A meal I really like: CHARQUICAN

Yo! Wassup.  🥘

I must say: I love food. Experiencing different kinds of flavors and cultures through meals is one of the most precious things humanity has. Therefore, it's very difficult for me to talk about only one specific meal; but if I must choose then it would be Charquican. It's a stew traditionally made with a base of potatoes, squash and dried beef (charki). The name derives from a combination of a Quechuan word: Charki kanka (beef stew) and the Mapudungun word: Can can (dried beef).

Do you want to make your own Charquican? Ok! Let me tell you how:

1. First, you must clean, peel and chop the vegetables for the preparation (potatoes, squash, lima beans, carrots, corn, and onions).

2. (If you're going to put the meat in the charquican) You must wash and start chopping the beef in cubes (I recommend using chopped instead of ground beef because the taste of the beef is more prominent).

3. Put the Onions, the beef, salt, some spices, a couple of garlic cloves, and oil in a stockpot while you prepare the sofrito (vegetable stir fry).

4. After 5-8 minutes (when the sofrito is ready) you must begin the final process that consists of introducing the vegetables gradually in groups in the stockpot. First, add the chopped squash, carrots, potatoes, and hot water and let cook for around 15-18 minutes. Afterward, add the rest of the vegetables and wait 5-8 minutes. Also, if you don't like meat, you can add a bunch of spinach and wait 3 minutes.

After that, voila! You made charquican.

I like it for two principal reasons: First, is delicious and very healthy. The meal is essentially steamed vegetables, so the natural flavors come out more prominent AND is low fat! The second and most important reason is that it reminds me of my grandma. She used to cook this meal at least once a week and it was extremely delicious! I've never tasted a better charquican since. So yeah, a mix of flavors and emotions!!