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Last time I declared that chow mein was among the most “authentic” dishes in the Guatemalan gastronomy I got into trouble. Then, recently I declared that there was nothing more chapín (Guatemalan) than the chow mein tostada and once again some people disagreed with me, at least initially, because at the end everyone sees the light.

Let me share with you some comments I have received:

Luis: Chow Mein is not an authientic Guatemalan dish!

Javier: Sorry Luis, But Guatemalan Chow Mein is very different from the other chow meins.

Susanita: What do you mean that chow mein is not Guatemalan!!!!! My Daughter loves to eat it with lots and lots of CATSUP and soy sauce….and it’s not weird it’s traditional.

Ana: I am from Guatemala visiting my daughter in the USA and the first thing she asks me to cook every first time I see her in more than six years is Chow Mein Guatemalteco, it’s very unique, everyone has it’s own recipe with onions, carrots, “guisquil”

Miguel: jajaja, sera con guacamol o tomate o frijol, pero este chow mein se nacionalizo, bueno.

Miguel: Si, y a casi cualquier hora, incluso se llama ya “CHOMIN”

Back on August I shared with you the presentation of Caldo de Gallina Criolla from Sabe Rico Restaurant in Antigua Guatemala. Criollo or criolla is the Guatemalan Spanish word often meaning native, garden grown or free range. As I said before, criollo in colonial times was the word used to label the offspring of Spaniards that were born in America (remember America means the entire Continent not just the U.S.). Nowadays, in Guatemala we use the word criollo/criolla for things that grow in an orchard or garden and often for free range chickens. In the case what Caldo de gallina criolla means is stock or stew made with a free range hen grown in the patio, garden or orchard. The gallinas criollas are usually smaller than mass-grown farm chicken and the meat is darker and much more delicious. Since in the previous photo of Caldo de Gallina Criolla some of the ingredients were not visible, I decided to share this other photo which shows some of the vegetables that are often part of the dish: Perulero (white chayote or white Sechium edule), carrots, corn of the cob, and squash.

Here’s the recipe found at Revista Amiga. Can anybody help with the translation?

Caldo de gallina criolla

Rinde 6 porciones
Ingredientes
2 litros de agua hirviendo
1 gallina de 3 libras
2 chiles pimiento
2 cebollas
5 tomates
5 papas
1 zanahoria
1 güisquil
1 cucharadita de aceite
1 manojo de hierbabuena
1 manojo de cebollín
sal al gusto
polvo de consomé al gusto

Preparación
En una olla grande cueza la gallina en el agua hirviendo, sazónela con sal y consomé al gusto, añada el tomate y la cebolla picados.

Corte las verduras en pequeños trozos y saltéelas en una sartén con el aceite. Añádalos al caldo y cueza por 45 minutos. Pique la hierbabuena y el cebollín, incorpórelos al caldo, retire la preparación del fuego y sirva.

Criollo or Criolla is the Guatemalan Spanish word often meaning native or garden grown. Although criollo in colonial times was the word used to label the offspring of Spaniards that were born in America (remember America means the entire Continent not just the U.S.). Nowadays, in Guatemala we use the word criollo/criolla for things that grow in an orchard or garden. For instance, the small limones (limes) are limones criollos. In the case of the Caldo de gallina criolla, it means a hen grown in the patio, garden or orchard. The gallinas criollas are usually smaller than mass-grown farm hens and the meat is darker and much more delicious. What terms are used in your neck of the woods for gallina criolla?

Bon appetite!

I found this recipe at Revista Amiga. Can anybody help with the translation?

Caldo de gallina criolla

Rinde 6 porciones
Ingredientes
2 litros de agua hirviendo
1 gallina de 3 libras
2 chiles pimiento
2 cebollas
5 tomates
5 papas
1 zanahoria
1 güisquil
1 cucharadita de aceite
1 manojo de hierbabuena
1 manojo de cebollín
sal al gusto
polvo de consomé al gusto

Preparación
En una olla grande cueza la gallina en el agua hirviendo, sazónela con sal y consomé al gusto, añada el tomate y la cebolla picados.
Corte las verduras en pequeños trozos y saltéelas en una sartén con el aceite. Añádalos al caldo y cueza por 45 minutos. Pique la hierbabuena y el cebollín, incorpórelos al caldo, retire la preparación del fuego y sirva.

