Okay, since it's our 10th month living here in Colombia, I finally feel I have gathered enough delicious data to provide a full report on Colombian Cuisine. Please note, I do not take this task lightly. As my friend Jess recently stated at lunch, (after Conor refused to share his fries with me) ...food is love. Therefore, the act of sharing food with someone is deeply loving (ahem Conor). Well said Jess! I have shared many traditional Colombian meals with friends here in Cali, and each dish has radiated with love and pride.Cue flashbacks to all the yummy picadas I have devoured. I hope this blog entry will make my new Colombian friends, and all lovers of Colombian cuisine proud! No pressure Taylor. Here goes nothing!
FYI : This food review has four categories, and a "winner" in each category. The "winner" is a completely biased opinion, by me, of the #1 most tasty item. I really only scratch the surface of all the deliciousness that exists in Colombia...so if your mouth starts watering when reading this, you should probably plan a visit and take a taste tour for yourself!
Main Dishes:
Colombian main dishes tend to feature more subdued smokey notes with deep "earthy" and "meaty" flavor profiles. Were you expecting spice? You're not alone. This expectation is probably due some unconscious association of Colombia with other Spanish speaking countries like Mexico, a place known for spicy food. But don't worry! Sans spice, there is still plenty of Colombian flavor to go around! Techniques like smoking, wood-grilling, and the use of tropical herbs give the various meats featured in Colombian dishes savory and smokey tastes. Ready for another surprise? Colombian cuisine features many popular soups! If you told me one year ago I would be happily sipping soups in eighty-five degree weather, I would have called you crazy. The two most popular soups, Cali's famous Sancocho and Bogota's Ajiaco have captured my heart...and stomach.
Winner...
- Picadas (a giant platter of grilled chicken, steak, sausages, potato, and plantain with delicious dipping sauces, shared with a group of friends)
Runner Ups...
-Ajiaco (hearty chicken and potato soup made with garlic and cilantro, topped with cream, capers, and fresh avocado)
-Sancocho (a potato soup, made with yucca, plantain, corn, and chicken)
-Trucha (crispy trout, pan grilled and topped with garlic and parm...YUM)
-Bandeja Paisa (platter of beans, rice, ground beef, pork belly, sausages, plantain, avocado and egg..it's SO much food, and known as a "worker's platter")
Snacks:
Overflowing snack carts of all shapes and sizes litter the streets of Cali, and the buttery aromas of arepas and empanadas abound. Carb fans out there, FYI, Colombia is a mecca of crispy snacks, which made narrowing down this category very difficult! My most frequent snack is definitely patacones (fried plantains), and these crispy bits of heaven are a staple in the Colombian diet. Confession...I had about one plantain a year before moving here, but now I eat plantain in one form or another almost every day. All aboard the plaintain train!
Winner...
-Aborrajado (sweet ripe fried plantains filled with cheese and served with guava paste)
Runner Ups...
-Arepas (a pancake of sorts made from ground corn dough and butter)
-Pan de Bonos (golden rounds of fluffy cheese bread that are super crisp on the outside...NOM)
-Papitas with Green Sauce (cubed fried potatoes with a creamy cilantro mayo salsa)
-Patacones (fired green plantains)
Fruits:
The fact that fruits have an individualized category in this review should be the first indicator that the fruits here are unreal. When we first met our principal, he claimed he was still discovering new fruits to try...even after living in Colombia for 15 years. At the time I was skeptical, but I have been delighted by the sheer number of amazing tropical fruits available here in Cali. The most unique is definitely the Lulo fruit, a sweet/sour citrus, often described as a combination of rhubarb and lime. Lulo juice is tangy and tart, and is commonly enjoyed with lunch or dinner...or mixed with vodka. Finally, as a lover of the fresh and flavorful, I have to mention the green mango here. Incredible. Prepared with salt and lime? Genius.
Winner...
-Green Mango (spiraled mango biche topped with lime juice and salt = obsession worthy)
Runner Ups...
-Lulo (sweet/sour citrus with rhubarb and lime flavors)
-Mandarina (forget those canned mandarin oranges...these are the real deal)
-Maracuya (passion fruit)
-Star Fruit (excellent taste, and also an excellent cocktail garnish)
Drinks:
Mention Colombia, and people think coffee. Colombia's abundance of coffee farms do make for some excellent cups of joe, but you might be surprised to learn the country actually exports most of it's gourmet grounds, meaning locals do not get to enjoy the product as much as you might think. For this reason, I am going to go for an upset and name limonada de coco the official king of the drink category. As the name implies, limonada de coco is fresh limeade mixed with coconut milk, blended with ice and sweetened with sugar. On a hot day in the Colombian sun, this indulgent beverage is simply divine! Fun fact- most Colombians enjoy a fresh squeezed juice with lunch and dinner. At first, adults ordering juice at struck me as odd...but now I'm totally into it. Cheers!
Winner...
-Limonada de Coco (lime juice and coconut blend)
Runner Ups...
-Lulada (crushed lulos, lime juice, sugar and ice)
-Colombian Coffee (Juan Valdez, the most popular coffee chain here has some great specialty drinks!)
-Aguardiente (liquor made from sugar cane with strong liquorice flavor, commonly people order a whole bottle to share with friends at bars)
-Micheladas (light beer poured over lime juice, served in a cold glass with a salted rim)
Other Fun Facts:
1) Restaurants here give people plastic gloves to wear when eating wings... and pretty much everyone wears them...so practical! There is also a special plastic wrapper many people put around their burgers to avoid messy hands.
2) There is a service called "rappi" which is pretty much like uber eats, but better. Rappi drivers ride motos and have giant orange coolers they carry. Rappis deliver groceries, anything from a pharmacy, and food from tons of different restaurants!
3) There is a special chocolate powder called "Milo" that my students go nuts for, and it reminds me of Nesquick, but better. There are milo chocolate milks, shakes, cookies, ice cream and beyond.
Top Foods We Miss:
1) Bagels
2) Lemons (very occasionally available)
2) Pretzels
3) Sweet Potatoes
5) Pretty much everything from Trader Joe's
Getting Schooled:
Okay, I'm skipping the "favorites" section this month since pretty much all the food above qualifies as a favorite. However, I couldn't resist doing a "getting schooled" for May since a series of unfortunate events landed us teachers at school last Saturday...giving a full day of instruction. That's right, we had school, on a Saturday. How? If you recall from the last blog, this April our school was swept by a terrible outbreak of H1N1/swine flu. Under strict orders from the health department, classes were canceled for three days. At the time, this seemed too good to be true...and it turns out it actually was. Missing three days put the school under the 180 day count, which meant our accreditation was at risk. Long story short, to make up for this, all of us teachers, cafeteria staff, principals, students, custodians, bus drivers etc. had to wake up at week day time (5:30 am) and come to school on a Saturday. If that doesn't say schooled, I don't know what does!