Cau-Cau Recipe

The origin of this avocado according to Aida Tam Fox a writer who works as a writer of Peruvian gastronomy, in her vocabularies of Lima cuisine from her book "History and Traditions of its Peoples" points out that the Cau Cau It is a dish that was brought by the (black) slaves through the Spanish when, in times of conquest, they transferred large groups of captives to the province of Peru. Later, with the knowledge of this dish by the peruvian aborigines, ingredients harvested in the entity would be integrated and, in addition, products and dressings specific to each person would be added, leading the tray not only to be popular for its ease and economy, but also to become a point of tradition and Peruvian culture.

El Cau Cau It is a stew of great popularity in Peruvian cuisine, since it dates back to a base of tripe (intestine and belly of cattle) and marinated potatoes accompanied by delicious dressings, all finely chopped so that they are eaten with ease and elegance.

This dish is made with an essential ingredient and it is the cooked tripe, cow gut o with pieces of chicken, duck or hen breast, hand in hand with white potatoes of particularity Canchan or Yungay. These main ingredients are cut into cubes and it is demanded to cook them in a base of yellow pepper, onion, garlic, mint and finely chopped parsley like most known Peruvian stews.

Quite simply, for many Cau Cau It is a low-cost dish but with great flavor, it represents the cultural appropriation of Peruvians and its growth and evolution over time. Likewise, it is the face of a supportive, humble and revolutionary people, who despite taking an ingredient that few would think of eating, turned it into a example and heritage of your city.

Cau Cau Recipe  

Ingredients

• ½ kilo of beef belly
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1 purple onion
• 4 white potatoes
• ½ cup peas
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons ground yellow pepper
• 1 tablespoon toothpick
• 2 cups of cooked rice
• 2 sprigs of peppermint

Materials

• Knife
• Skillet
• Olla
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Teaspoon

Preparation

1. First, he washes his belly very well from one day to the next with lemon and if you like with lime and enough water to clean all the waste. Help yourself with a good knife to scrape. When completely clean, cut it into squares and reserve in the fridge
2. Peel and cut the potatoes into cubesDo the same with the onion. book
3. In a bowl add the chopped chicken in medium cubes, cover and let cool
4. Heat the oil in the pot, when it has reached a high point of temperature, bring to fry the onion, the garlic, and the yellow pepper, when these ingredients are golden, add a cup of chicken broth and let cook for 5 minutes
5. Add the chopped chicken and the previously cleaned belly and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and 2 cups of water. Cover and let cook for 15 more minutes. Add salt to taste and check that the water level is always above the meat
6. Lastly, add the peas to the preparation and finish cooking for 5 more minutes, then rectify if the salt is good, otherwise add more salt to your liking and decision
7. Remove the preparation from the heat and let stand
8. serve the Cau Cau with half a cup of rice and decorate with chopped mint leaves

Advice and suggestions

El Cau Cau is a dish of ample simplicity, to which you can add any touch that the chef or the preparer wishes, since any ingredient adheres well to the neutral and slightly invasive flavor of the belly.

However, you have to know how to handle the preparation and cleaning of the recipe very well, because if you ignore any step or method of preparation, you could end everything in a unhealthy mess.

Given this, here is a brief list advice and suggestions so that you observe and understand in detail the perfect way to carry out this preparation.

• Wash the belly very well (tripe) with enough water and soak with lemon and flour. If necessary, add lime or ash to remove impure remains from the paunch. This step is of the utmost importance, because if the ingredient maintains the waste that is naturally stored inside the belly or guts, it can generate diseases and infections. It is not recommended to sell this preparation or give it to large masses without a thorough review of the product
• Prepare the chicken broth in advance. This will be possible with the wings, legs and ribs of the hen or chicken. In a pot with water add the parts of the animal, plus a minced garlic, half an onion and a few branches of coriander or chives to flavor the broth. Let cook for 30 minutes, at the end add salt to taste and pepper if necessary. Remove from heat, strain and let cool
• If you want to achieve a thicker preparation, it is recommended to replace the white potatoes with yellow potatoes. These take a little longer to soften, which makes the broth more concentrated and thicker.  

Nutritional contribution

Every dish enunciates various nutrients, vitamins and even minerals that favor the body, both in its growth, development or simply in its regeneration and maintenance.

Each fruit, vegetable or meat, no matter how small the portion to be used, always reveals its contribution to the body and that, combined or used in various forms such as broth, juices and without fiber, its contribution is raised and modified as the case may be.  

For this reason, today we will describe all that nutrient that the avocado Cau Cau and its ingredients conceive for each person and consumer. This so you can see the amount of calories and vitamins that you take to your body and thus analyze everything that is good for you and yours.

Per 100 grams of beef belly

• Total fat 45 gr
• Calories 40 Kcal
• Proteins 6.2 gr
• Lipids 1,7 gr
• Cholesterol 40,6ml
• Vitamin A 9ml
• Calcium 25,7 ml
• Iron 0,9 ml
• Sodium 19,7ml

For the amount 100 grams of chicken

• Fat only in the breast 22.7 gr
• Total Calories 239 Kcal
• Sodium 0.27 gr
• Iron 0.2 gr
• Proteins 30 gr
• Phosphorous 43,4 gr
• Potassium 40.2 gr
• Magnesium 3,8 gr
• Calcium 1.8 gr

For every 100 grams of peas

• Calories 77 Kcal
• Carbohydrates 13 gr
• Fiber 3 gr
• Sodium 20ml

For every 100 grams of potatoes

• Calories 167 Kcal

A small portion of carrot

• energy 35g
• Calories 28 Kcal
• Proteins 0.8 gr
• Total fat 0.2 gr

Fun facts

The name of this dish is singular, which often makes us ask what does it mean? Or why is it called that?

Faced with this dilemma, the answer stands out between various data and discussions that we rarely hear but that we will report shortly.

Among this it is worth noting that they are merely theories of how the name came to this dish, which is not yet proven by the number of stories about the origin and participation of other peoples in the dish.

• History dates the Chinese established in the Peruvian territory of the XNUMXth century, they used short words to express themselves before other citizens who used Spanish or Inca languages ​​to communicate, since their language was not understood. Upon discovering this avocado based on the belly of the cow and wanting to refer to it, they used the word "Cau" or "Au" as a signal to other people
• Another version indicates that the word Cau-Cau came from the pronunciation of the english word cow (which means cow) and its immediate repetition
• On the other hand there are culinary historians like Rodolfo Hinostroza which points out that the name refers to the fish egg cups, but it does not have much relevance since the description does not match the nature of the dish