Ecuador Cuisine Guinea Pig also known as cuy!

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Guinea pigs!! Yes, Guinea pigs! The ones that you have as family pets aren’t treated as the cuddly companions you have at home; instead, in the Andean mountains of Ecuador,they’re bred, boiled, and deep-fried for dinner.

Guinea pig, known as Cuy in South America, is a local delicacy that’s unique to the highlands of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.  Cuy is most often eaten for special occasions, a tradition that dates back hundreds of years to the Incan empire.
Cuy is not only used for food. They warm the house, keep the rats away, and are used for medicinal purposes. Local herbal doctors use cuy in their healing rituals. In one ceremony, a shaman will rub the sick person in question with a black cuy for about 15 to 30 minutes, or until the guinea pig suffocates. He then can diagnose the patient’s illness by cutting the animal in half and interpreting the malady according to the animal's spread out innards.

It is also believed that cuy carries positive energy when eaten. 

I think I'll give it a try the next time I'm up there, promise, and will report back on the taste, but I heard it tastes like chicken. 

Cuy is prepared differently across the highlands. In places like Chaltura, they deep-fry it multiple times at different temperatures.

 the chef  throws a de-furred, cuy carcass into a pan of sizzling hot oil.  The lifeless meat is slinked into a deceptively hot vat of placid oil.  Something i have never seen yet, but Once sufficiently crispy, the cuy is served starfished  on a plate.   Head, teeth  claws the lot! ha my friends in England will be shocked also a friend of mine keeps loads as pets but shhh they might not read this, anyhow what are your views about this strange i know, but suppose if there is nowt in the house and you have a fat guinea pig looking at ya then what the hell ha ha thanks for reading one last picture still can´t believe it ha!!!

If this is not for you, then you may like these delicious meals that you will find on the coast Ceviche and Encebollado (hangover food)

Fancy trying something new and different? Want to learn more about another culture? This collection of tasty recipes from Ecuador is guaranteed to wet your appetite and widen your experience. And if you have ever wondered how the Andean people cook guinea pig.... you can find out here.

Guinea Pig For Breakfast Recipe Book