On sundays there is a restaurant open on the top of the mountain within Finca Filadelfia. The food is delicious, and the majestic view will captivate you for hours. If you haven’t taken the time to visit this restaurant you need to schedule it for this sunday! Your life isn’t complete until you’ve visited this restaurant. All the food is wood fire cooked, and tastes as fresh as if you grew it yourself. The ride up and down is bumpy, but worth it. I wish we could go there everyday, it is that breathtaking.

text and photo by Zach Olson.

About Guest Contributor: Zach Olson is a Photographer from the Dallas Texas area. He enjoys shooting all types of photography, capturing a single moment that explains and entire event or emotion.

I can’t believe it has taken me over 5 years to share with you a plate of carne adobada. Shame on me. Although, I believe I’ve shown carne adobada before with other meats at a charbroiler.

Carne adobada is basically adobo marinated pork loin. The adobo marinate includes achiote, garlic, oregano, thyme, a little bit of vinegar, and pepper as shared with us by Joanne a while back. I am sure there other ingredients that can be included in the adobo marinate, but I don’t know what they are.

Can anybody share a adobo marinate recipe with the rest of us?

Tortitas de carne, beef patties, are a classic staple of the Guatemalan gastronomy. They are usually served with a simple tomato sauce on top of the patties with rice and salad. In the picture above, the sauce is actually the pepián recado (sauce or curry).

Does anyone have the recipe for this succulent Guatemalan dish?

Las tortitas de carne son una parte integral de la gastronomía guatemalteca. Normalmente, las tortitas son servidas con salsa de tomate encima, con arroz y ensalada. En este caso llevan el recado del pepián.

¿Quien nos puede pasar la receta de las tortitas de carne?

Guatemalan gastronomy is so rich with stews. If the stews are watery we call them caldos and if the stews are thick we call them recados. In Guatemala we have plenty of caldos and recados and sometimes is difficult to decide whether a stew is a caldo or a recado. Take Kak’Ik for instance, which is caldo that looks like a recado.

The picture above is from the three-meat Subanik from Cocina del Obispo located at the entrance of San Juan del Obispo. Cocina del Obispo is a great place to try out all the different Guatemala stews and typical dishes. Cocina del Obispo is a traditional house that is converted into a restaurant on the weekends, therefore all the dining tables are spread between garden, patios and dining room.

Anyway, henceforward we declare Guatemala as the Ultimate Stew Country!

How many other Guatemalan stews can you name besides pepian, tapado, subanik, pulique, hilachas, jocón, kak’ik, caldo de gallina, caldo de res, gallo en chicha, tiras de panza, pollo en crema, pollo a la cerveza, carne guisada, revolcado, caldo de mariscos, etc.?

How many of these stews have you tried?

Guatemala is a country with lots of stews. Let’s call Guatemala, Stew country!

Just yesterday Arturo Godoy was sharing with us the photos he took at La Cocina del Obispo, which included a not too tempting shot of Subanik. Since I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about one of the most important dishes in the Guatemalan gastronomy, I decided to immediately share with you another version of Subanik.

Subanik, also known as “God’s meal”, is the perfect bowl of hot reddish-orange broth according to Cia from Writing With My Mouthfull. Subanik is a ceremonial dish of the Kaqchiquel Maya of Guatemala. It is traditionally steamed in a nest of about 6 to 8 large mashan leaves tied at the top with cibaque, or decorative rope according information shared by Brigid Schulte for The Washington Post.

Luckily for us, both articles include recipes in English to prepare Subanik in the United States, both articles also include recommendations for substituting ingredients not available in the U.S. and Canada.

Without further ado, here are the recipes for Subanik in English:

• Subanik: 8 servings, this recipe includes nutrition facts. This Subanik recipe is adapted from a recipe of the Antigua Cooking School in Antigua, Guatemala.
• Subanik: Guatemalan stew recipe adapted from Ezekiel, the chef for La Lancha, a retreat in Lake Petén Itza.

Please, let me know if you try cooking Subanik at home from these recipes?

La Cocina del Obispo Restaurant is located in San Juan del Obispo, perhaps a 10 minute drive from La Antigua Guatemala. The restaurant is family owned and opens only on the weekends. You’d be amazed on the variety of food.

