Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the “Salsa
on St Clair Street Festival”, perhaps the most famous Latin street party of
Canada. This event is a good opportunity to enjoy dancing different rhythms
from Latin America and to taste some street food from that area.
Latin American street food is diverse. Some dishes are
very well known as “Empanadas”. Beef is very popular in South America
and to find options offering grilled meat is very common. But there are some
other very popular options that are not widely known outside the area.
Ceviche is a popular
seafood dish. Although it is considered to be originated in Peru, it can be found
in other countries of the Pacific area like Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and certain Central
American countries. It is made with raw fish or shrimps cured with lemon juice
and spiced with Chili peppers and other ingredients. It is served cold.
Shrimp Ceviche with Corn
Pupusas are made of
corn. They are flat and are eaten like bread. They are from El Salvador but can
be found in other Central American countries. They resemble another popular dish
from the Caribbean which I already dedicated 2 articles in this blog: Arepas.
They are prepared with the ingredients used to stuff it, which can be cheese,
beans or pork.
Pupusas with Spicy Cabbage and Sauce
Fried sweet plantains (in Spanish they are called: Platano
Maduro), are popular in many countries of South America. They can be sliced
before preparing them and cheese is commonly added. They can be eaten as a side
dish or just a snack.
But not all the food options are related to Latin
America. Today it is common to see different options in each festival that come
from different parts of the word. In this case, I was delighted to see a stand
of Uyghur food. They were serving grilled
lamb and octopus, prepared in a traditional way. I will research more about Xin
Jiang food in Toronto to see if I can post more.
With Grilled Octopus
