7 Mouth Watering Chilean Foods To Try Your Hands On

Although Chilean food has taken much inspiration from its European heritage, it has carved a niche for itself in the world food culture. The Chilean food menu is a list of bright, flavourful, and wholesome meals that can put a large smile on the face of any foodie. From hearty meat dishes to bright, tangy ceviche, this list of traditional Chilean foods is a treat for taste buds. Depending on the dish’s geographic origin, they are best eaten alongside local wine or pisco sour, a tangy local drink.

Here is a list of must try mouth-watering Chilean foods:

* Empanadas

These fried or baked dough pastries are usually filled with either cheese, seafood or a mixture called pino that consists of ground beef, olive, egg and onion. While Chileans enjoy empanadas year-round, homemade empanadas de pino are one of the key traditional foods served during Chile’s Fiestas Patrias – national holiday celebrations that take place in September. During the festivities, terremoto, a type of sugary drink, is also quite popular. The beverage includes sweet fermented wine with pineapple ice cream and your choice of bitter fernet or grenadine.

* Ceviche

Different versions of ceviche can be found all over Latin America, especially in Chile and Peru. Locally it is made with raw fish (often reineta or corvina), marinated and cooked with lemon juice before being served up with onions, garlic, merkén, cilantro, cumin, salt, olive oil and red peppers. Ceviche goes great with the tangy local drink, pisco sour, made with Chilean pisco, pica lime or lemon juice, syrup and ice.

* Cazuela

Great for a nippy day or to ward away the sniffles, this tasty broth is made with large pieces of tender beef or chicken along with potatoes, pumpkin, corn noodles and cilantro. Try this traditional dish, which has both Spanish and indigenous Mapuche origins, at one of the marketplace eateries in La Vega Central. To do as the Chileans do, go ahead and eat the broth first, finishing up with the meat, potato and veggies.

* Choripan

Typically prepared at Chilean barbecues (asados), choripanes are grilled sausages served with fresh bread, available at any corner store. Toppings like mayonnaise, mashed avocado, and pebre are traditionally offered with Chilean choripanes. Pebre is a spicy Chilean condiment made with pureed peppers, chopped onions, garlic, olive oil and cilantro.

* Humitas

Humitas are the Chilean version of tamales. Sweet or savoury, Humitas are made with boiled flour and corn meal. Corn husks are stuffed with ground corn, basil, onion, and ground paprika. They are then tied together with thread or twine. Humitas are cooked to perfection by either boiling or steaming in hot water.

* Pastel de Choclo

Pastel de Choclo is an excellent representation of the mestizo (mixed) style of South American cooking. Inspired from the Spanish style Empanada and Andean Humitas, Pastel de Choclo is a perfect blend of sweet and savoury corn pudding bursting with sweet corn, ground beef, olives, onions, hard boiled eggs, and raisins.

* Completos

As Chile’s take on the hot dog, completos are surprisingly one of the most beloved Chilean foods, sold in sandwich shops and stands throughout the country. A typical completo is served with sausage, chopped tomato, mayonnaise and sauerkraut. The completo Italiano is also quite popular, and comes with chopped tomatoes, mashed avocado and mayonnaise. The hot dog gets its name from the combination of red, green and white ingredients used, which mimic the colours on the Italian flag.