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As a first-time visitor and recent resident of Peru, learning and discovering the city’s dishes has been an absolute adventure in and of itself. Each menu looks like a code waiting to be deciphered with so many varieties of dishes just in the Peruvian genre and without mention of Lima’s vast international cuisines as well.
Then to my excitement, I learned that a certain type of eatery is particularly well-liked by Peruvians: chifas. These are Chinese restaurants, not to be missed on your Peru vacation if you really want a specific idea of Peruvian culture, that have been popularized since the mid 19th century when hoards of people from southern China’s Guangdong and Macau regions immigrated to Peru to work as laborers. Since I was born in Hong Kong and raised by a mother who never let me forget the fact, I was beyond eager to see just how authentic chifa dishes are to the Canton specialties I was used to.
The barbecue meats in Lima's Chinatown (Barrio Chino) are quite true to taste and texture.
BBQ meats: I found out that not only is Lima full of more than 6,000 chifa restaurants in all of its districts, that there is even a Barrio Chino (Chinatown) near the historic city center sure to stand out in your Lima trip! The short street had all the atmosphere of a Hong Kong market street down to the details of hanging meats in the windows and mooncakes for sale behind the counter. As it happened, then, my very first Peruvian meal was actually a taste of home! The small plate of barbeque duck meats and roasted sausages we ordered was absolutely identical and authentic to what I had eaten all my life and earned my expert eating seal of approval.
Wonton soups in Peru's chifa restaurants are on a playing field of their own.
Sopa wantan: The next two times I had a chance to eat out, I just had to try sopa wantan (wonton soup), arguably the most common starter seen on any chifa menu. Wontons, marinated seasoned ground pork or beef enveloped within a flour wrapper, are staples of any Guangdong diet. Both times when I received my hot bowl of soup and meat dumplings, they looked true enough to form. However, while the soup was always satisfyingly savory, the wontons themselves only disappointed. Apparently in Peruvian chifas, wontons are just pieces of carelessly wrapped white chicken breast rather than rich morsels of red meat. This appetizer is not entirely deniable, but it certainly lacks the spirit and character of a true Canton wonton soup.
Lomo saltado, or stir fried lean beef, is a true example of Peruvian and Cantonese Chinese tastes.
Lomo saltado: The name itself is Peruvian Spanish and so is the dish. Second perhaps only to chaufas (stir fried rice), lomo saltado can be found at any chifa. At its essence, it is composed of marinated beef strips, some light vegetables, French fries, and with a side of white rice. The uniquely delicious mixture of these elements, particularly the inclusion of French fries, makes lomo saltado both distinctively Cantonese in style but entirely Peruvian in flavor. That is to say, although this dish is not authentic to the culture that inspired it, it is unquestionably the ultimate example of Asian fusion cuisine great for rounding out your Peru trips.
Category: Culture & Traditions, Peru, Travel Tales
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[...] has long-settled Asian populations, such as the Japanese in Brazil or the Chinese in Panama or Peru, who are subject to the same economic and social pressures that push people to migrate to el Norte. [...]