
Edge of a cliff above Ollantaytambo, Peru

I noticed a slight improvement in my altitude situation at Ollantaytambo.  I still was badly winded after climbing the steep steps, but the other symptoms had disappeared.  I should be acclimatized well for Machu Picchu in a couple of days’ time.  Tomorrow, we are going to visit a couple of places near Urubamba and have another Andean feast!