01x08 - Dancing In Little Lima

[bunniefuu]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC]

♪ ♪

PADMA: All right, let me try it.

CHILD: Okay, wait, wait.
Ten‐second countdown.

[DRAMATIC DRUM MELODY]
ALL: Ten...

Nine... eight... seven

six... five... four

three... two... one!

[CHILDREN CHEERING]

[TWANGY GUITAR MUSIC]

PADMA: I came to America
when I was four.

I'm an immigrant,
and I'm not alone.

I've spent my life
writing about food

and tasting the world.

Now, I want to explore
who we are

through the food we eat.

My game is strong.

What exactly is American food?

And what makes us American?

I'm Padma Lakshmi.

Come with me
as we taste the nation.

[FOLK MUSIC]

♪ ♪

PERSON: $10 even.

PADMA: Every immigrant brings
a piece of their culture

when they arrive in America.

But how are these traditions
preserved

and maintained by the next
generation born here?

There's a community

where this question
is being asked every day.

And it's right
in my own backyard.

[CROWD CHANTING]

[PERUVIAN MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

Just miles from my home
in New York

is a place known as
"Little Lima."

Paterson, New Jersey.

Over the last few decades,

thousands of Peruvian immigrants

have built an amazingly rich
and vivacious community here.

Now, it's their children
and grandchildren

who make up the majority

people who were born
and raised in the U. S.

So how do these young
Peruvian‐Americans

relate to a place

they may have never
lived in themselves?

And how can they carry
on the culture

of a country they may never
have known firsthand?

The answer is right here
in Peru Square.

[FOLK MUSIC]

LOCAL RESIDENT: Peru Square
is all about Peruvians.

Restaurants, delis,
a lot of grills outside.

Like, right? What can I say?

I mean, like, it's
a lot of Peruvians out there.

A lot. A lot.

LOCAL RESIDENT:
Everyone speaks the language.

Everyone has parties

with Peruvian music.

You have a choice
of Peruvian parties to attend.

So Paterson really has
become the capital

of Peruvians here in New Jersey.

♪ ♪

PADMA: Starting
in the 1970s and '80s,

a wave of Peruvian immigrants

began arriving in Paterson,

a thriving factory town.

They came for all kinds
of reasons,

many fleeing the violence
of a t*rror1st campaign

that threatened
to tear their country apart.

Now, it's up to their children

to carry on the traditions
they brought here.

[FOLK MUSIC]

♪ ♪

My first guide
is Chef Erik Ramirez.

Born and raised
in northern New Jersey,

he's on a mission to share
his heritage with the world.

And he promised to show me
his favorite spots back home.

His family first arrived here
in the 1970s.

ERIK: My grandmother came first,

Then my gr‐‐my mom followed her,

when she was like 19, 20,
I think.

- So she had you here.
- She had me here, yeah.

While I was growing up,

I considered myself Peruvian.

It was never, like, "Oh,
we're American," you know.

We all spoke Spanish.

So it would always be, like,
"Oh, I'm Peruvian."

PADMA: Not "My parents are
Peruvian."

- "I'm Peruvian."
- Yeah, "I'm Peruvian."

♪ ♪

This place is called
Los Inmortales.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

PADMA: For Peruvian cooks,

Los Inmortales
is a one‐stop shop.

For the rest of us,

it's an eye‐opening experience,

filled with all kinds
of amazing food products.

ERIK: This place has
all the Peruvian ingredients

that are available
in the United States.

PADMA: So everything is here.

ERIK: Some of the more
important things are

the ají amarillo,

ají panca...
PADMA: And ají chili.

ERIK: Ají chili.

We call, like,
we call chilis "ajís."

The hottest would be the rocoto.

Right here, it says super...

BOTH: Super picante.

‐ This is the base to a lot
of our cooking.

PADMA: One look
at the shelves here

shows us just how diverse
Peruvian food can be

a mix of native traditions
and influences

from all over the world.

Is that the Italian influence?

ERIK: Yes, panettone.
PADMA: On the panettones?

I've never had guinea pig.

ERIK: Oh, wow. They have cuy.

‐ "Super cuy."

‐ Shiny. It tastes like rabbit.

A little more gamey
and has more fat.

- PADMA: Yeah.
- So it has, like, a nice

little slime to it.
But, like, kind of

like duck con‐‐
‐ Nice little slime to it?

‐ Like duck confit. ‐ Oh, okay.

- Slimy kind of thing.
- What is that?

ERIK: Lucuma is also known
as egg fruit.

