Chile Food and Cuisine

Generally speaking, Chilean food is quite simple to prepare with not too many different spices. Because of the country's diversity however, there are a great many different flares mixed in that have resulted in some delicious variations of Chilean cuisine. Of course with thousands of miles of coastline, the seafood is something no visitors will want to miss. Here are some of the most popular Chilean dishes.

• Empanadas - This delicious treat is a pastry turnover filled with anything from fruits to meats or cheeses. It is one of the most popular Chilean snacks and must not be missed during your trip to Chile.
• Bistec a lo Pobre - This is a popular dish of steak served with fried onions and eggs.
• Porotos Granados - This bean-based dish is made hot with pumpkin squash and corn.
• Curanto - This popular Chilean dish is actually cooked a couple meters under the ground in what essentially becomes a huge pressure cooker. The dish can be made up of anything including shellfish, meat, potatoes, vegetables, and fish. Each layer of ingredients is covered with rhubarb leaves and then the entire dish is surrounded by a wet sack. Of course all of this can be accomplished with a normal pressure cooker as well.
• Completos - This is the well known hot dog with condiments such as ketchup, tomatoes, mustard, mayonnaise, sauerkraut, and avocados.
• Ceviche - This is a delicious lime flavored seafood cocktail that can be made of anything from just fish to a full seafood mix of shrimp, oysters, and clams.
• Asado - This simply means barbecue which is a very popular style of cooking large amounts of delicious meat cuts.
• Alfajores - This popular dessert is a cookie-like pastry covered and filled with chocolate and butterscotch.