The richness of its lands and its cultural diversity make Peru a country of exquisite and varied gastronomy. Each city has a typical dish with an unequaled flavor. Thousands of products from the countryside and dozens of living cultures that have shared a single territory for centuries ended up creating an infinite offer for the palate.
Peruvian gastronomy awards are a celebration for Peru. A country with a millenary tradition and a promising future that does not lose sight of its roots and where the art of good food stands out among its inhabitants as one of the most distinctive signs of its identity.
The Peruvian people are famous for their demanding and refined palate, which comes from time immemorial. Pre-Columbian techniques allowed the preparation of soups, stews and raw fish. The processing of Peruvian food was a common part of daily life, having the knowledge to salt meat, dehydrate and cook in ovens of natural earth.
With the Spanish colonization, together with the African, Chinese, Italian, and Japanese migration, Peruvian food welcomed different ways of seeing the world and new techniques of preparation. Stresses the influence of Spain and China, which originated gastronomy with its own name: Creole food and chifa, respectively.
Every year, the gastronomic fair of Mistura, the largest in Latin America, is held in Lima and gathers all the actors from the world of cooking from Peru, showing their best recipes and dishes (check our Peruvian food list below), as well as the main defenders of national and international cuisine.
Peruvian Gastronomy Awards
Each of the Peruvian gastronomy awards is a pride reflected in the feeling of the Peruvians. Being constant, working hard and having the perfect recipe means that the prizes obtained are not new for our country. However, consolidating in the world as the best culinary destination is a daily task where all gastronomic entities put their shoulders to achieve the best satisfactions.
Peru, has been recognized with five consecutive wins in the World Travel Awards. From 2012 to the present, Peruvian food has been crowned as the Best Culinary Destination in South America, as well as the Best Culinary Destination in the World.
Peruvian food is the first cultural manifestation of the region that has earned the distinction of Cultural Heritage of the Americas for the World, a prize awarded by the Organization of American States (OAS), which places the cuisine of Peru in a place privileged in front of the other cultural manifestations.
Peru is named destination of the year by the British magazine Food and Travel after an Internet vote was held among more than 80 thousand people who are readers of the magazine, whose common feature is that they are lovers of everything that has to do with customs of other countries, such as meals and trips around the world.
Peruvian Food List
Here we offer you a Peruvian Food List with the most famous dishes you can taste when visiting Peru:
- Adobo: A pork stew with corn beer and spices, cooked in a clay pot
- Ají de Gallina: Chicken stew made with milk, parmesan, bread, chilies and walnuts.
- Alfajores: Wafer-thin dises of shortbread, dusted with icing sugar, filled with caramelized condensed milk or honey.
- Anticuchos: Beef heart kebabs
- Arroz con camarones: River prawns with rice, seasoned with chili, paprika, and coriander.
- Arroz con pato: Duck and rice cooked with beer.
- Caldo de cabeza: Ram´s head soup flavored with mint and chili.
- Cancacho: Roasted pork or lamb marinated in chili and oil.
- Cancha: Fried corn kernels.
- Carapulcra: Boiled, dehydrated potato stew with pork, chicken, chilies, garlic, and spices.
- Cau-cau: Tripe stew with potatoes, mint and palillo (a turmeric-like spice).
- Causa rellena: Cold, mashed yellow potato is layered with avocado, mayonnaise, poached fish or chicken, and topped with prawn tails.
- Cebiche: Fish marinated in lime juice, onions, and chilies, served with corn and sweet potato.
- Chaufa: Beef, rice, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and soy sauce.
- Chicharrones: Pork rinds fried in their own fat.
- Chicharrones de pescado: Fried pieces of fish.
- Chifles: Fried bananas chips.
- Chimichurri: Olive oil, parsley, and garlic sauce.
- Chirimoya: Custard apple.
- Choclo: Corn on the cob.
- Chuño lawa: Beef soup with rice, garbanzos (chickpeas), and dehydrated potatoes.
- Chupe de camarones: Chowder of river prawns, fish, milk, eggs, potatoes, chilies, and oregano.
- Chupe de cangrejo: Crap chowder
- Conchitas negras: Black scallops.
- Cuy chactado: Guinea pig fried under a stone
- Escabeche: Fish or chicken marinated in vinager and steames with onions.
- Humitas: Savory mashed corn steamed in corn husks.
- Juane: Rice (seasoned with palillo) and chicken or fish cooked in banana leaves.
- Lechón: Sickling pig
- Lomo saltado: Strips of beef, sautéed with onions, chilies, garlic, tomatoes, spices, and fries potatoes.
- Mani: peanuts
- Maracuya: Passionfriut
- Mariscos: Shellfish
- Mazamorra Morada: Purple corn pudding
- Mero: Grouper fish.
- Ocopa: Boiled potatoes with cheese sauce, lima (butter) beans, onions, olives, and rocoto.
- Pachamanca: Peruvian underground barbecue. Pork, lamb, beef, potatoes, broad (fava) beans, and corn wrapped in banana leaves, burried in a pit with white hot rocks, and steamed.
- Palta: Avocado
- Parihuela con mariscos: Seafood soup.
- Pesque de quinoa: Mashed quinoa with milk and cheese.
- Picante de cuy: Guinea pig stew with peanuts and chilies.
- Picarones: Pastries of mashed sweet potato and pumpkin and dipping them in a cinnamon-orange syrup.
- Pollo a la brasa: Spit-roasted chicken.
- Rocoto relleno: Hot red pepper stuffed with meat, tomatoes, raisins, and olives, served with a spicy sauce.
- Seco de cabrito: Stew os roasted kid marinated in corn liquor, with beans
- Solterito: Salad of cheese, lima beans red onions, black olives, corn, and rocoto
- Sopa a la criolla: Mildly spicy noodle soup with beef, milk and peppers, often with a fried egg on top
- Suspiro a la limeña: A blend of condensed milk, egg yolks, cinnamon, and port, topped with meringue.
- Tacu-tacu: "Pancake" of fried pork-flavored beans and rice, topped with steak, onion, salsa, and sometimes a fried egg.
- Tiradito: Very thin slices of raw fish, doused in lime juice and chili salsa.
- Tres leches: Three layers of sponge cake soaked on condensed and evaporated milk and cream or milk.
- Tumbo: Type of passionfruit
- Tuna: Prickly pear fruit
- Turron de Doña Pepa: Aniseed-flavored layered biscuit in fruit syrup.
- Yuca: Cassava root
- Zapallo: Pumpkin
The best Peruvian food on Inca Trail
During the Inca Trail tours, our trekking chef will prepare the special and local food with a natural product from the local market to the cooking pot. The most popular product used in the trail is Quinoa, Tarwi and others. Below find the best trek for the classic trail.
Machu Picchu hike (3 Day/ 2 Nights)
4 Day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Classic Inca Trail (Private service)
5 Day Inca Trail
Salkantay Trek
Lares Trek
