Guatemalan cuisine horizon

I believe Antigua has one of the highest restaurant density I ever experienced. All the different types of cuisines, Japanese, Indian, French, Mexican, Belgian, Argentinian (I missed Argentinian pizzas and empanadas, gracias Angie Angie!), Texan, Salvadorian, Chinese, Vietnamese,... makes Antigua an international food scene.

While evolving in this microcosm, I'd like to propose a modest dive into Guatemalan cuisine.

The art of street food

One of the experience I appreciate, speaking about cuisine, takes place in the streets.

Street food is generally simple and fast, often sold from a portable booth in the town's focal points such as churches, parks, and markets. The quick access and cheap service for daily nutrition could be considered, maybe, as the ancestor of the international fast food brands we are used to in the western world. Except that, it has deep roots in the country's culture.

I was told that the Mayan civilization had, since the 13th century,

marketplaces where vendors sold about 50 types of tamales. A tamale is a corn based traditional dish, generally stuffed with meet and wrapped in a plantain leaf. Walking through the Merced place in Antigua last Saturday, I noticed red flags hanging off the walls. The day after I discovered it was meaning something like "tamales ready here", next Saturday, for sure I will try it!

What I did try was the local tortillas, no comparison with the Spanish potato omelette (and onions? this is still a national debate). Here a tortilla is a thin corn based disk, served with virtually every meal. If it is not part of the plate, it is in a small wicker basket on the table, warped in Mayan tissue in order to keep them warm and fluffy.

To prepare them, the "tortillera" grab a handful of wet dough, slap it between their both hands until forming a flat round disk which is then placed on a hot "comal" to be cooked. It is easy to detect the production spots: "clapclapclap" is a characteristic sound echoing in the streets.

My first street food experience here was a "tostado", a fried tortilla covered with guacamole, tomato onions and herbs. I still need to develop the skills to eat it cleanly as I ended up with green fingers I had to leak. Too much details maybe?

Naively, I ordered just one, no need to say I was still hungry and went back to the booth, red of shame, asking for what else they could offer. I was served with a "tacos", a cylindrical fried tortilla filled with potatoes and recovered with Guacamole and tomato sauce. Finally, "life is uncertain, eat dessert first", I had a fried plantain, stuffed with sweet beans.

Maybe you identified a pattern with the 3 dishes described above, they are all fried! Not that I have a particular propensity to it, but I wanted to reduce the risk of being sick and frying is an excellent bacteria killer. A small tips for your next trips ;)

I have to admit, I still don't fully understand what I order in the streets. I adopted 2 methods: either looking at what clients take and, if it looks appetizing, ask for the same, or, ask to the vendor their favorite dish. Once, I ended up with a kind of empanadas recovered with raw cabbage salad. Without thinking it through I ate the whole plate. Few minutes later, a friend calledc to tell me he was food poisoned. At this moment, I remembered raw salads are very risky and started to fear for the worst. Looking for a solution, I decided to drink a glass of pure rum as a sterilizer. It was 2pm, this day I might have been less efficient at work, but no food poisoning, Hourra!

International reputation

For me, Guatemala has an international fame for its high quality rums and coffees.

As I was most surely biased, "Botran" rum saved me from a potential intoxication, I decided to attend to a rum tasting so I could be more objective...

There, I could try "Zacapa" premium rums in different configurations: smoked, with chocolate, orange, coffee,etc... to give a bit of context, "Zacapa" is called "the house above the clouds", it won first place in the premium rums category 4 years in a row and was the first rum to be included in the International Rum Festival's Hall of Fame. It has to be exceptional !

My favorite product is the "Zacapa No. 23 Centenario". I could smell fragrances of caramel and vanilla, my palate found sweet and strong tastings close to cognac flavors and its finish left me with a coffee impression. Heaven.

Speaking about coffee, I am rediscovering what coffee is. From the plant growth through the seed collection, fermentation and roasting, to the grinding and brewing. Coffee is a complex process with infinite variations yielding to diverse experiences. I am just starting to scratch the surface of this art and will dedicate a post on it. Meanwhile, for breakfasts. I am enjoying the numerous specialty coffee places in Antigua and try the eclectic brewing systems: Chemex, AeroPress, French Press, Espresso, V60...

A Chapin Menu

I was surprised to see how breakfast for Guatemalans is so important. At every weekend, I see families going to the restaurant in the mornings, to enjoy a "desayuno chapin". (Chapin is a colloquial name meaning "from Guatemala", and desayuno stands for breakfast.)

There are variations, but the fundamentals of "un desayuno chapin" are: Frijoles (black bean), fried plantain, the famous tortillas, coffee, and eggs generally either fried or scrambled although there is sometimes the option of having them as ‘pico de gallo’ (scrambled with lemon, onion, herbs, pepper and tomato).

For lunch, I would recommend a "pepian". A thick meaty spicy stew, served with rice, tortilla, vegetables and chili peeper. Some says it is the main represent of Guatemalan traditional food, you can find it from 5 stars hotels and restaurants, to market and street vendors. The degree of spiciness can vary between chefs but it is rarely eye watering and most of the time the chili peeper is proposed in an independent side plate.

Home sweet home

I have been in Antigua for less than 2 months and I still have a lot to discover, the above presentation is just a personal sub sample of the whole Guatemalan cuisine.

In order to continue this gastronomic journey, I also value being in my comfort zone from time to time, and started to look for options that would recall me home. Fondue, "vache qui rit", raclette, in a word cheese.