#eatPERU
So it is time to continue sampling some traditional dishes from the Amazon region.
We found a random little restaurant just by chance and it is lunchtime so we've popped
in and we've ordered a few different items and all of these dishes are going to be featuring
either plantains or cecina which is a dried dehydrated pork meat.
So it should be tasty.
And we're having the same juice that we had yesterday.
The cocona.
And I like to refer to this as the lemonade of the jungle.
It is sweet and refreshing.
So the food is here and first up we're going to be showing you Tacacho con Cecina.
So take a look down at the plate.
This right here is Tacacho and it is basically plantain.
They fry it, then they mash it up together and they kind of turn it into this big ball.
And that is being served with a side of cecina which is the pork meat.
The dehydrated pork meat.
And judging by the color I would guess it has been marinated or I don't know soaked
in some kind of sauce.
So I'm going to try the two of them together.
A bit of both.
Yeah, so for this meal they came separately but you can also find Tacacho that already
has the pieces of pork inside of it.
Mmmmm.
Wow.
That is really really good.
You get the sweetness of the plantain but also the saltiness of the dehydrated meat.
That is really really tasty.
So Sam, it is now your turn.
Tell us what you're having.
Yes, so I'm having the Cecina chaufa.
So basically take a look down here and you can see that I have strips of the pork as
well but it is in a mixed rice form.
Like a Chinese style rice.
And mine has eggs, it has chives, it has over here it has plantains on the side.
So I'm going to take a bite of that and also grab some of the cecina and let's see how
that tastes.
Mmmmm.
Wow!
That almost reminds me a little bit of bacon.
Bacon eh?
Yeah.
It reminds me a little bit of bacon.
That is really good.
And the rice is delicious too.
You know what is awesome is that portions at this restaurant are huge.
Yeah.
And you know what is kind of cool.
I feel like with this meal they are combining the local cuisine from Iquitos, the jungle
food with Chifa which is the Chinese influence.
The fried rice.
There you go.
Yeah.
Awesome fusion food.
So I'm not sure if this is the way you eat it but they brought us the Aji made with cocona.
So it has the fruit but it is like a spicy sauce.
So I'm going to put it on my plantain.
I don't know if this is how the locals do it but since I like my spice that is how I
am going to do it.
Let's grab a bite.
Big bite.
A nice enhancement?
Nice and spicy.
Mmmm.
It has a bit of vinegar and lime juice.
It is really nice.
And it also came with a salad.
I've got some avocado, it looks nice and ripe.
So yeah, I am loving this meal.
Like the food here in Iquitos is really cool because it is so fresh and they use a lot
of vegetables and fruits.
Delicious!
Very good!
Yeah, and I felt like that is something that was almost lacking in Lima.
We were starting to miss our fruits and veggies.
So it is good to be here.
So that was ridiculously amazing value for what we ate.
I know that feast of feasts only cost thirty one Soles and that includes everything.
That massive jar of juice plus our two mains.
So I mean you're talking less than ten US dollars.
Pretty darn good value if you ask me.