136 CultureShock! Bolivia
and sometimes caulifl ower, sautéed in oil and then boiled
in vinegar.
Sajta de pollo is standard home cooking and a mainstay
of family restaurants. The sauce that smothers the cooked
chicken is comprised of ground yellow ají, chopped onion
and parsley, peas, cumin, garlic and salt. Accompanying
the chicken is boiled potato and tunta (dried white potato)
or rice, topped with a sarsa (a salad of fi nely diced tomato,
onion and green locoto).Vegetarian
Plato Paceño dates back to before the Spanish conquest, with
slices of white farmers’ cheese a post-conquest addition. It
consists of chewy white corn on the cob (called choclo), fava
beans in their pods and potatoes. Half the fun of eating this
dish involves the use of hands, peeling off the bean pods and
picking out large ears of corn. The kicker is the hot sauce,
with locoto ají, red tomato and quirquiña.Vegetarian Delights
The vegetarian restaurant at Hotel Gloria in La Paz, a favourite of
locals and foreigners alike, uses tofu to imitate meat dishes.Beef
Saice is most fashionable for lunch menus. Beef is cut in little
chunks and cooked in red ají sauce with chopped tomatoes
and onions, peas and cumin. Potato and rice or chuño are
served on the side of the same plate, with a garnish of fi nely
sliced tomatoes and onions.
Charcoal steaks are popular in restaurants called rodizios
accompanied with various other kinds of meats al carbón
including sausage and innards, salad and fried potatoes.Pork
If you don’t have a cast iron stomach, you might wish to
avoid these delicious pork dishes unless the healthy origin
of the animal is documented.