Peruvian Cuisine & Pisco Mixology in San Francisco
Five Foods: Hot Peppers, Grapes, Sugar, Ginger, Fish
While doing some research on Peruvian cuisine, I wondered if it was possible to distill the essence of its fusion into five foods — each representing the Inca, European, African, Chinese, and Japanese cultures that form Peruvian cuisine. At first, I thought it would be impossible. After all, how could I possibly pick just five foods that represented a 500-year culinary evolution?
Continue reading
Dia del Ceviche
If you were to ask someone from Peru to name their favorite dish, odds are that they’ll emphatically answer “Ceviche!” — so it’s no surprise that this popular dish that has been around for over 500 years has a National Day of Ceviche in its honor. That day happens to be June 28th and by a delightful coincidence I was meeting a friend for lunch at La Mar.
Continue reading
Tacu Tacu + Squid = Squid stuffed with Tacu Tacu
Since this week I have been experimenting with Tacu Tacu, and last week I learned how to clean and stuff a squid, last night I decided to introduce the squid to the Tacu Tacu — “hello squid, prepare to be stuffed by the spiciest rice and beans you have ever met.” The inspiration was a recipe I discovered in one of Gaston Acurio’s books, La Cocina Nikkei, which focuses on the fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisines.
Continue reading
Ubuntu
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a carnivore. My dad blames my mom and grandmother, who fed me bistec sanguches before I could walk. That could explain my love for Lomo Saltado, or a bloody medium raw steak. Whatever the vehicle, I love to eat meat. So it’s pretty rare that I’ll venture into a vegetarian restaurant, but when I ate at Ubuntu, I had my gastronomical senses blown away. Never, in my wildest culinary dreams, did I imagine that fruits and vegetables could be so damn tasty and look so beautiful.
Continue reading
Do you like French fries? Or perhaps hash browns? How about baked potatoes? Or potato gratin? Perhaps something more creamy like mashed potatoes? Maybe potato soup, or potato gnocchi pasta? Many dishes from all corners of the world use the potato, but do you know where potatoes originated? That’s right, potatoes come from Peru, and today, May 30th, Peruvians everywhere are celebrating National Potato Day.
Continue reading