Peru Food
As Peru is divided into three different regions this has lead to a wide variety od Peruvian dishes with local specialities depending on your location in Peru. Therefore we have included a guide to Peruvian food for the highland, jungle and coast regions.
Coast Region
A large part of coastal food relies on seafood as it can be readily caught, Peru's national dish is Ceviche and is made form a selection of fresh fish and other forms of seafood that is marinated in citrus to make a seafood style salad. The ingredients include white meat fish, lemon or lime juice, coriander, garlic, sliced onion and minced Peruvian aji limo. The dish should be marinated in the lime juice for three hours for a traditional meal however modern dishes can be marinated within a few minutes. The dish is served at room temperature with either corn on the cob, sliced sweet potatoes and seaweed depending on regional coast variations.
Highland Region
Cooking in the Highlands focuses on spices and fresh ingredients with a speciality from this region being a dish called Pachamanca. This dish relies on the cooking process as a variety of meats are wrapped up and baked in their own juices in a hole in the ground. Hot stones are also placed on the meats to aid cooking, the meat used can vary from lamb, mutton, pork and chicken. The meat is also seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and aji and is often served with sweet potato.
Jungle Region
This region of Peru is renowned for its ingredients rather than the cooking style such as the coast and highland areas. There is a selection of excellent fruit none tasting more sweeter than the chirimoya a vegatable that tastes like strawberries and cream. There is a vast array of fresh fruit and meat available in the jungle area of Peru and this variety of ingredients enables you to eat a different meal almost everyday with other specialities of this region including the camu camu fruit. The fruit contains extraordinary amounts of vitamin C and is a very healthy fruit for you to try.
