The food of Peru: 15 Peruvian dishes you have to try

Spanish influence in Peruvian cuisine dates back to the Spanish conquest of Incan King Atahualpa in the 1500s, when colonists brought over recipes for European stews, sauces and casseroles. Centuries later, Chinese immigrants from Guangdong Province brought wok-style cooking to the region, inspiring the fusion cuisine of ‘chifa’ (coming from the Chinese phrase ‘to eat rice’). Today, Peruvian food continues to adapt, presenting a new style called ‘nueva comida’ that has been led by local contemporary chefs such as Gaston Acurio and Pedro Miguel Schiaffino.

‘Nikkei’ cuisine is another fusion label to describe Peruvian-Japanese dishes, a style dating back to the late 19th century when 800 Japanese migrants arrived in Peru looking for work on sugar plantations. In the years after, Japanese workers became a significant part of the local community, opening businesses and restaurants in great number.

A range of climates, from high to low altitudes, makes for a diverse national pantry, including 3,800 kinds of potatoes alone! Traditional Peruvian food staples include potatoes, soup, rice, corn and seafood, with preferred meats being Peruvian chicken, alpaca and guinea pig. At many a Peruvian restaurant, you’ll commonly be served a traditional soup or stew to start, often containing quinoa, corn and meat. Roasted corn kernels in spicy sauce also feature as an alternative to soup. The main course usually includes rice and potato alongside meat or seafood, followed by a small Peruvian dessert.

Move over tequila, there’s a new kid in town and he goes by the name pisco, the national drink of Peru and your new favourite alcoholic beverage. A low-alcohol alternative for Peruvian drinks is chicha de jora, a fermented beverage made from yellow corn (jora) in the style of European beer, though usually only between 1-3% alcohol.

For something pre-5 o’clock, Peru also has a couple of choice soft drinks to sip on. The first – more traditional – option is the chicha morada, a cold purple drink made from purple corn, cinnamon, green apples, pineapple and brown sugar. The second, less natural choice is Inca Kola, Peru’s most popular soft drink, similar to bubblegum in flavour and packed with sugar.

Mate de coca provides even more of a boost, otherwise known as coca tea or Peruvian coffee and made from coca leaves. Somewhat controversially, coca leaves contain low quantities of cocaine (0.5-1% cocaine alkaloid) meaning travellers hoping to pass a drug test after their travels may wish to avoid it. If travelling onwards to Asia, don’t buy coca leaves as a souvenir, as some countries such as Singapore will treat this as smuggling! Regardless of international judgement, mate de coca has a long heritage within Peru, said to have given Incan workers the energy to build Machu Picchu, using the leaves to overcome hunger and high-altitude sickness.

Peru’s national dish, ceviche is becoming more and more popular around the globe and is a must-try when in Peru. The word ceviche comes from the Quechuan (the indigenous language of Peru) word ‘siwichi’ meaning ‘fresh fish’, but the type of fish differs depending on the region and chef. Healthy and zesty, the raw fish is marinated in lemon juice then mixed with aji pepper, red onion and salt to serve. Boiled or dry-roasted corn (cancha) can also be added for a nice crunch. Ceviche is best eaten by the coast to ensure the freshness of the fish, with Lima home to a great many variations at all price points, from fine dining to street food.

‘Leche de tigre’ (or tiger’s milk) is a sauce similar to ceviche marinade but made with fish stock. Peruvians believe this juice to have restorative properties (and aphrodisiac ones). As well as being a seafood sauce, is often drunk as a shot alone or mixed with pisco when it is rebranded ‘leche de pantera’ (panther’s milk).

Bringing meaty fusion to the table, lomo saltado is a Chinese-Peruvian beef stir-fry almost as popular as ceviche for its ease of preparation and juicy flavour. For lomo saltado, strips of beef (or sometimes alpaca) are marinated in soy sauce, tossed into a wok and flambéed with onions, tomatoes, aji chilies and spices, before being served beside a bounty of carbs, often rice and Peruvian potatoes to please both Eastern and Western tastes.

A prime example of nikkei cuisine (Japanese-Peruvian fusion) is a dish called tiradito. Despite being similar to ceviche, tiradito takes a slightly more delicate approach, serving thin cuts of raw fish with the accompaniment of leche de tigre sauce, as opposed to a prior marinade. This way, the fish retains more of its light flavour and the sauce can be added as preferred.

Another dish with Afro-Peruvian roots, anticuchos de corazon comes as the result of the ingenuity of African slaves when given offal to eat. Spanish colonisers would take the best part of the cow for themselves and give the offcuts to their slaves. To make the meat as flavourful as possible, the Africans would marinate the meat in spices, vinegar and smoky chilies and skewer them with potatoes and onion for roasting in a charcoal oven. Though anglicised as ‘beef heart skewers’, today, anticuchos de corazon is often enjoyed with lean cuts of meat rather than organs, cooked medium rare as late-night street food or as an entrée in upscale restaurants.

When you don’t want raw seafood, jalea de mariscos is the fried dish to go for, a Peruvian take on the Italian favourite of ‘fritto misto’. For the Peruvian version, bite-size chunks of seafood are dipped in batter, deep-fried and served with salsa criolla, a dip that cuts perfectly through the oil with a zesty mix of tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime and Peruvian chilis.

As a warming seafood alternative, chupe de camarones is a Peruvian prawn chowder originating from Arequipa but adopted across the country owing to the dish’s objective deliciousness. The creamy sauce of chupe de camarones is made using onions, garlic, cream, corn, tomatoes, broad beans and spices, often served with other meats or vegetables instead of the traditional prawns.

If you’ve got room for another appetiser, make it the papa a la huancaina, a cheesy potato speciality from Lima. For this dish, potatoes are boiled and served in a spicy huancaina sauce, a yellow goo made from aji amarillo chilis, garlic and cheese. Though papa a la huancaina may not look the most appetising dish, don’t be fooled, as the complex spice, zesty garnish and saltine cracker addition all work to make this one a real crowd-pleaser, as a side or entrée.

Like frog legs to France or chicken feet to China, cuy is Peru’s national delicacy. Cuy is guinea pig meat and a staple in rural Peru, chiefly in Andean towns and villages. Guinea pig is so central to rural Peruvian cooking that it’s even depicted as the centrepiece in a replica of The Last Supper that hangs in a Cusco cathedral.

If you’re looking to try cuy, be aware that the meat is quite bony, often spit-roasted and served whole (complete with the head!) Rather than attempting to eat it with a knife and fork, go ahead and use your fingers like the locals to tear apart the meat, which tastes similar to chicken. The dish also comes in fried and barbecued variations, served with salad and potatoes.

Saving room for Peruvian desserts, we finish up with suspiro a la limeña, which takes the gorgeously smooth taste of dulce de leche (or caramelised sugar) and combines it with meringue to create the ‘sigh of the lady’. It is said that Peruvian poet Jose Galvez named this dish in honour of his wife who first made it for him, since becoming one of the nation’s favourite desserts, especially in Lima. The dish is a good palette cleanser after a seafood main, best enjoyed with a glass of Peruvian tea or a shot of pisco.