Cuisine

Peruvian

A fusion of Andean, Spanish, African, Chinese and Japanese cooking around potatoes, corn, ají chillies, lime-cured fish and an enormous biodiversity.

Flavour character: Bright, citrusy and chilli-led: lime and red onion, fruity yellow ají amarillo and hot rocoto, coriander, garlic, cumin; creamy cheese-and-chilli sauces; soy and ginger in chifa.

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Vibrant Peruvian ceviche with corn, onions, and crispy elements on a rustic table.

History

The Andes are where the potato was domesticated, and Peru grows thousands of varieties along with quinoa, maize, ají chillies and guinea pigs (cuy). Spanish rule added beef, pork, chicken, wheat, onions, garlic and lime; enslaved Africans contributed dishes such as anticuchos and tacu tacu. Chinese labourers who arrived from 1849 created chifa cooking (lomo saltado, arroz chaufa), and Japanese immigrants from 1899 shaped Nikkei cooking and the modern fast-marinated ceviche. Since the 2000s, Lima chefs such as Gastón Acurio have made Peruvian food internationally famous.

Well documented

Geography and influences

Three zones: the desert Pacific coast with the cold, rich Humboldt current, the high Andes, and the Amazon rainforest.

Inca and other Andean cultures
Spanish colonial cooking
Afro-Peruvian cooking
Chinese (Cantonese) immigrants (chifa)
Japanese immigrants (Nikkei)
Italian immigrants

Regional variations

Lima and the coast: Ceviche, causa, ají de gallina, chifa and Nikkei.
Arequipa: Rocoto relleno, chupe de camarones, solterito, picanterías.
Andes (Cusco, Puno): Potatoes and chuño (freeze-dried potato), quinoa, cuy, pachamanca.
Amazon: Juane, tacacho, river fish and jungle fruits.