Peruvian Dinner Pre-Meetup

This is another in our series of pre-meetup Meetup dinners. This time, in honor of some members' trips to Peru, we'll explore this heavily Chinese-influenced cuisine.

In fact, Chinese influence is the backbone of modern Peruvian cuisine, giving birth to Chifa—a wildly popular fusion of Cantonese cooking techniques and Andean-Creole ingredients. Beginning in the 1850s, Chinese laborers brought woks, soy sauce, and stir-frying to Peru, fundamentally changing how the country eats.

The term "Chifa" originates from chi fan (吃飯). When early Chinese immigrants couldn't find their traditional ingredients in Peru, they improvised with local Andean produce like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and the spicy ají amarillo pepper.

We will gather at Flama Llama (owned by the same people who bring you Formoosa, Steamy Piggy, Yun Tea, Oi Shiba, and probably others), where you can try these iconic Chinese-Peruvian Dishes:

• Lomo Saltado: Peru's most famous dish is a direct result of this fusion. It uses a traditional Chinese wok stir-fry technique to cook strips of beef (chicken is also available) with onions and tomatoes, but it is seasoned with soy sauce (sillao) and combined with deeply Peruvian ingredients—fried yellow potatoes and white rice.

• Tallarín Saltado: A Chinese-Peruvian take on chow mein, featuring yellow egg noodles stir-fried with vegetables and meats, heavily seasoned with soy sauce.

You can see their full menu at https://www.flamallama.com/menu where you'll also find Cuban-influenced dishes like Mojo Pork and Ropa Vieja, as well as the Italian-influenced Tallarin Verde.

This place is fast-food style, where you order at the counter and choose your own seat.

For more on the Chinese influence on Peruvian cooking, see https://brasaperuvian.com/blogs/news/history-of-chinese-influence-on-peruvian-food