Peru is famous for its world heritage site, Machu Picchu, and the Nazca Lines, which still have many mysteries. In fact, the information that "Peruvian cuisine" seems to be starting to attract attention recently came to the eating editorial department.

According to Wikipedia information, Peruvian cuisine was formed under the influence of various ethnic groups such as indigenous Indigena, immigrant Spaniards, Chinese, Italians, and Japanese. Then it should fit the Japanese tongue! So, I have tried South American Peruvian cuisine!


■ What kind of country is Peru?

The Republic of Peru is a republican nation located in western South America. The land area is about 1.29 million square kilometers, which is about 3.4 times that of Japan. The language is mainly Spanish, but there are about 90,000 Nikkei, and he has a strong passion for learning Japanese (Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs).


Now that you have the basic information, let's go to the store!

■ Arrive at Peruvian cuisine "Arco Iris"

"Arco Iris" is a 5-minute walk from Gotanda Station. The entire second floor of the building is a shop, and the exterior is quite noticeable. By the way, "Arcoiris" means "rainbow" in Spanish.



Maps and figurines of Peru, photographs of the Nazca Lines, etc. are displayed inside the store, and you can enjoy a quite exotic atmosphere.



Some of the customers could speak Spanish, and I had a conversation in Spanish with a beautiful mother from Peru (probably). More and more exoticism!


■ Order Peruvian food

From the lunch menu, I ordered "Beef potato stew" recommended by my mother. This "beef potato stew" and "beef potato and tomato stir-fry" were said to be the most famous Peruvian dishes in the lunch menu. The combination of "beef and potatoes" seems to be the standard.


■ Eat Peruvian food

First of all, the soup for the lunch set was brought in. It has the same yellow color as the last Israeli lunch. It contains several kinds of vegetables such as cabbage, carrots and pumpkin and pasta.


The soup stock of vegetables is good. It looks yellow and looks like pumpkin soup, but it's not sweet. Other than pepper, it has no particularly strong spice scent and is very easy to drink.

Then, the main "beef potato stew" appeared! It is a 3-piece plate of beef that is about 3 cm thick, potatoes on a plate, and rice that seems to be about 1.5 cups of tea bowl.


This beef is thick but extremely soft! It seems that the fibers of the meat are loosened in the mouth. It's delicious with less meat-specific bitterness!


The brown-green sauce attached to the beef has chopped onions and a basil-like scent. Is the rich flavor due to butter?

Both rice and potatoes are slightly harder than the rice and potatoes that you usually eat as Japanese food. With starch and moderate chewy texture, you can get a good feeling of fullness. There is so much volume, and one plate with soup for 850 yen is a great deal! The cost performance is too good.

■ Eat Peruvian desserts

It was a very satisfying volume, but I want to try Peruvian sweets as well! I asked my mother.

Then, what came out was a dessert like Japanese grilled pudding. It's a Peruvian dessert called "Leche Asara" in Spanish.


As it looks, the taste is the taste of pudding that Japanese people love. It is less sweet than the pudding sold at convenience stores. However, it is a handmade taste that makes you feel the eggs firmly.

■ Satisfied with plenty of "rice, potatoes, meat"

I imagined that Peruvian food had a funky taste only in South America, but I was betrayed in a good way. It's simple, voluminous, and tastes good on the Japanese tongue. I understand the reason for the secret boom.

Furthermore, I could hear cheerful laughter and humming from the kitchen all the time, and it was a very fun restaurant. This time I visited at lunch time, but it seems that I can enjoy many different Peruvian dishes at dinner time. Next time, I would like to experience Peruvian cuisine with Peruvian beer. Glacier!