Ecuadorians, especially those living in the Andean mountain region take their cuy - aka guinea pig - very seriously. It is a delicacy which is reserved for only the most special of occasions and guests.
You can order cuy in select restaurants in Ecuador but to have a 'real' cuy dinner you have to either find some indigenous women cooking cuy at a street festival or make it at home. If you decide to try this at home.. be sure to only buy young cuy raised in the kitchen of an indigenous home. We've been told this is the only way to insure the best flavor.
Before we left Cuenca Glorita (our Spanish teacher) wanted to celebrate our friendship and share this Andean tradition with us. She enlisted the help of her sister Nancy and together they set about preparing the feast. The day before they prepared a garlic brine in which to soak the cuy for 24 hours. Next they made mote (one of the 5,000 ways to eat corn here), potatoes, salad, aji (an ubiquitous and great tasting pepper sauce) and of course, popcorn (yet another of the 5,000 ways they eat corn).
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| Perfectly marinated and looking oh-so yummy...Not! |
When we arrived Glorita and Nancy were already grilling the cuy and Patti (reluctantly) jumped right in to help. I, on the other hand bravely ate the cuy pata (paw) a delicacy that was handed to me to sample. How could I pass up an opportunity like that! I may never have another chance to try a home-cooked garlic-soaked guinea pig paw...
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| Glorita |
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| Nancy |
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| Patas anyone? |
Soon enough the cuyes were cooked to perfection. Truth be told, neither of us were running to the table to be the first served but we could put it off no longer. It was time to block out the visuals and eat cuy. Much to our surprise and immense relief it was good, as in really good. Patti managed to eat the skin (I happily gave mine to Nancy...) but I ate the jaw. Hey, if I can eat fish eyes (thanks to Christine) I figured I could eat guinea pig jaw too.
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| Okay, here goes... |
In true Cuencanan fashion there was more yet to come. After dinner Glorita's husband Adrian brought out his guitar (all five of them) and everyone but us... played the guitar and sang. We will truly miss our Ecuadorian family.
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| Las Primas ~ Andrea y Estefanía |
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| Fabian |
¡Gracias por todo!
I think you've been away too long (and the guinea pig has affected your brain) because at least one of those "guitars" sure looked like an ukulele to me. :-) I still haven't been able to eat a fish eye and would only be able to eat meat which had been cut from the guinea pig for me (I can't even handle chicken legs or wings). I'm glad to hear that they aren't everyday food, but are only for special occasions. Thank you for letting me in on your experience.
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