Anyway, this time I went with Lomi Kriel and Norman Ávila. Rudy was supposed to join us, but he cancelled. Lomi had the Pepián, which by the way they even have been awarded a first prize for the best Pepián in Antigua Guatemala! Norman had a Churrasco chapín (Guatemalan barbecue grill) and I had Subanik; a classic dish from Las Verapaces. All food is fabulous there; the prices are excellent and the atmosphere is just amazing. I wish Rudy would have been there, he is a far better food photographer than I am; anyway, here is my attempt at joining the food photos with a portrait of each of my friends

The conversations were just great, we even talked about gadgets, geeks, history, and even beer

A bit later on, I’ll tell you about the other times I have been there. I just have to look up the photos in my external hard drives.

text and photos by Arturo Godoy.

Pollo en crema has to among top ten typical dishes of Guatemala. Pollo en crema also shows best the syncretism in the Guatemalan gastronomy. Pollo en crema can sometimes come with loroco or mushrooms along the potato and güisquil wedges. Pollo en crema is basically chicken covered with a rich cream sauce.

Can anybody help with the recipe for Pollo en crema?

Believe it or not, we also have tacos in Guatemala. Guatemalan tacos, however, do not resemble Mexican tacos at all. Guatemalan tacos are normally deep-fried and have potato or meat filling. Guatemalan tacos are normally served with steamed cabbage, tomato sauce and chile sauce; other times they might come topped with Guacamol (avocado sauce), chopped parsley and grated cheese.

The tacos above are from Tacos y Refrescos El Portalito, a classic taco joint from Antigua Guatemala with several decades of existence.

Have you ever had Guatemalan tacos?

Terracota ceramic dish ware, typical food, tortillas in basket are the typical vistas from the Guatemalan comedores (diners). In the picture above you can appreciate Pepián de gallina (Hen’s pepian) and Pollo en crema (chicken with cream sauce) along tamarindo (tamarind) drinks and tortillas; everything for Q30/$3.75. Arturo and I declared: Guatemalan diners FTW!

Fried fish is another popular dish in Guatemala. The fried fish presentation above can be found just about anywhere in Guatemala. Normally the fish is fried as one piece previously cleaned. The fish in the picture above is red snapper weighing over a pound. The entire meal was about $10.

The kind of fish most often used as fried fish are mojarras (tilapia), pargo (red snapper), and trucha (trout).

Fish and sea food is quite popular in Guatemala since we are lucky to have access to the Atlantic and Pacific ocean within 10-hour driving time. Literally, you can wake up the sunrise in the Atlantic Ocean take a swim and drive to the Pacific Ocean to watch the sunset and while sipping a very cold Moza beer.

Have you ever had fried fish served in the presentation above?

Here’s another version of the classic Guatemalan parrillada which is basically a charcoal-grilled meat sampler. This version includes chicken, sirloin steak, sausage, pork chop [not in the picture], rice, beans, corn on the cob, chirmol (Guatemalan tomato sauce), and guacamol (avocado sauce).

Guatemalans often order a parrillada as lunch or dinner during the weekends getaways or outings with the family or friends. Another way to have a parrillada is to have a weekend or holiday chuparrasco.

If you follow the white rabbit (all the links above) you can easily realized that Guatemalans really love charcoal-grilled meats. If you still don’t believe, follow the links below.

• Guatemalan Cuisine: Carne Adobada, Longanizas, Viuda
• Charcoal-grilled meats at Tanque de la Unión
• Guatemalan Cuisine: Tortillas con Carne
• Guatemalan Cuisine: Longanizas
• Guatemalan Cuisine: Parrillada Guatemalateca

Who wants to share their chirmol recipe with us?

I have to admit not all Guatemalan dishes have good aspect. Two such dishes come to mind right away: Mole and Patitas a la vinagreta (Pickled muscles and lower legs). Then again, the actual McDonald’s hamburger does not have good aspect either [see photos of food for a dollar]. However, Guatemalan meals with poor aspect make it up in flavor. How can you go wrong with fried plantains covered with chocolate-based sauce dessert. Same for the patitas envinagradas. Sadly, I don’t know how to prepare patitas a la vinagreta. Can anybody help with a recipe or preparation tips?