Tastes like butternut squash,

caramel, butterscotch,

maple syrup, all mixed together.

‐ Caramel, butterscotch,
and maple syrup?

ERIK: Yeah, sweet potato
squash. Yeah.

PADMA: That's delicious.

ERIK: You can find
everything here.

This place is awesome.
It's like walking down, uh...

Walking down memory lane.

PADMA: Los Inmortales
is a community hub

for Peruvians
of every generation.

It's a place to shop, eat,
and hang out.

The perfect spot
to meet Erik's mom, Tatiana,

and grandmother, Aida,

and hear the story of
how they came to America.

So why did you come
to this country?

TATIANA: And this is what
I always heard from her,

since I remember.

The better life
for her children.

PADMA: Same reason
my mother came.

She left me with
my grandparents and came here.

- TATIANA: Exactly the same.
- Exactly the same.

PADMA: So you didn't see
your mother for many years.

You were left in Peru.
What was that like for you?

‐ I did have some resentful.

Resentment, you know,
'cause she was gone.

- AIDA: Yes.
- When you're a child,

you can't rationalize‐‐
TATIANA: You can't know.

PADMA: "Well, my mother has
to find a job.

She doesn't have childcare."

All you think is,
"My mom left me."

But you, and my mother,
and millions of other people

in that generation came here

and kind of sculpted the mist,

and just made a life

out of nothing. AIDA: Yes.

PADMA: Yeah.

TATIANA: Salud. Salud is cheers.

PADMA: Thank you.
She'll be very happy

when she sees this.

‐ Cheers to that.

PADMA: Aida's hard work
paved the way

for Tatiana to follow her mom
to America.

Soon after, she had Erik,

and she raised him
on her Peruvian home cooking.

TATIANA: They like
the arroz con pollo,

Which is the green rice‐‐
PADMA: Oh, yeah.

TATIANA: With cilantro.
PADMA: Yeah, yes.

TATIANA: Pollo al vino,
chicken with wine sauce.

And I made, like...

PADMA: For Erik and other kids

growing up in Northern Jersey,

Peruvian cuisine
was all around them.

But it wasn't what
was being taught

in culinary school

or being served
in the fine‐dining restaurants

where Erik began working.

ERIK: The food
that I grew up eating,

that was looked at as, like,

food from home.

Rustic.

It wasn't what was on trend,
you know,

like modern,
fine dining, French.

PADMA: But while he was
cooking upscale French dishes

for the diners in the front,

at the back of the house,

he was returning to the food
he was raised on.

TATIANA: He will come and say,
"How do you make"

arroz con pollo?

How do you make
papa a la huancaína?"

PADMA: So, in a way,
you missed your culture

when you didn't have it.

‐ Right, growing up,
eating that food,

not thinking much of it,

but then, wanting to learn
more of the food

that I grew up eating.

And the only way through that
is by cooking it.

PADMA: Inspired, Erik set out
on a trip

that would change how he saw
his culinary past

and future.

ERIK: I always had this idea

of Peruvian cuisine being this.

Which is homey, comforting.
PADMA: Homey.

ERIK: But then, when I went
there, I was exposed to, like,

how chefs, they were cooking,

how we cook
in the United States,

but using Peruvian ingredients.

And ingredients
that I'd never had.

People don't know
how involved it is,

the coast, the sierra,
forest, rainforest,

and then all the south
is the desert.

So you have all these
different microclimates,

all these amazing ingredients.

Every new thing
that you learn and taste,

It's a new, like, "Whoa!"
You know?

[FOLK MUSIC]

PADMA: When he came home,
Erik had a new perspective

on the recipes he'd learned
from his mom in New Jersey.

♪ ♪

He was ready to open
his own restaurant,

applying his training
as a high‐end chef

to the food of his youth,

and bringing it
to a whole new audience.

[TRADITIONAL PERCUSSIVE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

PADMA: In just four years,

Erik has opened three
restaurants in New York,

drawing rave reviews

and packing in the crowds
every night.

I'm meeting him at the one
where it all began.

The Llama Inn.

[UPBEAT ELECTRONIC MUSIC]

It's where Erik first debuted
his inventive,

new‐wave approach
to the food he grew up on.

- ERIK: Here you go, guys.
- For us?

ERIK: Yeah. Pork belly,

beef heart, chicken thigh.

CUSTOMER: Oh, wow.
CUSTOMER: Thank you so much.

‐ You got it, man.
Don't worry about it.

‐ Yeah. MALE CUSTOMER: Amazing.

PADMA: Erik may be pushing the
boundaries at his restaurant,

but there's one dish

that no self‐respecting
Peruvian place

could ever leave off the menu.

