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Lakeside Stall · Fried Trout

Trucha Frita (Fried Titicaca Trout)

Trucha Frita (Fried Titicaca Trout) — street food from Puno, Peru
Photo: Lucerito Corrales from Lima, Perú / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Rainbow trout isn't native to Titicaca at all — it was introduced from North America in the 1940s and has since become the lake's most identifiable food export.

Fresh trout from Lake Titicaca is coated in seasoned flour and shallow-fried whole until crisp, then served with rice, potatoes and a wedge of lime. Lakeside stalls in Puno and on the Uros islands grill or fry it to order.

Why it's made this way: Puno sits directly on Lake Titicaca, the only place in Peru where trout is farmed and eaten this routinely as an everyday street meal.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.