Peru

🇵🇪Cusco, Peru

Patasca

A highland tripe and mote corn soup, often served at festivals in Cusco and Puno.

🇵🇪Cajamarca, Peru

Pepián de Cuy

Cajamarca guinea pig braised in a thick toasted-corn and chili sauce.

🇵🇪Lima, Peru

Pescado a la Chorrillana

Fried or grilled fish covered with a Lima-style onion, tomato and chili sauce.

🇵🇪Peru

Pescado a lo Macho

Peruvian fish topped with a spicy shellfish and tomato sauce.

🇵🇪Tacna, Peru

Picante a la Tacneña

Tacna's spicy tripe-and-potato dish built around ají and local seasoning.

🇵🇪Lima, Peru

Picarones

Ring-shaped fritters of sweet potato and squash dough, bathed in chancaca syrup. A 17th-century street dessert.

🇧🇷Brazil

Pirarucú

Pirarucú chicharrón

One of the world's largest freshwater fish, found in Amazonian rivers across Colombia, Brazil and Peru. White, meaty flesh valued for grilling, frying, moqueca or salt-cured "pirarucu de casaca".

🇵🇪Ica, Peru

Pisco

Peruvian grape brandy with Denomination of Origin, produced only in Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacna. No additives.

🇵🇪Peru

Pisco Acholado

A Peruvian pisco blended from several grape varieties, smooth and aromatic. The base of many pisco sours.

🇵🇪Peru

Pisco Sour

A Peruvian pisco cocktail shaken with lime juice, sugar syrup, egg white, and bitters into a smooth, frothy drink.

🇵🇪Peru

Pollada

A Peruvian community fundraiser centered on plates of seasoned grilled or roasted chicken.

🇵🇪Peru

Pollo a la Brasa

Peruvian rotisserie chicken marinated in cumin, ají panca, huacatay, and beer, roasted over charcoal. Declared national heritage in 2004.

🇵🇪Peru

Pollo Chijaukay

A Peruvian chifa chicken dish in glossy ginger, soy and scallion sauce.

🇵🇪Peru

Ponche de Maca

A warm Peruvian maca drink enriched with milk and spices.

🇵🇪Huánuco, Peru

Prestiños

Huánuco fried pastries glazed with chancaca and served during local festivities.

🇵🇪Ayacucho, Peru

Puca Picante

A bright red Ayacucho stew of pork, peanuts and beet-colored chili sauce.

🇵🇪Lima, Peru

Pulpo al Olivo

Tender octopus served with Peru's creamy black-olive sauce, a signature Lima-Nikkei plate.

🇵🇪Peru

Purtumute

An Amazonas bean-and-corn preparation served as a hearty regional meal.

🇵🇪Arequipa, Peru

Queso Helado

Arequipa's cinnamon-scented frozen milk dessert shaved into curls; despite the name it contains no cheese.

🇵🇪Puno, Peru

Queso Paria

A firm Puno cheese with a mild salty flavor, sold in highland markets and used at the table.

🇧🇴Bolivia

Quinoa

Quinua

The 'golden grain of the Andes', rich in complete protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Peru is a world leader in production.

🇵🇪Peru

Quinoa con Leche

A Peruvian dessert of quinoa cooked in milk with cinnamon and cloves, similar to rice pudding but with Andean grain.

🇵🇪Peru

Ranfanote

Ranfañote

Colonial-era bread pudding with toasted stale bread, walnuts, pecans, currants, pisco, and cheese, drenched in chancaca syrup.

🇵🇪Peru

Rocoto

Hot red pepper, essential for rocoto relleno

🇵🇪Arequipa, Peru

Rocoto Relleno

Arequipa's signature: rocoto peppers stuffed with ground meat, vegetables, and spices, baked with a creamy cheese sauce.

🇪🇨Oriente (Amazonian Ecuador), Ecuador

Sacha Inchi

Sacha inchi are Amazonian seeds roasted like nuts, with a crisp shell and rich, oily interior used in snacks and regional foods.

🇵🇪Cusco, Peru

Sal de Maras

Pink mineral salt harvested from the terraced salt pools of Maras near Cusco.

🇵🇪Peru

Salchicha Huachana

A spicy smoked pork sausage from Huacho, often grilled and served in a bread roll.

🇨🇴Colombia

Salchipapa

A Colombian street food of fried potatoes and sliced sausages, topped with ketchup, mayo, and pineapple sauce. A cheap, late-night snack nationwide.

🇦🇷Argentina

Salsa Criolla

A fresh Argentine relish of diced tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers in oil and vinegar. Served alongside asado, choripán, and empanadas for a crunchy, tangy contrast. Peru's lime-marinated red-onon relish shares the name but is a raw onion dressing, not this cooked dice.

🇵🇪Peru

Salsa de Rocoto

Hot rocoto pepper sauce, table staple

🇵🇪Peru

Salsa Huancaína

Aji amarillo, cheese and milk blended into Peru's famous yellow sauce for potatoes and vegetables.

🇧🇴Bolivia

Salteñas

Juicy, slightly sweet baked empanadas filled with beef, chicken, or pork with potatoes, peas, olives, and a spicy-sweet sauce. A mid-morning street staple, eaten standing and leaning forward.

🇵🇪Lima, Peru

Sancochado

Traditional Lima stew of various tubers, vegetables, and meat in a light broth. Especially consumed during cold weather.

🇵🇪Peru

Sandwich Triple

A layered Peruvian sandwich of bread, avocado, tomato, egg, chicken or ham cut into neat triangles.

🇵🇪Peru

Sangrecita

Peruvian chicken blood stir-fry with onions, aji and spices. Dark, savory and often served as a side to poultry.