The Original Version

So, the Mild Fiancée and I like to cook. We make all sorts of stuff, but one of her favorite things to say is that we should know how to make our favorite foods. After all, you like eating it. Why not learn how to cook it? That way, you can make it yourself.

It's a sound enough plan, so we will occasionally venture into recipes rooted in our respective cultures. I mean, I like hamburgers and all, but the food that really hits the spot is always Peruvian food for me. Similarly, the Mild Fiancée really likes Filipino food. So, we've both learned how to make some of these dishes.

In this particular case, we occasionally make papa a la huancaína. Never heard of it before? Oh, you're missing out. It looks something like this:

Decorate it however you like, but the sauce is a must

In our particular case, we added in some bacon because, well, we like bacon. That said, the real star of the show is the yellow huancaína sauce. In fact, I would argue that the potato and the egg are pretty much just delivery mechanisms for the sauce. It's that darn good.

I can't quite do it justice with words alone, but it's a creamy, cheese-based sauce. You know how some people like mac n cheese and they love the melted cheese on top? This is better. It's a tiny bit spicy, it has a smooth texture, and it is just plain delicious.

The best part, however, always comes after the meal itself is done. It's next to impossible to make just the right amount of sauce, so there is inevitably some left-over huancaína sauce. Remember, I described this dish as a delivery mechanism for that sauce. So, I've seen all sorts of other ways to deliver said sauce. I've seen or participated in pouring that sauce over rice, spreading on top of bread, pouring it over meat, or even just plain eating that sauce straight out of the jar.

At one point, I noticed that I was pretty much pouring the huancaína sauce over everything I could find. This led to my latest revelation: huancaína sauce is like the original version of Frank's RedHot sauce, because we put that stuff on everything. I shared this revelation with others on social media, and it drew more than a few chuckles.

I think we're going to have to keep making this particular dish. You know, for my legions of Facebook followers.