[ELECTRONIC DRUM BEAT]

LOCAL MAN:
My favorite Peruvian food,

my number one is ceviche.

It's the best‐‐it's the best
one for me. Ceviche.

‐ Ceviche is life.
Ceviche is everything.

The leche de tigre,
which is the juice,

you drink it,

and to us, it's like an upper,
you know?

It's like, wow,
gives you energy.

You can go to any marketplace
in Peru

and they take pride
in making their ceviche.

‐ It's a great dish.
It's one of the best dishes

that I ever had.

PADMA: I somehow convinced

this "New York Times"
three‐star chef

to cough up his prized
ceviche recipe.

What kind of fish is this?
ERIK: Fluke.

PADMA: Okay. He looks mad.

Look at his teeth.

[IN HIGH‐PITCHED VOICE] "Help!"

[BOTH LAUGH] "It's too late!"

ERIK: Just going to cut it, so‐‐.

PADMA: Go ahead. Do your thing.

ERIK: Make an incision here.

PADMA: Would you say ceviche
is the national dish of Peru?

ERIK: It is the national dish
of Peru, yeah.

There's no other ceviche like
it anywhere else.

‐ What is the exact, right
definition of ceviche?

ERIK: I would say that it's

raw fish marinated in lime juice

with onion, cilantro, and ají.

[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC]

[KNIFE CLACKING AGAINST BONE]

I like that sound.

You know you're right if you're

- I like that sound, too.
- Tapping against the

[BOTH IMITATING SOUND] Yeah.

ERIK: The fish needs‐‐
for ceviche,

it needs to be extremely fresh.

We get our fish from

a company that comes
straight from Montauk.

‐ Does he deliver to homes?
Probably not.

‐ Probably not. [LAUGHS]

I'm sure if you asked him,

he'd probably deliver
to your home, though.

[BOTH LAUGH]

PADMA: Where did you first
learn to make ceviche?

ERIK: At home.
PADMA: Did you help your mom?

ERIK: That's the first time‐‐
my dad, actually.

My dad was a very...

"Oh, let's make ceviche!"
You know.

What we call very criollo.
Very...

‐ Very Peruvian?
ERIK: Very from the city.

Very like, "Ah..."

PADMA: "Come on, man,
let's do this."

ERIK: Yeah. PADMA: It's like...

ERIK: Yeah, my mom was more
the opposite.

She did all the cooking.
He would just‐.

He just did the fun stuff.

- The ceviche.
- He just made ceviche. Yeah.

PADMA: The ingredients
seem simple enough.

But they're layered,
and work together

to create this tangy,
bold taste,

which is why I love ceviche
so much.

These flavors represent
Peru's diversity.

Just like America,

it's a nation of immigrants.

ERIK: It depends on the ceviche.

The traditional one,

that's the Spanish, African,
and the indigenous.

That base cane become
a Nikkei ceviche,

which is Japanese‐Peruvian.

It can become a Chifa ceviche,

which is Chinese‐Peruvian,
right?

Pre‐Columbian, where they
would take the raw fish

and preserve it in high acidity.

Then the Spanish came over,

and they introduced limes,
garlic, ginger.

And then, it's the African
who gave it its flavor.

PADMA: Like America, Peru's
history includes sl*very.

By the 1800s, thousands of
enslaved people

had been brought from Africa.

Many ended up working
in the kitchens

of wealthy Peruvian families,

where they brought
their own culinary traditions.

ERIK: We use habanero,

garlic‐‐ PADMA: Ajo.

ERIK: Ginger, fish, lime juice,

onion, celery,
and cilantro stems.

And then we're gonna puree
everything.

PADMA: We're making
leche de tigre,

which is that magic juice that
our fish will marinate in.

[BLENDER WHIRRING]

It's like a milkshake.

ERIK: That liquid is leche de
tigre ‐‐tiger's milk.

PADMA: Does it put hair
on your chest?

ERIK: Yeah, kinda.

PADMA: Lengthens your fangs.
ERIK: Makes you like a tigre.

Kinda gives you energy.

So I always tell the guys,
like, when they make leche,

they should be able to grab
a glass, put a piece of ice...

PADMA: And drink it. ERIK: Yeah.

[GLASSES CLINK] BOTH: Cheers.

‐ This is so good.

- It's good.
- It's so refreshing!

I mean, if you told me right
now that I was eating raw fish

with raw garlic, onion,
and some stems,

I would be like, "Sorry,
that doesn't sound appetizing."

