Pan con chicharrón, tamal, adobo: breakfast in Peru

Pan con chicharrón, and the other sánguches

According to Wikipedia, pan con chicharrón is a Lima street sandwich eaten mainly at breakfast: pork chicharrón (slices of belly cooked and then browned in their own fat), fried sweet potato and a salsa criolla (red onion, lime, chilli) in a pan francés, Lima’s small crusty roll. Peru even devotes a national day to it, the second Sunday in September.

The other morning sánguches, in the sangucherías:

• Butifarra: “jamón del país”, a Peruvian-style cooked pork ham, with lettuce and salsa criolla.
• Pavo: sliced roast turkey.
• Lomito: pork loin, sometimes smoked.
• Sánguche de rellena: black pudding, especially in northern cooking.

Pan con palta: the simple pleasure of bread with avocado

In Peru, avocado is called palta (see the glossary). Pan con palta is a small roll filled with sliced or mashed avocado, with a little salt to taste. A very simple preparation, where the crusty bread and the ripe avocado do most of the work.

With a coffee, a tea or an herbal infusion, it is perfect for those who prefer to start the day with a meat-free breakfast. To order it, simply ask for “un pan con palta”. If you avoid all animal products, ask what the bread and the filling are made of: some places add butter, mayonnaise or cheese.

Tamal, humita and the rest

• Tamal: a dough of ground, seasoned corn, filled with hen or pork, cooked in a leaf, according to PROMPERÚ. In Lima, it is sold in the morning with a salsa criolla. Tamal verde is flavoured with coriander; tamal de mote is made with hulled corn.
• Humita: a dough of tender corn cooked in the husk, savoury or sweet, mainly in the Andes.
• Bread: pan francés in Lima; in the Andes, regional breads such as chapla, or pan chuta from Oropesa, near Cusco, mentioned by El Comercio.

Mornings, from one region to another

• Lima: pan con chicharrón, butifarra, tamal, café pasado; fresh fruit juices at the market stalls.
• Piura and the north: hot, hearty dishes from the morning on. The breakfast menu at Chulucanas Lima, a restaurant serving Piura cooking, offers patasca (corn soup), frito, liver with onions, tamal de mote and sánguches de rellena.
• Arequipa: on Sunday mornings, adobo, pork marinated in chicha de guiñapo, spices and chilli, served with bread. The picantería La Nueva Palomino serves it from 7:30 to 10:30.
• Andes: patasca and other hot soups, humita, and emoliente, a hot drink of barley and herbs drunk in the morning on the street corner, according to Wikipedia.
• Amazon: tacacho con cecina, a ball of roasted, mashed plantain with dried, smoked pork, is eaten mainly at breakfast, according to Wikipedia. See the recipe.

Counter, table or takeaway

Opening hours matter. Sangucherías often open early: El Chinito’s branches, between 7:00 and 8:00 depending on the branch. Many restaurants only open at midday: Panchita, La Mar, Chulucanas. Isolina serves breakfast at weekends only, from 9:00 to 11:00.

Morning drinks

Café pasado is a concentrated drip-filtered coffee, topped up with hot water; it is served in the sangucherías. Juices of papaya, pineapple, orange or “surtido” (mixed) are made in front of you; ask for them without ice and with little sugar. Emoliente is drunk hot, from the cart. See drinks.

Three breakfasts, and the same sandwich on four menus

The calculations below use the prices published by each establishment; the table that follows compares pan con chicharrón on four menus. A counter sánguche and a sandwich in a Miraflores restaurant are not alike in portion or setting: compare the format before the price.

El Chinito and La Lucha are two Lima sangucherías; only the first publishes its menu and prices. Their pages: El Chinito and La Lucha.