Cuy

Growing up in China, I have seen my fair share of bizarre food. Of course, definition of "bizarre" is quite relative. Through out history, people have been eating what is available to them to survive, from roots of plants to every part of an animal. Hey if it taste good, why not?

I have long heard the "mystical" cuy in the Andes and I just couldn't wait to try it. During my stay in Cuenca, Ecuador, I asked my Spanish teacher about cuy. The answer I've got is not something that I was expecting. So here it is, my experience about cuy.

Q: What is cuy?

 A: Cuy is a guinea pig on steroids. It is much bigger than the ones we see in the pets store and yes they are rodents first being domesticated by the Incas in the Andes in South America.

Cuy - Before

Cuy - After

Q: Why do people eat cuy?

A: Before the Spaniards, cuyes were one of the few animals domesticated for food by the Incas. As time passes, it became a tradition.

Q: When do people eat cuy?

A: Cuy is expensive in the Andes. A roasted cuy cost $20 on average. My normal lunch (roasted pig platter) costs $2, which is considered pricy here in Cuenca. For a rodent with not much meat on it, you can't really eat cuy everyday. Although my teacher told me that a cuy can feed 2 to 3 people. I find that hard to believe. My host family told me that usually they have half a cuy per person. Their son can eat a whole cuy by himself. Hence, people eat cuy only on special occasions. When we were at the restaurant,  there were another group of people there celebrating a birthday. 

Q: How do you cook cuy?

A: You roast it over fire until the skin is nice and crispy.

Cuy on a stick

Fire roasted cuy

Q: What does cuy taste like?

A: It tasted like roasted rabbits with very little meat. Maybe because I only had one of the front legs, I can not give a decent description of cuy's taste. It is on the greasy side. The skin is very crisp. The meat that I had was not dry at all. I didn't taste any gaminess in the meat but someone mentioned to me that the meat on the hind legs tasted gamey to him.

Q: What other dishes do you eat with cuy?

A: My teacher suggested a slew of typical dishes to be eaten with cuy. Here they are:

Canelazo, an herbal drink typical of the region. It is made with cinnamon, sugar, lime juice, and ataco, a local herb that gives the drink its vibrant color. According to my teacher, it helps to digest the cuy.

Cuy con papas y huevo is a very typical cuy dish in Cuenca Ecuador.

While waiting for the cuy, my teacher suggested habas con queso. Habas is  broad bean or fava bean. It is simply boiled with little salt. The cheese is fresh. I believe it is made with cows milk. The orange sauce is called aji. If made correctly, it is very tasty and spicy.

Yuka fritas and mote sucio while waiting. Mote is local white corn or hominy. The kernels are huge. Mote sucio is a very typical dish of Cuenca Ecuador. Apparently the brown color comes from burnt grease. 

Having cuy is having a feast. It is about sharing with your friends and family. It is about tradition. This experience was one of the highlight of my trip to Ecuador and I will gladly do it again. :)