Valdiviano

After a night of drinking in Santiago, you'll probably want to sink your teeth into a bowl of valdiviano, a traditional Chilean soup from the south of the country. It originated in the city of Valdivia and has since spread throughout the country, where it is frequently promoted as a hangover cure.

Valdiviano recipes in Chile vary, but it is typically made with thin strips of charqui (Chilean beef jerky) or leftover beef cooked in a soup with onions and various herbs and spices such as oregano, parsley, cumin, and paprika. Other ingredients, such as potatoes and eggs, may be added depending on the cook. When made with potatoes, the dish is referred to as ajiaco.

Valdiviano is said to have been invented around the turn of the seventeenth century. Spanish soldiers stationed in Valdivia were given large quantities of charqui from central Chile, which they used to make this soup.