Nowadays Peru “The Land of the Incas” is very trendy not just in terms of history but also in the culinary outlet, this is mainly because of its own history(the past 10 thousand years we have been a farming society) and the arrival of many other nations starting the mids of the 16th century like the Spaniards, Afro-people, some Arabs, Italians, French, Chinese and Japanese people who have migrated to Peru in search of better opportunities, alongside with them they brought also their culinary culture that enriched the delicious and nutritive Local Andean Food, check out below the best Peru Street Food recommended for you!
There are many types of street food that will depend on the city and the geographical location that you visiting, the price is normally very affordable, you can buy some hot drinks in the morning like “Maca” or some “Butifarras” in the afternoon and finally if you are in the evening try the “Anticuchos”.
What we mean is that you can find many options of delicious and clean street food in Peru, below we recommend you the must-try street food!
Four Peruvian street food you should try!
1. Anticuchos
The Anticuchos are the hearts of beef already clean and open to be macerated with a seasoning based on chilli pepper, garlic, yellow pepper, pepper and vinegar, among others. Then these pieces are embedded in sticks and grilled. This is a corner tradition that was born in the streets.
Some Anticuchos are made out of simple beef or chicken, still tastes delicious.
1.1 The Taste of Anticuchos
Watching the preparation of the Anticuchos is fascinating. All the skewers are lined up and loaded with pieces of cow heart, beef or chicken. They are cooked for about about 5 to 7 minutes with a sauce applied regularly.
The first bite of Anticuchos is like biting into a piece of beef. The difference is in the texture. The heart meat feels slippery (compared to beef) and is like biting into muscle fiber. Tender, with lots of chewing.
Note that the Antcicuchos are served with some hard-boiled potatoes and green coloured chilli pepper on the side known as “Uchucuta”, check the picture, please!
Surprisingly delicious, is what we thought after eating the Anticuchos. We enjoyed them so much that we had to have them a second time
1.2 Where to eat Anticuchos?
- In Miraflores Lima, please go to La Casa de Los Anticuchos or Grimanesa Anticucheria note that those are restaurants! you would barely find some Anticuchos at the streets at Parque Kennedy in Miraflores, because of local regulations of the city hall of Miraflores, therefore we recommend those cool Anticucho restaurants, they are open in the evenings(locals don´t eat Anticuchos in the mornings)
- In Cusco city go on the corner of Calle Loreto and Aflijidos, you will see a couple of women on the street cooking their Anticuchos. They open starting 6:30pm | You can also go on the corner of Avenida el Sol and Arrayanniyuq
- In Arequipa go to El Ekeko.
2. Peruvian Sandwiches
To see Sandwich vendors are very popular in Peru since the prices are very affordable and you have many options, they are popular all day long but still they are more popular in the night time starting 7pm until midnight, some street vendors of sandwiches that offer their food outside Bars or Discos in the city centres open very late.
The vendors place their mobile carts on the sidewalk with their stock of food as well as a plancha (a flat metal piece of cast iron over fire) to cook on. Some will have a menu of sandwiches to choose from.
2.1Best Peruvian Sandwiches that we recommend!
2.1.1 “Butifarra” or “Jamon del Pais”
The “Butifarra” sandwich consists of slices of pork on a bread, similar to french bread. It comes with onion and aji (chilli pepper) and they add palta or avocado. Incredibly delicious, with a slight spicy kick, smoothened out by the avocado.
2.1.2Hamburger Sandwich
Prepared with fresh tomatoes, onions, bacon, and the patty. They always offer you sorted options of sauces like mayonnaise ketchup mustard sauce, including the spicy Picante sauce.
We understand that We the Pueruvias are not the creators of Sandwiches but we enriched them by adding local ingredients and the adding a unique way of preparing them, this process makes the favour very different from North American or European Sandwiches. You can have our word for it!
3. Peruvian Tamales
You will find them formed as if they were troop soldiers inside a basket or in a cart with wheels, most of them will be warm, others will be at room temperature.
Tamales are a staple that can be found across South America with different flavours and ingredients. The Peruvian tamales are made with Peruvian white or yellow corn.
You normally find them in the mornings!
3.1 There are 2 types of tamales:
- Dulces: filled with raisins apart from corn!
- Salados: filled with meat, usually chicken or pork, boiled eggs, olives, nuts, and Aji (chilli pepper) topped with red onion.
They are typically steamed and wrapped in a corn leaf on the Andes and banana leaf on the amazon. Easy to eat, they make for an ideal Peruvian street food snack on the go.
4. Papa Rellena – Stuffed potato
This dish is quite peculiar because thanks to its shape it has become one of the favourite snacks. It is a potato dough plus oil and salt, this is round and filled with various stews, the most common are chicken and meat stew; finally, they are fried in abundant oil so that it is crispy on the outside. Many street stalls offer them ready to go, you can also find them nowadays in restaurants!
Four Desserts you should try!
1. Arroz “Sambito”
Arroz con Leche is the Peruvian version of rice pudding. Brought to Peru by the Spaniards in the colonial period, made with rice, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. The purple part is like porridge and it is made from a concentrate of purple corn starch, sort of Hot Jelly!, it is also spiced with cinnamon and cloves and mixed with diced apples and apricots.
1.2 This sweet Peruvian dessert can be eaten 3 ways:
- Arroz con leche by itself is one option (Rice Pudding)
- You can choose only Mazamorra Morada (like porridge and it is made from a concentrate of purple corn starch)
- Arroz “Sambito” is the Classic One, which means equal portions of the rice pudding and Mazamorra Morada.
2. Picarones
The picarón is a must-try street food while you are in Peru, looks like a donut but shaped like a nut. What marks its Peruvian DNA is that it takes pumpkin and sweet potato. This is another traditional case and we can find it in malls, parks, corners of popular avenues and outside the churches. And although many restaurants have it on their menu, it is quite an experience to see how the dough is fried and how it is bathed in chancaca(natural sugar) honey. In addition, if you eat it on the street, you can always ask for more chancaca syrup.
3. Cachangas
It is a mix of flour, salt, anise, egg white, egg yolk and sugar, you can find it in different varieties as part of artisanal and regional baking, however, the one that many people eat on the streets look like a pizza-shaped fry.
4. Suspiro Limeño
“Suspiro Limeño” literally means Sigh of Lima; we believe the dessert has this name because of the supreme flavour, meaning that the flavor is incredibly delicious; it is a two-layer candy that you will probably want to share because of its exorbitant sugar content. The cloying base of “Suspiro Limeño” is made of white delicacy caramel (also known as Dulce de Leche) and is then covered by meringue with an infusion of port wine and a touch of cinnamon is added.
The fruitiest versions contain custard apple and Lucuma (fruit) that grows in the Andean region.
Free Walking Tours Peru and street food!
Take a glance at our walking tours in action where you can also learn more about street food! We currently have three free tours in Peru: Cusco, Lima and Arequipa! Book now!
