Peruvian Food Quiz

Raw fish cured in lime juice and mixed with red onion, ají amarillo, and cilantro.

The citric acid in the lime juice chemically denatures the fish proteins, effectively 'cooking' the fish without heat.

Strips of beef stir-fried with tomatoes, red onion, and ají amarillo, served with french fries and rice.

Lomo saltado is a product of chifa — the Chinese-Peruvian culinary fusion that developed in the late 19th century when Chinese laborers settled in Peru.

Shredded chicken in a creamy yellow sauce made from ají amarillo, bread, walnuts, and cheese.

The sauce gets its distinctive bright yellow color entirely from the ají amarillo pepper, not from saffron or turmeric.

Chilled layers of mashed yellow potato seasoned with lime and ají amarillo, filled with chicken or tuna salad.

Peru is the birthplace of the potato, with thousands of native varieties — the yellow potato used in causa has a naturally buttery, dense texture.

Grilled beef heart skewers marinated in ají panca, vinegar, and cumin.

Anticuchos date back to pre-Columbian times, when indigenous Andean peoples grilled skewered llama and alpaca meat.

Boiled potato slices topped with a spicy, creamy sauce of ají amarillo, fresh cheese, and evaporated milk.

The dish is named after Huancayo, a city in the central Peruvian highlands, though it is now eaten throughout the country.

A fiery rocoto pepper stuffed with spiced ground beef and topped with melted cheese, then baked.

The rocoto is one of the oldest cultivated peppers in the Americas and is significantly hotter than a jalapeño.

Thinly sliced raw fish dressed in a spicy citrus sauce, served without onions.

Tiradito reflects the Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) culinary tradition, blending sashimi technique with Peruvian ají-based sauces.

Leftover beans and rice mashed together and pan-fried into a golden, savory cake.

Tacu tacu has African roots, introduced by enslaved Africans brought to Peru during the colonial period.

Ring-shaped fritters made from sweet potato and squash, drizzled with chancaca syrup.

Chancaca, the dark unrefined sugar syrup poured over picarones, is made by boiling raw cane sugar with cinnamon and cloves.

A non-alcoholic drink made from boiled purple corn, pineapple, and spices, served chilled.

The purple corn used for chicha morada is grown in the Andes and contains high levels of anthocyanins, the same antioxidant pigments found in blueberries.

Creamy rice pudding simmered with milk, sugar, and cinnamon, often dusted with ground cinnamon on top.

Arroz con leche was brought to Peru by Spanish colonizers and has since become one of the country's most beloved everyday desserts.

Lamb braised with cilantro, ají amarillo, and chicha de jora until the broth is nearly absorbed.

Despite its name meaning 'dry stew,' seco has a deeply flavored broth — the name refers to the technique of cooking until liquid is reduced, not a dry texture.

A layered dessert of dulce de leche topped with a port wine meringue dusted with cinnamon.

Its name means 'sigh of a Lima woman' — the poet José Gálvez named it after tasting it and saying it was 'as sweet as a woman's sigh.'

A rich hen broth with noodles, potato, hard-boiled egg, and fresh herbs, served piping hot.

Caldo de gallina is Peru's most popular hangover remedy and is commonly sold by street vendors in the early morning hours.

Rice sautéed with mixed seafood, ají amarillo, and cilantro until the grains absorb the seafood's flavors.

Often compared to paella, arroz con mariscos differs in that each grain of rice is cooked separately first and then stir-fried with the seafood, not simmered together.

A hearty Arequipeño chowder of river shrimp simmered with potatoes, corn, rice, milk, and egg.

Chupe de camarones is made with small river shrimp from the Río Tambo and Camaná rivers near Arequipa — ocean shrimp are considered an inferior substitute.

A thick purple pudding made from purple corn, dried fruits, and sweet potato starch, spiced with cinnamon and cloves.

Mazamorra morada and arroz con leche are so commonly eaten together as a pair in Lima that ordering them together is called 'combinado.'

Spaghetti tossed in a bright green sauce of blended spinach, basil, walnuts, and fresh cheese.

Tallarines verdes is a product of Italian immigration to Peru in the 19th century — Peruvians adapted the Genoese pesto using local fresh cheese instead of Parmesan and spinach alongside basil.

Rotisserie chicken marinated in ají panca, cumin, soy sauce, and garlic, roasted over charcoal on a revolving spit.

Pollo a la brasa was invented in Lima in the 1950s and is now so central to Peruvian culture that July 21 is officially designated National Pollo a la Brasa Day.

Meats, potatoes, and vegetables slow-cooked underground on hot stones in an earth oven.

Pachamanca means 'earth pot' in Quechua — the practice of cooking in earth ovens using heated stones dates back thousands of years in the Andes.