Food 137centolla (king crab), salmon, machas (clams), locos (abalone),
lenguado (flounder), merluza (hake), pejerrey (smelt), mero
(Chilean sea bass), trucha (trout), congrio (conger eel), corvina
(white corvina), ostras (oysters) and ostiones (scallopes) just
to name a few.
You can order your fish fillet a la plancha (grilled), frito
(fried) or poché (poached) and if you like, it can be served
with a sauce, such as margarita (a creamy sauce with crab
and shrimps), alcaparra (caper sauce), salsa verde (hot pepper
and parsley based) or a la mantequilla (with melted butter).
Seafood is served in soups and stew, in salads, paella (a
Spanish rice dish), chupe (a casserole), on the grill or raw.
Ceviche, raw seafood ‘cooked’ with lots of lemon juice,
originated in Peru and is now popular in Chile. Another
very popular dish is locos or abalone. Selling abalone out
of season is illegal in Chile. The government has recently
relaxed the restrictions as the population is making a
comeback. Regardless, you might surreptitiously be offered
some locos by a waiter.
Other Chilean novelties include erizos and picorocos.
Erizos have a strong iodine flavour and are an acquired
taste. Picorocos live in tube-like shells clustered together in
colonies that resemble a rock. Their beaks stick out from
the tubes. The Chilean way of eating them is to grab the
beak, pull it out and swallow it raw. This delicacy is truly
for the adventurous.
Beef
For a country that has such a long coastline, it is interesting
that beef remains so popular. It is generally of good quality,
but most Chileans admit that Argentinean beef is superior.
There are a number of restaurants in Chile that serve only
parrilladas. A parrillada is a small barbeque brought to your
table overflowing with assorted cuts of beef and sausages.
Some foreigners are shocked by parrillada, which can include
almost every part of the beast, including intestines, stomachs,
hearts and other tasty treats. They also include typical
Chilean blood sausages, prietas. The name comes from the
Portuguese word preta which means black. If these are not