This is my first report from studying abroad in Valparaíso, Chile! I thought I would start off with some things you can make in your Wesleyan kitchen (and if you’re feeling extra ambitious, you can try to make it with Usdan-only ingredients.)

The first is called “chorrillana”, and you have to roll your “rr” and pronounce the “ll” as a “y” sound. Although the origin of this dish is disputed, it has definitely become a specialty of my city.  You can find it in any restaurant, although one in particular, Jota Cruz, claims  to have invented it and to serve the best version. The recipe is almost too good to be true–a mountain of greasy french fries, fajita-style strips of steak, sauteed onions, and a sunny-side-up egg to top it off.

And if you’re going to cook or eat “chorrillana,” you have to go big or go home.  This dish is served on a giant platter with enough food for three very hungry Chileans and a heart attack waiting to happen.

In the same vein as the “chorrillana”, the “completo” is another example of the way in which Chileans have adopted North American junk food and transformed it into something much more flavorful and overwhelming.  Theoretically, a “completo” is just a hotdog.  In reality, the hotdog passes through several stages before it becomes truly “completo”.

Vienna sausage in a bun.  Also, did I mention that sausages here are sometimes twice as big as those in the USA?  No, I do not mean that as a double entendre.  It’s true.  It’s called a vienesa.

Add chopped tomatoes and mayonnaise.  This is a “tomate-mayo.”

Add avocado.  This is an italiano, because it contains the colors of the Italian flag.

Add sauerkraut. If you stop here, you have created a “dinámico”.

Add chili and cheese.  This is a “completo”.

So far, these are fairly college-friendly recipes.  Dessert is a bit more complicated because Usdan doesn’t have “manjar.”  In Argentina it’s called “dulce de leche.”  Either way it’s pretty much just caramelized milk and sugar.  So if you can find some in or around Usdan, spread it between two cookies (preferably sugar cookies), dunk it in chocolate sauce, stick an almond on top, and enjoy.  You have just created an “alfajor.”

So what have I learned from my gastronomic adventures while studying abroad?  First off, I should mention that I’m nominally a vegetarian, so when I split a “chorrillana” with my friends I skipped the meat.  And when I had a “completo” it was soy meat.  Ok, so that’s a little bit lame, but bear with me.

This isn’t “typical” Chilean food.  And I’m not sure there is such a thing, at least where I live, because Valparaíso is a port city.  Ships have been docking here for centuries, bringing people, ideas, dances, diseases, and yes, food.  The mix of cultures is incredible.  There is sushi, Thai, paella, dishes with Incan or Mapuche spices, and plenty of food from the United States.  And somehow all of it has managed to acquired a flavor that is distinctly Chilean.