Flavor in Chile: Si, se puede!

Whoever named the chili pepper was definitely not making any reference to Chile, despite the fact that in certain languages the two words are spelled the same.

A week or two ago, I was cooking for friends, as I love to do. I was making a large stir fry that I knew would turn out spicy. Nearly everything that I cook turns out spicy--I spent three years cooking with a man who isn't happy unless he's sweating and turning colors. Ergo, my estimation of "quite spicy" is on par with most people's "inedible." My "spicy" is "on the edge of tolerance," to quote a friend.

One of my roommates, a chileno, hates spicy food. This is very much the norm: in fact, if you are living in this country, you may have read that sentence as redundant. Of course this is not the case with everyone, as I have at least two chileno friends who love spice, but otherwise it's pretty much the rule.

While cooking, I decided that I would make the sauce on the side in a special gesture in order to include my roommate. Just before the stirfry was finished, I took out vegetables for him and sent him a nice plate with rice via our third roommate. She told me later that when he received it, he made a face.

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's ginger in this. It's spicy," he said, wrinkling his nose.

Yes, my roommate is not the nicest of people. Moving on, though: ginger is spicy.

I won't blame you if you're wondering how on earth one can eat normally in a place where that sounds reasonable. It's been a struggle for me, as I've documented in this blog. While living with a family chilena, I felt as if I would die from carb and meat overload (hence my current vegetarian status). Nonetheless, I've found that it is completely possible to live a happy, healthy, flavorful life in Chile. To start, here is a nice dinner that you can easily make with ingredients from Lider (an average supermarket here):

Appetizer: Tomato Garlic Soup (gracias a C. Martinez)

Ingredients:
1 can tomates pelados (size depending on people invited)
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 bay leaves
small handfull of fresh basil
Aji sauce from the jar, to taste
Boiling water

Directions:
In a small saucepan, saute the tomatoes for a few minutes, and add about a cup of water. Stir in the garlic, the bay leaves, the basil, and the aji. Cook until with water boils off, and then add more. Repeat for approximately 45 minutes.

Side Dish: Potatoes and Carrots in Honey Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:
Potatoes and carrots, to fit size of group, sliced thin and diced into small pieces
a few tablespoons of oil
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup honey
a few tablespoons of soy sauce
2-ish tablespoons of white wine vinegar
1 of those mini limes, juiced
Cornstarch (if you can find it) or some other thickener (if you can find it)
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh aji, minced (optional)

Directions:
Boil the water with the bouillon cube. Once done, remove from heat. If you've got a thickener, add about a tablespoon and mix well. If not, don't worry about it. I put in a tablespoon of flour and it worked out fine, so no worries! Then, add the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, and lime. Use a whisk or a fork to mix well. In another pan, saute the garlic and aji in oil for about a minute on low heat--don't brown the garlic. Add this to the other ingredients and simmer. Meanwhile, heat a bit more oil and saute the potatoes and carrots until just about cooked. At the end, add the sauce and stir until it has thickened around the vegetables.

Main Dish: Indian Stew with Couscous
Group 1:
2 medium onions, diced
Group 2:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 inch fresh ginger, minced
2 large green ajis, minced
tsp cumin
tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom (this takes a bit of searching (in Chile, of course)...try Jumbo, or Korean shops if you're lucky enough to live near them)
1 tbsp salt or soy sauce
large pinch of saffron (obviously optional given the price)
Group 3:
1/2 cup squeezed orange and grapefruit juice (I squeezed about 4 oranges and 1 pomelo)
4 eggplants, roasted for 1/2 hour, then cubed
Group 4:
2 green and 1 red bell pepper, diced
1 large slice zapallo, cubed
4 medium carrots, sliced thin and then diced
1 medium size can of tomates pelados
1/2 cup or so of water
Finals:
Couscous (or rice)
Fresh basil
Yoghurt natural

Instructions:
Stick the eggplants in the oven at about 350 degrees, halfed, while you're slicing the other veggies.

When you're prepared, saute the onions in oil until transparent. Then add Group Two and saute for about one minute. Transfer from the pan to a large sauce dish. Add Group 3, mixing well so that the spices coat everything. Simmer for about 8 minutes. Add Group 4, adjusting the level of water to allow enough to cook for a while without sticking but without drowning the thing. Simmer (covered) for about 20 minutes, or until the zapallo is soft. Stir every few minutes to move things from top to bottom. Prepare the couscous or rice meanwhile (read the box). About 5 minutes before the end, add a handful of torn basil, and mix in well. When all the veggies are well cooked, serve over the couscous with a 'dollop' (don't you love that word?) of yoghurt.

This may all sound very complicated. However, it's really not when you get to it. I find cooking quite relaxing. If you don't, be content in the fact that the Indian Stew will give you enough servings to eat for ages, if you don't invite 4-6 guests the first time round. You can also easily make as much as you like of the other two dishes, giving you a fridge full of delicious, flavorful, vegetarian food. When you think about how much you have to pay for such a luxury at a chilean restaurant, it works out quite well.

I also recommend that you indulge in our wonderful abilty in Chile to buy good wine at cheap prices, and enjoy a bottle with a friend while cooking.

If you enjoy these recipes, let me know, and I'll add more!