Some of the most popular typical dishes of Huanúco are the spicy cuy, tacacho with cecina, pachamanca or locro de gallina.
Huanúco is a Peruvian region located in the center of the country, whose capital is the homonymous city Huanúco.
Much of its territory is made up of the Andean mountain range and has a very light tourist traffic, therefore certain ancestral customs are still preserved today. This also includes its gastronomy.
Depending on each region, the typical dishes have variations that are adapted to the area and its local ingredients. However, the new trends in Huanuqueña cuisine are also fed by the wisdom that has been transmitted between parents and children.
One of the old traditions of Peru, more rooted in the Andean areas such as Huanúco, is to feed on guinea pig or guinea pig, as it is known in the region.
These animals are kept close to family settlements, where they breed. They are attractive mainly because they require very little maintenance.
In Huanúco and the rest of Peru, the guinea pig is considered a delicacy. It is preferred over the best known meats in the world such as pork or rabbit.
However, the protein source of Peruvians depends, to a great extent, on their geographical location. For example, it is more common for those living on the coast to use fish as their main source.
More specifically, Huanúco cuisine is popular for the following dishes:
Spicy guinea pig
This spicy is composed of a guinea pig (quantity for one person) accompanied by potatoes and rice. During its preparation, ground peanuts and ají de panca are used.
Juanes
A food that was originally developed for travelers, thanks to its slow decomposition process. It is a dish made of yucca and stuffed with chicken.
Hen locro
The locro is nothing more than a chicken soup with potatoes, although a mixture of seeds, parsley, onion, among others is added to this broth.
Tacacho with jerky
Tacacho con cecina is a typical Huanúco dish similar to banana slices, in Venezuela.
However, although it is fried or roasted plantains, these are served with dried meat.
Pachamanca
Finally, the pachamanca is a Peruvian dish that is cooked throughout the national territory.
In Huanúco, however, there is a unique way to prepare it and it is more about the method of cooking it than about the ingredients that are used, although as in any preparation, their quality plays an important factor in the final product.
Pachamanca is a dish that is prepared underground, in a traditional oven made up of a deep hole in the ground where pork meat with cassava and potatoes are added wrapped in leaves, seasoned with aromatic herbs from the area, all this is covered with River stones.
The cooking time of the pachamanca will depend on the amount of meat that was placed in the hole, from 50 to 200 kg or more. In Huanúco, the preferred meat for this preparation is pork.
References
- Sari Edelstein, PhD, RD. Food, cuisine, and cultural competency for culinary, hospitality and nutrition professionals. Jones and Barlett Publishers. Boston, Massachusetts. (2011); 487. Recovered from: books.google.com
- Ken Albala. Food cultures of the world Encycopledia Volume 2. ABC-CLIO. (2011); 265. Recovered from: books.google.com
- Sergio Zapata Acha. Dictionary of traditional Peruvian gastronomy (1st edition). University of San Martín de Porres. Lima Peru. (2006). Recovered from: deperu.com.
- Pachamanca, an ancestral dish current in Peruvian gastronomy. Las Américas newspaper. Recovered from: diariolasamericas.com.
- Huanúco de fiesta: four popular dishes of this cuisine. The Peru Commerce. Recovered from: file.elcomercio.pe.