Here we have the Peruvian guinea pig. Take a look at this to start with, it's huge, see the size. Here we go, let's start with the real deal, a bit of crispy skin, let's see how it tastes. Good morning, afternoon, or evening. I hope you're doing great. Friends, today we have a very interesting video, but before we begin, I have a question for you. Do you know about the guinea pig, cavy, or cuy? I don't know why this animal has so many names, but it turns out that this adorable creature that many of us have had as pets, I don't know if you have, but I have, is, in fact, the quintessential dish of Peruvians. Being here, walking around the streets for several days now, I have noticed that this is not just an ordinary dish, so today's mission is to find a restaurant that will prepare a guinea pig for us, which won't be very difficult because I've been finding it sold everywhere in various preparations. And can you imagine that the guinea pig is so important here in Peru that there is a national guinea pig day, which is today, the day this video is being recorded. So, with that said, join me in the search for the Peruvian guinea pig. Friends, as I said, it wasn't too difficult to find a restaurant that sells guinea pig, we are in Cusco, and I have to tell you several things before we begin. Firstly, I want to thank this restaurant called Nuna Raimi, which was highly recommended to me here in Cusco to try the guinea pig. Secondly, we have to approach this with respect and an open mind, just like when we were in India and Thailand trying a variety of dishes, this might seem very different to us, but we have to remember that it's quite normal here in Peru, it's like eating chicken or beef; imagine eating beef in India, they would have immediately sent us to hell. So, we simply need to remember that it's purely cultural, and we must approach it with respect. In addition to allowing us into the restaurant, they will show us the entire process of preparing the guinea pig, here we have Gilmar who will be accompanying us, we'll be making a list, thank you very much indeed. Now we are completely ready, and I must tell you that at this restaurant we arrived at, they make an effort to preserve Andean traditions, different dishes and preparations are made as they were many years ago, the consumption of guinea pig is not something new, it has been practiced for many years, the Incas and their ancestors, the only source of protein they had was the guinea pig, and it was also easy to raise in the Andes and mountains and all these areas, there were no cows, pigs, or chickens, no protein that we know now, so this is an ancestral tradition, you could call it that, the lemon they are putting there is to soften the guinea pig's skin, to make it crispy when biting into it. Here we have salt, cumin, and pepper, and that plant is called "guacatay," it has a scent similar to mint, I believe. Now, see how they put all the ingredients on this stone, and it will be made into a paste, but it's done in the ancient style, they will grind it with another stone over there, until it becomes a paste for the guinea pig's preparation. This paste they have there, that's how it turned out after grinding, and that's how the guinea pig is prepared. Oh, it's stuffed, the paste is put inside, see how interesting, I wasn't expecting that. They put the paste all over it, see, to keep the guinea pig big so it won't flatten in the oven, it's filled with potatoes, so now the guinea pig is nicely stuffed, as you can see there. Now, friends, there's another very important point, I don't know if you've noticed, maybe you can get an idea here. This guinea pig is enormous, it's different from the guinea pigs I had as pets, this one is much bigger, and it turns out that here in Peru, as I've been telling you, it's completely normal to find guinea pig breeders. There are producers of this animal, just like there are producers of chicken and livestock, here in Peru, we have guinea pig producers. This next step is the final one, the guinea pig is put into the oven, and how long does it stay there? 45 minutes. If you leave it in the oven for 45 minutes, it will be a wait then, waiting to fill your belly. Oh well, as I was saying, here in Peru, there are cuy producers. But they are also divided between industrial producers, I imagine, those who mass-produce them, and artisanal producers. And there are more producers who keep cuys at home, raising them in a traditional way, and all these processes. It turns out that this restaurant, and this is not paid advertising, I swear, recommended it to me, and highly recommended. This restaurant works with that type of producers, and as you saw just now, they prepare the cuy on the spot. Because they were telling me that there's also the possibility of having it precooked, already partly prepared to speed up the cooking process, but it will never taste the same as a dish that's just reheated. Here, they prepare it from scratch, so one disadvantage is that you have to wait about an hour when you order the dish, but every minute will be worth it, I'm sure of that. As I said, we still have plenty of time, so Gilmar told me, "Why not try an Andean experience while we wait?" So, we're going to try Uchukuta, which is a mix of different Andean spices, prepared right here on this stone, like an appetizer while we wait for the cuy. Listen to that! Right now, this mix includes aguacatay, a special kind of corn, which is crispy in Peru (maíz chulpi), chili, and they're adding cheese. Here, the pasta is ready; in fact, this is a real stone, it's so heavy, this is the pasta that's left. Look at how exclusive this is! We're going to try a potato that's only harvested once a year here in Cusco. Enjoy! Thanks, Gilmar! Let's see how this appetizer tastes. Friends, flavors that my taste buds had never experienced before in my life. This is delicious! This mix of Andean spices that Gilmar told me about is excellent, especially with the cheese. I can't describe it; all I can say is that it's slightly salty. Well, it turns out that this is becoming a whole culinary experience. They ask me what I want, and I just say yes to everything because they're truly bringing me things I've never seen or tasted before. Now they've brought me a chicha experience. Here we have the famous purple chicha, which you can find all over Peru. It's made from purple corn, see how interesting it looks? It's completely purple. This one doesn't have alcohol and you can find it everywhere. People love it here in this country, and for a good reason, it's delicious. It's refreshing, like drinking juice. But be careful with the next ones. These two we have here, they will make us speak in tongues, my friends. These are fermented chichas, made from different types of corn, so let's try this one first, which has a bit of pineapple to reduce the bitterness. Too dangerous! This is way too dangerous. Now let's try this one, which has strawberries, even some strawberries in it. This one we're going to try, has