Monthly Archives: June 2010

Mochikas Peruvian Cafe (and Auto Detailing!)

Posted on June 8, 2010 by | 3 Comments

Around Vancouver in 52 Restaurants > Americas > Peru

I heard about Mochikas Peruvian Cafe the other day and while I’m always on the lookout for new lunch spots,it was particularly timely while I explore Vancouver’s scant few South American restaurants. Nestled cozily inside an auto detailing shop (so you can get your car cleaned while you eat!), it can be a bit hard to spot but no less busy because of it. When we walked in for weekday lunch, a family of Latinos  were sharing a 2 L bottle of bubble-gum yellow Inca Kola along with their plates of chicken and rice.

Their weekend menu is posted online and looks a little more comprehensive but lunch features empanadas (beef or chicken), duck or chicken wraps with spices and rice, mini butifarras (a ham sandwich on a soft roll) and assorted lunch specials of pollo a la brasa (chicken served with french fries or rice, Peruvian hot sauce, & fresh green salad with cilantro/garlic dressing).

We couldn’t find room for the pollo a la brasa (or the stomach for Inca Kola) but we ordered one of everything else. The empanadas came out first with a side of homemade hot sauce, fresh and picante and delicious. Admittedly, I was starving, so I probably would have scarfed instant noodles as fast as that pocket of pastry and meat disappeared, but they were fragrant and did a great job of tying me over until the duck wrap and sandwiches arrived. The wrap was flavourful and would make a great grab-and-go lunch but the butifarras are what I’d go back for. White bread and ham is not normally something I’d find remarkable, but in this Peruvian version, the flavours come together for a tasty lunch.

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Mochikas Peruvian Cafe

1696 West 5th Avenue at Pine Street
(inside Platinum Touch Auto Spa)

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Cooking Mexican with Raul

Posted on June 7, 2010 by | 5 Comments

Around Vancouver in 52 Restaurants > Americas > Mexico

I hadn’t seen Raul in a while, or cooked anything delicious, so we got together and he showed me how to make a couple of his favorite Mexican dishes, sopa azteca and chili rellenos. Yum! They’re delicious, so I wanted to publish them for you.

To make the chili rellenos, wash the poblano peppers (as many as you want to serve…probably 2 medium-sized peppers per person) and cut a little “window” in them, for stuffing. Pull out all the seeds, so they’re clean inside and then make some rice – about 1 cup per 4 peppers, depending on the size. It’s possible to add ground beef as well but we made a vegetarian version. Preheat the oven to 350.

In the meantime, start making the soup by dicing a medium onion and 5 or 6 cloves of garlic and sauteing them until the onions are translucent.  Purée 10 medium size tomatoes, adding a small can of salsa and then the onion and garlic mix. When it’s a consistent texture, transfer the whole lot to a stock pot.  Add 1/2 L of chicken stock, 1/2 tsp of chili powder (we used chipotle), a dash of cumin, a dash of sage and some salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes (or keep warm until the chili rellenos are done).

When the rice is ready, scoop as much as possible into each pepper and top with some salsa verde and Mexican cheese. Pop them in the oven for about 45 minutes until the peppers are soft and tender.

Garnish the soup with some fresh avocado pieces, crushed tortilla chips and some shredded/crumbled cheese. And make sure to serve with plenty of Negra Modelos and tequila of course.

Salud!

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Posted in Mexican, Recipe, Vancouver52

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