It's so good.
I'm gonna have another drink.

‐ And then we're
gonna make ceviche.

So we have the same fluke.
PADMA: Mm‐hmm.

ERIK:
And a squeeze of fresh lime.

We're gonna add our leche.

I like it juicy.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

PADMA: That is so lovingly made.

Like, everything
just has to be perfect.

ERIK: I like the sweet potato
to be

on the verge of, like,
being overcooked.

It's just so creamy and sweet.

This is the cancha.

PADMA: They are like corn nuts.

Mmm.

Oh, my God.

There's such a flavor expl*si*n

in your mouth.

Like, people eat this every day?

ERIK: For lunch. ‐ For lunch.

This is like a turkey sandwich
in Peru.

That's an amazing turkey
sandwich.

[CHILL PIANO MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[ELECTRONIC FUSION MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

CESAR: That's called the MVP.

[LAUGHS]

PADMA: Cesar Valdivia is
sharing his culinary heritage

with hungry diners
all day and all night.

Rain or shine.

CESAR: Scallions, eggs,
sesame oil, soy sauce,

little touch of ginger.

Ready to ride.

PADMA: Like Erik, he's a first
generation Peruvian‐American

raised here, in New Jersey.

CESAR: Always a pleasure.
Have a good one.

PADMA: But he's decided
to stay put

and help feed this community

the Peruvian food they crave.

CESAR: Peruvian restaurants,
bakeries,

that's what Paterson
is known for.

Like, literally, Peruvians.

[QUIET ELECTRONIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

PADMA: In the early 1980s,

Peru saw the communist
revolutionary groups,

Shining Path and Túpac Amaru,

begin violent campaigns
to overthrow the government,

which would last for decades

and leave
tens of thousands dead.

Many fled.

Peruvian immigrants were also
looking for opportunity

in the mills and factories
of America.

Cesar's father was one of them.

CESAR: The restaurant there
was more of my father's dream.

The whole family always used
to compliment his cooking.

But, you know,
he was a dishwasher sometimes.

Those are your entry‐level jobs.

Coming
from an immigrant country,

you kinda start at the‐‐
at the bottom.

But he worked his way up.

He learned
a second language, ESL.

He's got his associate's degree
here in Paterson.

And he finally decided
to open up his restaurant.

So I helped him out,

'cause I know it was always
a dream of his.

And I fell in love with it
myself.

PADMA: Because of
his father's sacrifice,

Cesar was able to dedicate
himself full time to cooking,

first at the restaurant
and now in the Lomo truck.

Like so many of his generation,

Cesar has built on
the immigrant experience

of his parents

to bring a taste
of their Peruvian homeland

to the U. S.

LOCAL RESIDENT: Peruvian food
is definitely a connection

back home.

'Specially when you have people

from different regions of Peru.

You make us a food that's
specific to an area,

people get nostalgic,
and they think back of home.

LOCAL RESIDENT: There's ají de gallina,

crema rocoto‐‐
we can keep going on all day,

all the foods that we have.

LOCAL RESIDENT:
Different restaurants serve

specific foods that feel
like you're back home.

Papa rellena,

and I have to accompany that
with a chicha morada.

Not the bottle, homemade.

Of course, lomo saltado.

That's like home,

to me, to my family.

PADMA: That's Cesar's specialty.

Lomo saltado.

Tell me exactly what
lomo saltado is.

CESAR: Lomo saltado is top sirloin

stir‐fried with red onions,
traditional tomatoes,

red vinegar, soy sauce,
French fries.

White rice on the side.

‐ Wow, so rice and French fries.

‐ Yes. I know, it's very, like

[LAUGHS] ‐ A lot of carbs.

PADMA: As with so much
of Peruvian food,

lomo is a cultural fusion

in this case,

a marriage of Chinese flavors
and cooking technique

with indigenous
Peruvian ingredients.

All right, can I try one?
CESAR: Yeah, absolutely.

PADMA: Do you trust me?
CESAR: 100% faith in you.

PADMA: Okay.

CESAR: Let that heat up
just a few.

I like to drop it
when you hear that...

[MAKES HISSING NOISE]

[MEAT SIZZLING]

PADMA: There's the saltado.

CESAR: That's it.
Now that is toasting it,

throw your red vinegar in there.

That helps you get
your flame up.

See how it starts getting
smoky there?

After I put the tomatoes in,
I just serve the white rice.

That's your traditional...
PADMA: That's it.

CESAR: Lomo saltado.

Nice.

PADMA: That looks good to me.

