Chilean food

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Time to talk about Chilean food. I've written a bit on empanadas, which are scrumptious and popular. But one of my favorite street foods are the candied peanuts they sell at Nuts4Nuts stands. They cook them up in sugar and the bags of maní are still warm when you buy them. I think I am addicted. The Nuts4Nuts phenomenon really captivated my interest when I came across Nuts5Nuts, and later Nuts7Nuts, demonstrating either a kind of numerical arms race or a failure to grasp the witty marketing tool that is the classic 4 name. In any case, I have hunted for Nuts6Nuts, and am convinced it isn't visible to muggles. Or maybe the guy who made 7 was just a big risk taker and skipped 6 altogether.

Let's talk condiments. First off, Chileans love salt. There is no pepper on tables, neither in restaurants nor households. But there is always salt. Most meals are an invitation to dump salt on every item on your plate. Popular condiments for sandwiches and meats include mayo, ají, mustard and ketchup. Mayo here is globbed on in massive quantities. Ají is a sauce, with the consistency of ketchup, made from hot chilies, and it has a little smokey hint to it too. Ketchup and mustard are very sweet and lack the acidic bite they have in the states.

But I digress.

Chilean salad is another unique item. The salads themselves are quite normal, with mixed leafy veggies and an assortment of other toppings. But when you eat with a family, the salad dressing is standard: lemon juice, vegetable oil and salt. This dressing is also used on tomato/onion salads. Some take it as a Chilean tradition, but a Chilean once explained to me that this dressing came about only because those were the only ingredients available during the Allende-Pinochet era(1970's and 80s), when Chile was suffering an economic meltdown coupled with huge social upheaval and eventually secret police and a military imposed curfew. It's really interesting how history can change food culture so radically.

Seafood here rocks. The Humboldt Current brings cold, nutrient rich water to Chile's coast and with it an abundance of life. Which we eat. The widest Chile ever gets is 430km (265mi) wide, so fish is shipped fresh from the cost. Merluza, reineta, corvina, congrio, and salmón are just a few fish you'll find, plus octopi, every kind of shellfish you can imagine, lobster from the Juan Fernandez Islands, squid, sea urchins, you name it. I really love ceviche, a lemon soaked fish or shellfish dish.



Chileans love asados. A barbecue, but different, the asado is as much ritual as meal. Once the charcoal is going, longaniza hits the grill. This, paired with bread, constitutes the first course: choripan (from chorizo, sausage, and pan, bread). Then the real meat hits the fire. Pork and beef rules this realm. Often the whole group hangs out by the barbecue and eats pieces of meat sliced off the big hunk as it cooks. No sitting required. It should be noted that the only spice I have ever seen a chilean add to meat on a grill is salt. Tons of salt, and I have seen it every time.

Let's talk coffee real quick. Nescafe is standard. Instant. Always. You can get real coffee at restaurants or cafes, but it comes in espresso form. No drip coffee here.

I'll finish this up with a little info on the completo. It's a hotdog with avocado, tomato, and mayo on top. It's the cheapest thing on every menu, and it's filling. The best part is that with all the toppings you skip the hotdog taste.



Check out the Flickr for some good shots and a description of charqui.

I'll conclude by saying that I have enjoyed the majority of food here. Nevertheless, I look forward to lowering my beef intake, drinking drip coffee, and Christmas cookies. I'm counting on you, mom!

Half a month

Lots of stuff happened in the last month. Stuff like: halloween, a mine tour, some quizzes, the Nike 10k, group projects, a wedding, and the coldest night of my life.

Chronologically the Nike 10k happened first. It was a huge race- 10k people running 10km. Nike puts it on and shuts down a sizable section of the city on a Sunday. We ran a route that went up the sides of the Río Mapocho in the heart of the city, crossing it twice to make it a circuit. In the all the runs I have done in the states, everyone who spectates cheers, and they cheer for everyone. Here, I came into the last 500 meters in awe of the silent families and friends lining the sides of the finish. They didn't even cheer for the people they were there to see. It was like a funeral procession minus the dirge. The race was super fun, but I learned firsthand the risk one takes running moderate distances with shirts with big plasticy prints on the chest. Think nipple chafing/scabs.

Then I was invited by my friend Jocelyn to a wedding! It was a fun experience, which involved a short mass, dinner and dance party. The mass started at 10pm, so as usual it was a late night. Most of the traditions are the same, down to the rice throwing, cake, first dance, and garter/bouquet toss. I was blown away by the dancing. The latin influence means lots of salsa, merengue, and reggaeton. The reggaeton came out real late at night, and brought out some great moments of older couples dancing as racily as the younger crowd. Then the costumes came out. The bride and groom walk around with masks on carrying trays of masquerade masks, plastic printed hats, and leis. That really knocked down any last inhibitions. Once you're goofy enough to wear that crap, you're probably having a good time:



The UW program went to the largest underground mine in the world, Chile's El Teniente copper mine. Honestly it was pretty lame. I had been to Tower Soudan in Tower, Minnesota, and it was kind of the same. Lowlight: eating with the miners in their mess hall. Pretty crappy food.

Halloween meant a costume party, complete with carved pumpkins- but not orange ones. Halloween only arrived in Chile about 5 years ago. Clearly it's another US import; one more consumer holiday. On the local news the night before, they had a segment where people could call in and voice their opinion on this question: Should Chile celebrate Halloween? I heard two responses, one for Halloween and one against it. On one hand, it's innocent fun plus candy, and Satan is involved (+). On the other, it's not really part of the culture, focuses on silly themes and feeding kids tons of candy, and is just kind of dumb (-). I had a good time in any case. Here's wedding and Halloween pics.



I spent this weekend in Cajón del Maipo again. This time Ramiro and I drove out there. Camping at some hot springs, we took a 4 hour night soak under the stars and among the mountains. Then we spent to coldest night ever in my tent, a summer tent, I now realize. The condensation froze on the tent walls. So did my feet. We woke up and on the way out got stuck in a mud puddle (muddle?) in Ramiro's little Chevy. With insane luck, we had just passed a miner, who I walked to. His job is to tell other miners when to not blast, so the rubble doesn't land on passing cars. He called up a truck on his walkie talkie, and we got dragged out of the mud. What could have been an all day wait was a 30 minute setback. It felt like revenge after the cold night. Then we hiked in El Morado national monument. It was one of the best places I have ever been. We crossed snow and streams and arrived at the base of some mountains where there is a lake. It was about a four hour trip up and back, just insane. Photos here.

Now I'm wrapping up school things with essays, projects, and presentations. I can't wait to be done with class. It's not that hard here, but it can be really hard to study when there's a foreign city outside your room.