“In recent years, Peru’s eclectic cuisine has earned acknowledgement as one of the world’s finest.”

– Mark Adams, Turn Right at Machu Picchu

5 best Peruvian foods

Food was one of the big factors when I was choosing a place to live. Things like hot girls and old churches are important factors to consider too, but they aren’t a deal-breaker. You’re going to need to eat every single day. And there’s only so many times you can chow down on boiled cane rat.

Initially Peru’s food sounded a little sketchy. Raw fish, beverages made of corn juice, and calf hearts didn’t sound that appetizing. But I was dead wrong. Aside from octopus, everything I’ve eaten here has blown my mind. Here are the 5 best Peruvian foods I’ve tried:

1. Ceviche

At the beginning of the year I would never have imagined that raw fish in lime juice would become my all-time favorite food. Made with fresh fish Peruvian ceviche is unmatched.

In addition to straight cerviche, you can get a beverage called leche de tigre. This is literally a tall glass of the juices that they prepare cerviche in. It tastes way better than you’d imagine and gave me a massive energy boost.

2. Lomo Saltado

Lomo saltado is like a cross between stir-fry and something you’d get at an American diner. Its strips of marinated steak mixed into a platter of french fries, tomatoes, and onions. This coupled with an Inca Kola makes for the perfect post-workout meal.

3. Tacu-tacu

 There are a few different types of tacu-tacu. The good one consists of fires rice, beans, and a big old slab of beef. There’s usually some salsa too. I haven’t eaten this dish as much as some of the others on my list, but it is good. If you just want meat and rice this is for you.

4. Inca Kola

This isn’t an actual food, but it is a darn good drink. Its the only soda that I’ve ever enjoyed and it tastes kind of like bubble gum. I like to drink this after working out and never get tired of the flavor. Here it costs about $0.30 a bottle, but you can order it through Amazon for the ridiculous price of $12.88.

Another awesome drink is chicha morado. This is a beverage made of purple corn, pineapple, and cinnamon. It tastes just like Kool-Aid

5. Anticuchos

Beef heart on a stick. Sounds gross, but you’ll probably end up loving it. This is kind of like a shish-kebab and you can order it all over the country. This was actually one of the first authentic Peruvian dishes I ever ordered and it helped to show me that the cuisine wasn’t as bad as its descriptions lead me to believe it would be.

Bonus: weird jungle fruits

There’s all kinds of strange jungle fruit for sale in Peru. You can get uchuva, which are the orange berries pictured above, and cherimoya, which is that green fruit, as well as dozens of other odd eats. I like going to a lot of the markets and stores to try all the exotic fruits. So far none of them have killed me. Also, you can get a ton of nuts and herbs that are outrageously expensive in the states for pennies here. At one market they have Brazil nuts for less than $5 a pound.

I’m definitely going to miss all the great food here, but I bought a cook book called Ceviche: Peruvian Kitchen for when I get back to the U.S.

If you like good food, I’d highly suggest visiting Peru sometime.

“Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.”

– Craig Claiborne

Kitchen gear for men

Chefs are like golfers. They’ll buy any product, no matter how ridiculous, in hopes that it makes them slightly better at their craft. Being in the cooking niche is like having a license to print money.

Looking around my apartment, which came fully stocked with all kinds of appliances, I’ve found more gadgets than I know what to do with. There’s a juicer, blender, coffee maker, coffee press, tea kettle, two crock pots, half a dozen mixing bowls, a cheese grader, a wine aerator, five different pans, six special pots, one hamburger press, a heavy meat tenderizer, and all kinds of knives and peelers that I will never use.

That’s too much for most people. If you’re a man who lives on his own and isn’t cooking for others you don’t need ten thousand different tools. In fact, you don’t even need super high-end equipment to prepare anything. I did a little research on what appliances I use and found that there were really only three main items. The wine aerator wasn’t one of them.

Three essential kitchen tools

Here are the three pieces of equipment that I use almost daily:

1. Frying pan

2. Crock pot

3. Microwave safe bowl

That’s it. No fancy whiskey rocks, laser guided pizza cutter (that’s a real thing by the way), or cutesy vintage popcorn maker. Buying all that stuff gets expensive. Additionally, gadgets like those are fairly impractical. How many pizzas do you have to slice before your $20 laser guided pizza cutter pays for itself?

Lastly, any man who plans on moving is going to have a really hard time boxing up all his worthless kitchen tools. A handful of quality items are better than hundreds of useless gizmos.

