La Mar Cebicheria Peruana appointed Diego Oka to the post of Executive Chef in December, and now the restaurant has announced an updated menu reflecting its focus on authentic Peruvian cuisine.

“The most important thing we made is making all the flavor more similar to Peru,” says Chef Oka, who is a native of Peru. He jokes that previously, La Mar wasn’t sure if Americans can handle the spicy, garlicky flavors that are true to authentic Peruvian cuisine. In addition to the regular menu, there will be three new items offered every week: two Peruvian dishes and one created out of seasonal products found at the farmers’ market. “We try to incorporate the new ingredients we find in the market into our traditional food,” says Chef Oka.

Here are some of the new things to look forward to on the La Mar menu:

• Cebiche CHIFA: a fusion between Chinese flavor and the Peruvian cebiche, this is a cebiche with sesame oil, pickled carrot and daikon, fried wonton strips, peanuts and leche de tigre.
• Anticuchos mixtos: grilled skewers of seared beef, fish and chicken with traditional anticuchera sauce, all flavors from the streets of Lima. Accompanied with choclo (Peruvian corn ) and marbled potatoes with panchita and rocoto sauces.
• Short rib seco: a traditional north Peruvian dish which is a stew that cooked for 4 hours,with corn cider, loche squash, cilantro, onions and red wine. Accompanied it with cannellini beans cooked with bacon.

La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, Pier 1 1/2 , San Francisco; Tel. 415.397.8880

Image from La Mar on Facebook

• Tag: ceviche, chef diego oka, la mar cebicheria peruana, Peruvian, Restaurants