Afro-Peruvian Creole Feast
For the past two years, I’ve celebrated February 14 at 18 Reasons with a Peruvian pop-up dinner to cure a broken heart — a theme and healing menu inspired by a story from Peru’s Nobel Laureate author, Mario Vargas Llosa. This year, however, in honor of Black History Month, I wanted to create a menu that celebrated the culture of Black Peru — I wanted to bring people together for a feast.
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Cau Cau, Peruvian Tripe Stew
Cau Cau is one of many creole dishes popular in Afro-Peruvian kitchens, and is thought to have originated in Lima by cooks that out of necessity prepared offal recipes with tripe or beef heart. Today, Cau Cau is also prepared with chicken or fish, but here I present the traditional recipe with beef honeycomb tripe that my mom taught me how to cook.
Pisco Sour Nikkei
Without question, the Pisco Sour is my favorite cocktail. I tell my friends that it is for sentimental reasons, but what I am really referring to is that I had my first Pisco Sour when I was 10 years old. And whether we are celebrating National Pisco Sour Day on the first Saturday of February or not, I often find myself experimenting with Pisco Sour variations.
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Tallarin Saltado Chifa, Shrimp Stir Fry
salteado n. — from saltear v. to stir-fry, as in a wok for Chifa dishes
In Lima, Chinese-Peruvian cuisine, or Chifa, has become so popular in the past century, that today it is our comfort food. From home kitchens to restaurants, cooks all over the city call the ingredients in Chifa dishes by their Cantonese name instead of the proper Spanish. Ginger? Not gengibre, in Lima it’s kion. Soy sauce? Not soya, in Lima it’s siao. Snow peas? Not arvejas, in Lima it’s jolantao.
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Escabeche de Pollo, Peruvian Pickled Chicken
Todo es escabechable
Everything can be made into escabeche. Fish? Escabechable. Chicken? Escabechable. Meat? Escabechable. You are vegetarian? No problem, your favorite vegetables are all escabechable. Todo es escabechable — everything can be made into escabeche, and here’s what you need to get your escabeche on.
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