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Recipe: Choritos a la chalaca (Peruvian mussels with salsa)
Choritos a la chalaca is a typical Peruvian appetizer/bar food. “Choros” = mussels (it also means thieves in slang) and “chalaca” is a type of salsa similar to pico de gallo. Chalaco or chalaca is a person (male or female) from the port of Callao, where I was born. The main difference between “salsa chalaca” and pico de gallo is that the former includes corn and rocoto, a super spicy Peruvian chilli. Peruvian corn and rocoto are hard to find in Sydney, so I used sweetcorn and birds eye chilli. The best way of eating choritos a la chalaca is to grab the shell by the tip and drop the…
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Recipe: Majado de plátano con choros y chorizo (smashed plantains, mussels and chorizo)
Last time I went to Tienda Latina to buy food for my birthday I noticed they had sliced and pre-cooked ripe plantains in the freezer. I grabbed a bag without even asking for the price and started thinking what to do with them. It didn’t take me too long to decide: I wanted to make a version of majarisco, a dish from the North of Perú that features plátano majado (smashed plantains) and seafood. To keep things simple, I used frozen mussels and chorizo (also bought at Tienda Latina) for this version.
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Recipe: Chicken and mussel aguadito with cauliflower rice
Aguadito is a typical Peruvian soup. It means something like “soggy”, not a very appealing name, but it describes the dish perfectly: in essence it’s a watered-down version of arroz con pollo. I’m convinced that one of the reasons there aren’t too many obese people in Perú is that we tend to eat more home-cooked meals. Parties are no exceptions, and it’s not uncommon that the brave people who stay until the next morning are rewarded with a bowl of aguadito. For the record, I’m lame and tend to bail fairly early from parties, so I’ve never enjoyed a bowl of “morning after” aguadito. Aguadito is often made with chicken…
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Recipe: Simple mussel curry
I’ve always loved mussels, and while I prefer the taste of fresh mussels, it’s more convenient to buy them shelled and frozen (for time, effort, and karmic reasons). Mussels are not only yummy but, according to Wikipedia, an excellent source of selenium and vitamin B12, and a good source of zinc and folate.
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Recipe: Seafood cau cau
This is another Peruvian dish that features offal, but unlike anticuchos I prefer to stay away from the traditional version and use an alternative protein. The dish is commonly cooked with mondongo (cow’s stomach), which for me and many people is not very fun to eat mainly because of its texture (feels like having a towel in your mouth and has the chewiness of silicone). Its smell and taste is also off-putting for some, you have to cook the thing for at least 3 hours with hierbabuena (a kind of mint) to lessen the offending aromas. Thankfully most recipes are not carved in stone and allow for ingredient substitutions quite…