different fruits mixed with chicha, they call it "chicha frutillada," if I'm not mistaken. Delicious! They're all sweet and refreshing, and you can't taste the alcohol in them. These are drinks to be careful with. Friends, now the moment has finally come. Please pay attention to what we have on this table. Here is the Peruvian cuy. Look at how it looks! First of all, it's huge. Take a look at the size. It smells delicious, really good. It comes with plenty of Andean potatoes, gratinated cheese, and a sweet and sour sauce. Gilmar told me that we need to prepare it, it's not meant to be eaten as is. What should we do first, Gilmar? We ignite the head, but, in fact, look at the little head of the cuy. That's where I think of my pet and feel bad, so I better move it aside and not look at it. Now, they're going to cut it into pieces, see how interesting it is? And why, Gilmar, because it has many little bones? That's right, because roasted cuy is actually meant to be eaten with your hands, so today you're going to taste it with your hands. Therefore, to make it easier to eat, we're going to cut it into four pieces. Also, while this delicacy is being prepared, I must tell you that this is not something that's always eaten and it's not cheap, really the guinea pig takes about six to eight months before the producer can sell it, so imagine, they have to feed the animal, give it its medicines, maintain it for eight months, that has a cost, that's why the price of guinea pig meat is high plus in the past, guinea pig was consumed during celebrations, basically when the Incas finished planting corn, when they harvested it's said that they celebrated by eating guinea pig, so here in Peru, related to the price and the tradition, guinea pig is eaten when there's a graduation celebration or when there's a party special, important, because it's expensive, as I said. Now, the moment has come, here we have the guinea pig cut into four for easier eating, because from what I'm told, it has a lot, a lot of tiny bones, so let's dive in, there's nothing left but to try the guinea pig, my friends, here it goes, we will start with the posta, a bit of crispy skin, let's see how it is. What can I say about the guinea pig? It's a flavor I had never tasted in my life, it's not so that it had this flavor, I'm finding that it's an animal that has really little fat, in fact the guinea pig, even though it's related to various rodents, it's related to rats, you may have noticed the similarity, the guinea pig as I understand is healthy for humans, because it has a lot of protein and little fat, I'll see if I can find something to compare the taste of this meat to. No, my friends, no, it's just that I definitely can't compare the taste of guinea pig to anything, it did, however, take on the flavor of the paste they made for it earlier, that's true, I can taste that clearly, but other than that, it's a flavor I had never tasted before, I can't describe it to you, I'm even tasting the hide, I'm tasting the toasted skin, like it were fried chicken, but I can't find anything to compare it to, it's unique, the flavor of guinea pig is unique, if there are Peruvians here, they'll confirm in the comments, but it's unique, here's a guinea pig thigh look how it looks, it looks like a frog's thigh, we're going to dip it in this special sauce that they brought us here, Andean sauces, which are honestly good, besides the dish comes with cheese au gratin, Cusco cheese, which I read is one of the best cheeses in Peru, made here in Cusco and they weren't lying, it's very good, and it comes with a bunch of different types of potatoes from the area to accompany, something funny is that they don't call it guinea pig, but they always refer to it as "little cuicito," -your little cuicito is coming, And also, the guinea pig can be prepared in many different ways, some people bake it, which I was told is one of the most delicious ways to prepare it, it's also done on a grill, skewered and turned over the fire, and I don't know in what other multitude of ways they prepare it here in Peru, but now here's my opinion on guinea pig, to start with it has a unique flavor, as I said I can't describe it, it's something that you probably try and either love it or not, because it's a unique taste, the texture is similar to that of chicken, the truth is that the meat is very, very similar to that of chicken, it tastes good and is worth trying for the experience, but I've even heard here in Peru that there are those who prefer guinea pig above everything else, even over rotisserie chicken, and rotisserie chicken is a big deal here in Peru, so this raises some questions that only can be answered by you, my friends, the first is whether guinea pig is eaten throughout Peru or only in certain areas such as Puno, Cusco, and maybe Lima, so I don't know if it's eaten throughout Peru or only in certain areas and the second is what do you think of guinea pig, how much do you like it, is it your favorite dish, leave everything in the comments, I was recommended here in the restaurant that guinea pig should be eaten with your hands, because as I said it has so many little bones that sometimes people, well mainly tourists obviously not a Peruvian, tourists come and they try to eat it with a fork and knife and get nothing, because if you notice, all the meat is completely attached to the bones, if you do not eat it this way you basically can only eat the organs and now after the guinea pig watch what they're bringing us, they're bringing us a drink called Matacuy, I don't know if you can see it there, it's a drink that is made with distilled cane, they call it cañazo here and they add like 12 botanicals, they are like 12 plants that help digestion that are said to re-kill the guinea pig, once in the stomach to aid digestion, a Matacuy, the Matacuy is strong, two of these and I'll be speaking Peruvian, fluid here with an accent and all, it tastes like anise Well my friends, so finally here ends today's video, I really want to give a special thanks to this restaurant Nuna Raymi in Cusco, highly recommended, they received me here without knowing me, they let me enter the kitchen, they kindly explained the whole process of the guinea pig, the history and also it's a restaurant that goes beyond simply selling food, it supports all local producers, helps to preserve the culture, a bunch of super interesting things they told me around here, so they're really great, if you're watching this video, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and also it was very interesting to have tried guinea pig, a dish that as I said is very common here in Peru, although we might find it a little strange, we have to understand that it is something purely cultural, here it's like eating chicken and it's actually pretty good, good experience, I hope you enjoyed this video as much as I did, don't forget to subscribe, share it if you liked it and I'll see you in the next video, pura vida and kisses from someone who today felt like he ate a pet.
