I don’t know why I thought it’d be all tacos and burritos (that’s just Mexico apparently) down here. Wishful thinking, I suppose. Liz made a food request a month or two back, and I’m finally honoring the request.
Traditional foods of Ecuador and Peru are cheap, and almost always come with rice and plantains. The latter are either unripened and overcooked to the point where they add a little dry crunch to any meal, or served as maduros, softer and sweeter. Vegetables tend to be the first thing sacrificed from any meal, despite being cheap and readily available down here. Generally, you’ll get a slice of tomato and piece of lettuce, which few nutritionists would qualify as a full serving.
Pollo (chicken) is the most popular meat with meals. Carne simply means “meat,” but always seems to imply pork. Beef is either lomo or bisteak, though the latter implies a flattened piece of meat that generally tastes good, despite being almost leathery tough. Lomo saltado seems to be the exact same thing, but lomo fino tends to pass for an actual mouthwatering steak. Pescado is fish, but far too often, specific local fish varieties are named instead of pescado, leading to a bit of confusion at times.
Almuerzo (lunch) goes for $1.25 to $2.00, and there’s enough food on the plate that I’ve yet to finish one. More than three quarters of this is starch, though, so it’s a bit heavy. Local dinners are about a dollar or so more, though generally I found myself eating at gringo restaurants for about 5-8 dollars per meal, though the variety and flavor almost made it worth the bank account hit. Seco de pollo is a chicken dish similar to a stew often sold in sealed styrofoam cups to people in buses, or unable to reach a restaurant for a hot meal.
Street vendors sell a wide variety of food, and the options change depending on the time of day. Women, typically dressed in Indian clothing, sell fruits all day long. Hot dog and hamburguesa stands also remain open from about noon to early evening. The former are no different than their US counterparts, though served with chopped carrots, cucumbers and potato chip crumbs, if requested. Hamburguesas aren’t bad, but the meat is barely thicker than a sheet of paper. Papas Fritas (french fries) are the standard side with all sandwiches, though served with both ketchup and mayonnaise as in much of Europe.
Two other popular street foods are ka-bobs and hot-food-in-a-bag. I have no idea what the latter is called, but basically, women stand out with three containers: beans, potatoes and an indeterminate meat that is somehow always warm despite no visible heat source. They are mixed together in a small plastic bag and sold for about a buck.
Aji sauce is nearly universal, but the recipe changes from region to region. Most of Ecuador seems to go with a wet, vinegary sauce, typically mild in spice. The jungle region was comprised almost entirely from diced red onion, with some citrus juice and small, round yellow pepper thrown in for a hot, spicy flavor. Iquitos, Peru serves an aji that’s yellow and creamy with no onion at all, but added heat. I’ve yet to receive a meal without the sauce.
The weirdest thing I’ve had so far was probably guinea pig, but that got its own entry, so no need to repeat here.
Pictures mostly from here on out. Feel free to ask questions.
Manjar. This dairy confection is caramelly with small bits of coconut thrown in for flavor and texture
Good travel food
Plantain and queso pancakes. I do not have a fondness for these
Chicha, a drink made from corn and peanuts, lightly fermented. In Peru I got to try the "yucca and spit" variety. It wasn't as good.
A standard almuerzo sign in Ecuador, offering a soup, main course, juice and dessert, all for $1.60. While I'd heard food wasn't as good in Peru, so far the quality seems about the same, only there are 5-10 different meal options that change daily, for about the same price. Juices are always freshly squeezed and awesome.
The soup from the above lunch. Soups here are often served with popcorn, or canguil. Ecuadorians love popcorn. I'd imagine Peruvians would be similar, but I haven't seen any yet.
...and the subsequent main course
Pantoja, the first town I visited in Peru (where I was subsequently stuck for 5 days -- more on that later) had the worst restaurant I've been to yet. This is powdered chicken noodle soup with plantain, yucca and some inedible meat.
Carne Asada
One of the meals I had on the riverboat from Coca to Iquitos. It was terrible, but for a five-day boat ride with meals included for $30, it's hard to complain.
I didn't actually see what part of the chicken was in the soup until I was halfway done with it
Encocado de cameron: A shrimp with coconut sauce dish popular in coastal Ecuador. Probably the best local dish I've had since coming down here.
Ceviche from the same place I bought the encocado above (Canoa, Ecuador). I didn't care for it nearly as much.
This Peruvian ceviche was much better, both in terms of taste and presentation. It cost less as well.
Variations of Pan de Yucca. Breadlike on the outside, the insides are oddly gelatinous. These are sold at bus stops during long trips and generally are freshly made and still steaming hot when brought onto the buses. The one on the right has queso inside as well.
I bought this from a street vendor in Coca for 75 cents. It had a crunchy/chewy outer shell with a dank rice & chicken mix on the inside much like seco de pollo. The white inside there is a large hard-boiled egg. I've never seen this anywhere else.
Milk. Sold in boxes, unrefrigerated in supermarkets.
A Peruvian meat/fish market. Great deals!
Ok. So this was kind of creepy. These catfish were all still flopping about a little, including the ones cut open with their guts out. Catfish is huge here.