CESAR: Looks good to me, too.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

That's juicy. PADMA: Yeah?

He said, "That's juicy."

For some of Cesar's customers,

the steak, rice, and fries
are a taste of home.

But for the whole community,

it's a bridge between Paterson
and far‐away Peru

and a reminder of the hard work

it took to get here.

I grew up playing soccer
in Pennington Park

since I was like four years old.

My father's been there since
he's got into the country.

Now we're playing
in those men's leagues.

Our parents are still playing
in the older leagues.

Myself, I never went too far.

I brought my business
back to Paterson.

It's just a continuous circle.

People are comfortable here.

It's... it's like Peru.

So... why would they leave?

[FOLK MUSIC]

LOCAL RESIDENT: Us Peruvian kids

saw how our parents, many of
them college‐educated parents,

had to work

as a custodian or in factories

while they learned English.

We appreciated their struggle

and we took pride
in being Peruvian.

LOCAL RESIDENT: They worked
hard, and they made it.

My dad came to the United States

when he was 16 years old
on his own.

They bought houses, you know.

They did a great job out here,
these Peruvians.

LOCAL RESIDENT: When we grew up,

we made sure to continue

that culture, that Peruvian
pride, within our own kids.

♪ ♪

PADMA: Meet Rosa Carhuallanqui.

She's one of these
original immigrants

who brought the traditions
of her home

to a new land

a living link

between Peru
and the new generations

born here in Paterson.

She grew up in Peru
at the height of the conflict

between its government and
the Shining Path t*rrorists.

ROSA: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

PADMA: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

ROSA: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

PADMA: Rosa's husband, Luis,

had already left Peru when she
had the chance to join him.

[SOMBER PIANO MUSIC]
ROSA: [SPEAKING ENGLISH]

PADMA: Saving money.
ROSA: Exactly.

‐ And then start your life.
ROSA: And start your life.

No! PADMA: You‐‐yeah.

PADMA: Rosa's story
is a testament

to the contributions immigrants

have made to American culture.

Decades later,
she's gained her citizenship

and made a successful life.

But her mission is to keep
the traditions of Peru alive

and to share them with
her community and beyond...

Including a dish many Americans

may recognize
from Mexican cuisine.

So when I think of tamales‐,

and I think this is true
for most Americans

they think of Mexican tamales.

ROSA: Yes. It's delicious.
PADMA: Mm‐hmm.

ROSA: I try that.

[UPBEAT ACOUSTIC GUITAR]

♪ ♪

PADMA:
Mmm, this smells delicious.

ROSA: This is the result.

PADMA: When you see the bottom
of the pot‐‐ ROSA: The pot, yeah.

PADMA: Because you
cook it down. ROSA: Yeah.

PADMA: Like this?

PADMA: We don't want to waste any
of this goodness. ROSA: Exactly! Yes.

PADMA: Unlike Mexican
corn tamales,

Rosa's recipe uses dough made
from rice and cassava,

also known as yuca.

And they get their
special flavor

from a Peruvian red pepper
called ají panca.

‐ I use my hands all the time
to make everything.

- All right.
- Because you can feel
the food.

‐ Yes, it's better.

PADMA: Mm‐hmm.

PADMA: And that's where
those chefs learn from.

♪ ♪

ROSA: Okay.

And then, I put here.

I do, and this.

PADMA: You're swaddling.

[LAUGHS] ROSA: Like that.

PADMA: And once these packets
are done,

how long do you steam them?

Who are we making
these for today?

[LIVELY ACOUSTIC GUITAR]

♪ ♪

PADMA: Rosa is a leader
of the community here,

teaching traditional Peruvian
dance to local youngsters.

And one student

who's just a little bit older.

ROSA: Bring you in low.

And then back to back.

PADMA: In her classes,

Rosa helps these kids
to forge a link

between their Peruvian heritage

and their American lives.

[UPLIFTING PIANO MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[LIVELY FOLK MUSIC]

♪ ♪

PADMA: Every day in Paterson,

traditions are being passed

from one generation to the next,

strengthened as they go.

For immigrants like Rosa,

or first‐generation Americans
like Cesar and Erik,

Peruvian culture is alive.

And it's worth preserving,

to share with their own children

and all of us.

Why is it your mission to share.

Peruvian food with the world?

ERIK: Because I'm proud
of who I am.

There's a part of me that
looks up to my mom

because of her work ethic,

and she came from Peru,
she cooked Peruvian food,

you know, so, it's important
to me to kind of

share my heritage, you know.

It's diverse, it's special,

and that's why
I want to share it.

♪ ♪