This week I am going to invite you to join me in the wonderful world of steamed corn based snacks known as 'tamales'. As with empanadas these come in a variety of shapes, sizes and flavours throughout South America, but the basic premise remains the same. A corn based dough encases some combination of meat, cheese, eggs, rice or vegetables and creates something I believe to be truly magical!
My first authentic encounter with one of these South American staples was in northern Argentina in Jujuy and it was the start of a difficult love affair with which I struggled pretty much until I reached Colombia. Fundamentally my problem lay in the fact that my first taste of this little treat was just too good! Riv and I were wandering around a fairly deserted Jujuy township (it being a Sunday there wasn't a whole lot going on) when we stumbled across a woman with that ever familiar and oddly inviting polystyrene box that as a traveller around South America (or indeed Asia) you know is likely to be filled with some form of street food treat! We wandered over and enquired about the contents, at which point she opened it to reveal a selection of tennis ball sized corn husk wrapped parcels which smelled incredible. With absolutely no idea whatsoever about what lay inside this parcel (our Spanish was still pretty weak at this point) we agreed to buy one and see! What a wonderful and dreamy decision this was! Unfortunately for Riv, after unwrapping the husk and breaking open the thin corn dough exterior, the centre revealed an amazing concoction of meat, potatoes and onions...no sharing this time! It was delicious! Hands down the best thing I had eaten in South America up to that point! There was a very subtle sweetness from the corn dough which was perfectly balanced by the rich saltiness of the meat and then all brought together by the small chunks of perfectly cooked potato. It was honestly a tennis ball sized chunk of foodie heaven! This was it, I had found it, my South American street treat!! Most regions/countries/continents we had visited up until this stage had had them and now, just two weeks into our trip I had found South America's answer! According to my Google research that night these could be found all over the continent and came in a variety of different shapes, sizes and forms...much like the empanada! I was set...or so I thought! As I said earlier, this was in fact the start of a long and complicated relationship. Having discovered these wonderful street treats I then spent the weeks and months following attempting to find them again! Turns out they seemed to be frustrating elusive elsewhere in the continent. Argentina failed to provide anymore for the rest of our stay, Chile never presented any at all and neither did Brazil or Bolivia! I was starting to wonder if I had in fact imagined tamales altogether, based on some deep-seated psychological desire for corn based steamed meat snacks...!! Then, finally, when I least expected, when I had all but given up hope, I found them again in Perú...well sort of! I saw 'tamales con pollo' on a menu in a restaurant in Lima and immediately jumped at the chance to try them again! Oh boy was I disappointed!! I was served a soggy mush of corn meal with a piece of chicken in the centre roughly the size of a penny! This was not the tamale that I had remembered! I was not happy! Onwards to Ecuador and my faith in the existence and tastiness of tamales was restored. Suddenly those ever enticing polystyrene boxes once again presented with tamalified goodness and they were meaty and delicious!! I basically ate my way through Ecuador's annual supply of these at every stop we made for fear that once again they would disappear into an imagined nothingness! My fears proved to be completely unfounded as our arrival in Colombia revealed the biggest, best and tastiest tamales so far! No longer was I happily munching on a tennis ball sized snack, but rather feasting on banana leaf wrapped delight more comparible to the size of an average book! I had finally re-located the dragon, after months of fruitless (cornless) chasing and it was even better than I had remembered!! Viva Colombia for bringing the tamale back into my life...stomach! Lesson to be learned here, if you want a good tamale and you want to find it easily in South America your top location should be Colombia...and I highly highly highly recommend it!!
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Follow us on Instagram or send us a messageAbout Foodie FridaysWe love food, as most people do! And when we are on the road this doesn't change. We, like many people, believe that food is one of the best ways to really get to know a culture and it's people, as so much about the way people live their lives around the world is centred around food. This means that when we travel we actively seek out the local foods and delicacies. Sometimes that comes in the form of unusual and exotic produce from markets and sometimes from street food vendors serving an array of barbecued, fried, steamed or entirely indistinguishable goodies. Having tried and tested these goodies for some time now, on our adventures around Asia, Europe, North and South America we have discovered some pretty wonderful treats that we have decided should earn a bit of publicity. So, as the working week drifts away and the weekend winks at you like a naughty temptress we will share with you one of the delights that we have encountered from around the world! We hope you enjoy reading about these as much as we enjoyed eating them! Archives
October 2017
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