In response to reading about Williamsburg Wednesday, Reader Emily said on Friday:
Hey Kathryn! I loved reading this post about Williamsburg - I lived out there for 2 years, and it is so much fun. Next time you go out, go eat at Chimu (corner of Skillman St. and Union Ave). It's a little Peruvian restaurant and it's AMAZING. I day-dream about that food. I once even asked the waiter to find out the recipe for the arroz con leche, which he did (and signed with a heart) and I've taped it into my cookbook. Order the peruvian fried rice, douse it in the green sauce, and the tacu tacu de carne. Enjoy!
On Saturday, we took the L train into Williamsburg with friends Amy & Tim for our 7:30pm reservation.
(I'm so obedient.)
Oh my gosh Emily, you just weren't kidding.
Mike loves South American food, & I'm more-or-less (or more) a food snob. This place was ridiculous. Delicious. Authentic. Inexpensive. I've rarely, if ever seen Mike more excited about food. We were happy.
And I maybe did everything you said. Tacu Tacu de Carne (amazing!), lots of green sauce (sort of like this recipes) & Arroz Con Leche. We are so going back there.
Oh - & I bet if you email me that recipe, blessings from Heaven will come pouring down on you. Just saying.
8 comments:
"I want to go to there"
Sounds delish, I love almost anything with green sauce...
Yummy!
I want to go...
YAY!!! I am so excited that you liked it! I lived around the corner from Chimu and I had to limit myself to once a week....I'm pretty jealous that you got to go this weekend but I'm happy that you guys enjoyed!
(And of courese I'll look for the recipe for you. When I moved from New York to NOLA in the fall, all my stuff got boxed up and put in my parents' basement. It might take me a while to locate the book, but I promise I won't forget!)
Hurray for Peruvian food...I'm definitely a fan. I'm think I'm having a love affair with Williamsburg.
i must try.
Hey Kathryn, can I post about your Chimu adventure on my blog? Thanks!
Kathryn - I did an intense search on Google, and came up with a recipe. (I've never been to Cafe Rio - can you imagine? I am really starting feel like I missed out by not ever living in Provo!)
Check this out (it's long but it looks pretty accurate to me!)
Aji Verde From Wandering Chopsticks(Peruvian Green Chili Sauce)
For several dipping bowls of sauce, you'll need:
1 bunch of cilantro
As many chili peppers as you can stand. The recipe generally calls for about 3 jalapenos.
1 clove of garlic
Salt to taste, about 1/2 tsp to start
Olive oil, about 1/4 cup to start
Mayonnaise, about 3 tblsp to start (Substitute with oil and blend until it becomes creamy if you want to keep this more authentic.)
1/4 cup water
Optional: Freshly squeezed lemon juice or white wine vinegar if you want a bit of tang.
Some recipes call for cilantro leaves only, but I threw in the stems as well to add some liquid to the sauce. I know cilantro is an acquired taste, so substitute with iceberg or romaine lettuce if you want a neutral taste but want to retain the green color.
Halve and de-seed the chili peppers. Make sure you wear gloves or thoroughly wash your hands afterward. And don't rub your eyes!
Puree all the ingredients in a blender, food processor, or hand immersion blender. It's like making pesto, start with the basic portions and adjust according to your taste. What worked for me was roughly those amounts. Add mayonnaise for creaminess. You can add water too if the sauce appears too thick. I've seen some recipes that called for white cheese or nuts, but felt those were too strong in taste since the versions of aji sauce that I've liked were light in flavor, with just an undertone of spiciness.
Some recipes included just the basics -- cilantro leaves, jalapenos, salt, oil, and garlic. I wanted my sauce to be a bit creamier and thicker so I added mayonnaise. If you want to be really authentic though, substitute the amount of mayonnaise in my recipe with oil and keep blending until the oil becomes "mayonnaise."
The aji pepper is a type of Peruvian chili pepper, but the word is also used in parts of South America for all peppers. Since I couldn't find aji peppers here, I substituted with jalapenos. I also tossed in several other varieties of chili peppers just for fun.
Obviously, adjust the amount of chili depending on your spicy tolerance. For some reason, when I ate this right away, it had a nice spicy burn on my tongue. But left overnight, it just became a mild green sauce.
As it's a sauce, I'm just giving estimations to start with. Add more mayonnaise or oil to adjust creaminess and thickness until it's to your liking.)
Ooh, that looks tasty Emily. Sort of like this recipe (that I use with my Cafe Rio pork), but yours is definitely more "authentic" looking:
http://wirewhisk.blogspot.com/2008/06/cafe-rio.html
Thank you. :)
Post a Comment