Basic equipment

My three basic tools are all pretty nice. While none of them are super expensive, they’ve all held up really well. And none of them, from my Internet investigations, cost more than $50.

I use a fairly standard cast-iron frying pan. While I’m not sure what the exact model is, it looks similar to this one by Lodge. If you’re making eggs, cooking steak, or preparing some ground beef this the perfect tool. You could probably make the vast majority of your meals with this alone.

Crock pot cooking is something that I’m still pretty new to. I’ve used it to make some meatballs and a big thing of chicken with carrots and wild rice. The thing that makes this appliance really cool is the fact that you can cook something without having to be home. Unlike your oven, a crock pot is safe to leave on while you’re out of the house. Before I went to the Palomino Islands I threw chicken and vegetables into my crock pot. When I got back, all sunburned and smelling like dead fish, I was able to sit down and eat a hearty meal. This saved me from having to cook something while I was tired, or clean up to go out and order food.

While my current crock pot is pretty small, I’ve got a 6-quart programmable slow cooker waiting for me in the states. For the sake of convince I’d recommend picking one of these up.

Somehow all of the bowls in my apartment explode when you put them in the microwave. As a result I had to run out and buy a microwave safe bowl. I basically just use this for heating up frozen vegetables. Most cookware in the United States should be microwavable, but make sure before you buy anything. There’s nothing worse than having to clean up peas and porcelain.

Bar stuff

The big market for men is bar utensils. Advertisers usually play up the old “you’ve got a girl at your place and need to make her a dink” routine. This leads to all kinds of impractical items like collar stays that turn into bottle openers, mini-fridges for mixers, and fancy cocktail shakers.

If you like drinking that stuff might not be a bad investment, but it won’t help you to get girls. But I’ve never not hooked up with some chick because of my lack of sophisticated barware. Unless you absolutely love mixing cocktails your money is better spent elsewhere.

Luxury items

I love coffee and tea. One of my favorite beverages is Vietnamese iced coffee. In America I have a traditional Vietnamese coffee filter. It cost like five bucks and works great. In Peru I use a French Press to make my coffee. Every cup turns out incredibly strong and the whole process requires nothing more than some grounds and hot water. I’ll probably buy a Bodum Brazil French Press when I get home.

Other than some coffee stuff, I really don’t have a lot of luxury cooking items. If I want something elaborate I’ll hit up a nice restaurant.

Closing thoughts

Cooking utensils are fairly cheap. As long as you don’t get bogged down with worthless gadgets you can have everything you’d need for under $100. I’ve bought pizza that was more expensive than a giant crock pot. Kitchenware is inexpensive and will save both your wallet and waistline. Making steak and eggs, or chicken and rice is an easy way to get more protein too. There’s no reason that a man shouldn’t own some basic appliances and know how to use them.

“Sandwiches are wonderful. You don’t need a spoon or a plate!”

– Paul Lynde

Easiest meal for busy men

You spend the whole day working, go to the gym, and then take care of personal goals. Between all this and sleeping you’ve eaten up a good 20 hours of your day.

At what point do you have time to cook?

Due to their schedules, most busy men are forced into eating poorly. What’s worse is the fact that many fitness enthusiasts act like this is fine. Exercise gurus often give advice like “buy double cheeseburgers and throw away the buns.” That’s not particularly healthy.

One of my favorite things to make, and something I’ve been preparing for years, is the sandwich.

This is something that takes seconds to assemble and can be thrown into a cooler so you can eat it after the gym. It is the easiest meal for busy men.

Although I love sandwiches, I’m not a big fan of traditional cold cuts. Five slices of turkey meat on some white bread isn’t my thing. A good sandwich should have a lot of meat and a lot of protein.

This might sound expensive, but I can actually make something like this for under five bucks. That’s less than the cost of a Subway sandwich.

How to make a steak sandwich for under $5

This steak sandwich recipe only has three ingredients. And while you do have to cook a little, the whole process takes less than 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Flank steak (I buy it chopped)
• Cheese
• Bread

Preparation:

• Chop up your flank steak
• Heat a frying pan on your stove
• Once the pan is scorching hot add butter
• Use the butter to lube up the pan and then throw your steak in
• Cook until it’s no longer raw
• Cut a large piece of bread in half
• Dump your steak onto the bread
• Put cheese on top, letting it melt
• Enjoy

Why this is a good meal

Anyone with a stove can make this. It takes zero time to cook and can be ready for you in minutes. Additionally, you get a ton of protein from one of these and its way healthier than a McDonald’s or frozen pizza.