Guatemalan Cuisine: The Kak’ik
Your comments and feedback are very important and often show me the way for future posts or follow ups. Such was the …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Tostadas de Guacamol
These two tostadas de guacamol (avocado sauce tostadas) are for my very good epistolary friends Carmencita and Manolo who decided to follow …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Atolillo
I am sure many Guatemalans have not had atolillo yet! If you have had atolillo before, please come forward. Atolillo is made …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Atol de Habas and Dobladas
Sorry MO, you were cheated out of the morning refacción! 🙁 For those worry about being served your atol in styrofoam cups …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Atol de platano
One of the benefits of having a Banana Republic (not the clothing store, but the real thing!) is the tremendous amount of …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Atol de arroz con chocolate
With the first rains comes the sompopo de mayo (May’s giant flying ant), and the sweet atoles become available at your nearest …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Mixtas
Guatemalan mixtas (mixed) are basically hot dogs which come with tortillas instead of a bun. Simple and great tasting. There are other …
Guatemalan Cuisine: La Enchilada
If tostadas had a kingdom, La Enchilada would be the queen of the tostadas. Good, you say, I’m glad to know, but …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Atol Blanco, Anyone?
Atol blanco is one of the most emblematic drinks of the Guatemalan Cuisine. Very few meals or drinks can define or identify …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Rellenitos
Rellenitos (little fillings) is the name given to a food made from plantain dough which molded into a semi-round shaped and filled (thus the name) with a black beans sauce or stuffed with manjar (custard). It is a sweet meal and normally eaten as junk food or as dessert. It is one of my favorite Guatemalan desserts and I am sure I am not the only one with a soft spot for this kind of meal. Check out this close-up shot of rellenitos to see the black bean sauce filling.
Guatemalan Cuisine: Rice and Beans
It was the Garífunas, the black Guatemalans living in the Caribbean shores of Lívingston and Puerto Barrios, Izabal, who made an exquisite meal from rice, beans, coconut milk, tomatoes and herbs. Garífunas called it Rice and Beans; yes, in English. This meal has several variations and names in the different Caribbean communities. For instance in Cuba, Rice and Beansdish is known as Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians).
Guatemalan Cuisine: Tapado
The tapado (covered) dish comes from the Guatemalan Caribbean region of Lívingston, in the department of Izabal. Lívingston’s population is made up by Black Guatemalans known as Garífunas, Q’eqchi’ Maya and Mestizos (mixed) and it’s precisely this mixture that is necessary to create such a delicacy. If you are in La Antigua Guatemala, you can only find this dish at El Pelícano Dorado (I think). According to Guy, the ceviche connoisseur, you can also find a great ceviche at El Pelícano Dorado.
Guatemalan Cuisine: Typical Guatemalan Breakfast
Many of the ingredients present in the Guatemalan Kitchen Colors are necessary for the red and green sauces you see here. In the picture above, we can see another version of the typical Guatemalan breakfast, this one from Fernando’s Kaffee.
Guatemalan Cuisine: Revolcado de Panza
Traditional Guatemalan cuisine refuses to be phased out in favor of international fast food like hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs and chinese food. Even though foreign fast food is convenient, it lacks the complexity in flavors that Guatemalan dishes have. Even a simple dish like Revolcado de Panza, a sort of tomato-based curry with spices and cow’s underbelly brings forth an avalanche of flavors, textures and feelings to the taste buds.
Traditional Guatemalan dishes take a long time to be prepared, sometimes even weeks like the Fiambre (a cold-cuts salad), so they can not compete with fast food junk food in the time of preparation. But who says they have to be prepared the moment you show up to order it? That is fine for sandwiches, but Guatemalan traditional meals are sold by having a ready-made buffet where one can go and just order portions.
Guatemalan Cuisine Sampler
Nowhere is Guatemala’s syncretism more evident than in its food. Here you have a sampler of what is considered authentic traditional Guatemalan …