Being so close to Peru, the food in Chile is similar to those in Peru. However, Chile has its own traditional dishes that separate it from the other neighboring countries.
Although, the list of traditional dishes isn’t very long, the food in Chile is still worth checking out.
1. Pastel de Choclo
This Chilean dish is absolutely one of my favorites and hard to find! While in Chile, I couldn’t find a restaurant that sold a good Pastel de Choclo, until I made my way to Antulican in el Pueblo artisanal de los Dominicos (AKA Dominicos Park).
A nice Chilean man had told me that the reason it was so hard to find was due to the season. However, I was able to find it and it absolutely tasted amazing!
Pastel de Choclo is a corn casserole stuffed with beef and chicken. There’s also a few made with just beef, but the typical dish has both beef and chicken. The flavor of this whole dish is sweet and salty. The sweetness comes from the corn, while the salty comes from the beef and chicken. It’s a very flavorful dish that also includes raisins, black olives, onions, and/or slices of hard boiled egg.
2. Mote de Huesillo
While this is a dessert drink, Mote de Huesillo is a non-alcoholic drink that consists of a nectar like liquid made with dried peaches cooked in sugar, water and cinnamon. This is then mixed in with cooked husked wheat.
This drink is often sold in street stands or vendor carts and is usually seen during the summer time. It still wasn’t summer when I went, so this was also a hard find, but I did end up finding it in the Dominicos Park.
3. Empanada de Pino
Empanadas are a well known pastry in South America, but each country has a different way of making them. Chile has a variety, but one of their most popular is the Empanada de Pino (a beef empanada).
What makes this empanada so different from others is the way that it is wrapped, which is more of a square shape than the usual round. The taste is also different since they add onions to the beef, broth, paprika and cumin.
I was able to try a delicious Pino empanada from a corner store that sold a variety of empanadas.
4. Carne Mechada con Pure a la Chilena
If you want typical Chilean food, Liguria is a really good restaurant to visit. It was a recommended to me by a local. He had mentioned that a lot of locals would know of this place and sure enough, he was right.
When I arrived to Liguria, I decided to have the Carne Mechada with Pure a la Chilena, which is pot roast and mashed potatoes. Sounds very American right? But the way they make their pot roast is much different than how we make it. In Chile (specifically Liguria restaurant), makes it with a tomato sauce that makes this dish absolutely delicious and some other seasonings. As for the mashed potatoes, it was completely different from what I’ve ever tried. It was so good, I couldn’t stop eating…I can’t really tell what the mashed potatoes had in them, but it tasted a lot like cheese, sauteed onions and some other seasonings I can’t pinpoint.
5. Lomito Palta Sandwich
This may be in other countries, but I’ve only ever tried Lomito Palta in Chile. Lomito Palta is a sandwich with avocados, lettuce, tomato, beef tenderloin, onion and mayonnaise.
I had my sandwich at a place called Tip y Tap, which is a nice place to have lunch. Also, the sandwiches here are enormous, which forced me to take my other half of the sandwich back to the hotel.
There’s plenty of wonderful food in Chile and even though the list of traditional dishes is small, I’m glad I got to try the food and really get to know Chile through its flavors and creations.
What about you? Have you tried any delicious Chilean food?
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