Today we’re heading to Peru—a country where ancient Incan traditions collide with Spanish heritage to create one of South America’s most vibrant cuisines. We’re cooking two iconic dishes you’ll find in every Peruvian home.
🍗 Ají de Gallina
A creamy chicken stew in a vivid yellow hue, with a velvety texture and a gentle kick. The chicken simmers in a sauce of puréed bread, cheese, and walnuts. Served with boiled rice, potatoes, and garnished with olives and egg—this is the calling card of Peruvian home cooking.
Ingredients:
• Chicken breasts — 600 g
• White bread (crusts removed) — 4 slices
• Milk — 200 ml
• Walnuts — 80 g
• Parmesan (grated) — 100 g
• Yellow onion — 1 large
• Garlic — 4 cloves
• Ají amarillo pepper (or a mix of paprika and jalapeño) — 2 tbsp paste or 1 fresh pepper
• Chicken broth — 300 ml
• Vegetable oil — 3 tbsp
• Salt — to taste
• Black pepper — to taste
• Turmeric — ½ tsp
For serving:
• White rice, boiled — 400 g
• Potatoes — 4 medium
• Hard-boiled eggs — 2
• Black olives — 8-10
Preparation:
Step 1. Prep the chicken
Place chicken breasts in a pot and cover with cold water by 2 cm. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes until fully cooked. Check doneness: the meat should be white all the way through, and the juices should run clear when pierced. Remove the chicken, let it cool for 10 minutes, then shred by hand into thin strips along the grain. Reserve the broth.
Step 2. Make the sauce base
Soak the bread slices in milk for 5 minutes until completely softened. Pulse the walnuts in a blender until they resemble coarse crumbs (don’t over-blend into a paste). Dice the onion into 3-4 mm cubes, press the garlic. Heat the oil in a deep skillet or saucepan over medium heat, add the onion, and sauté for 7-8 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until translucent and soft but not browned.
Step 3. Build the sauce
Add the garlic and ají amarillo paste (or minced jalapeño with paprika) to the onion. Sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the turmeric. Mash the soaked bread into a smooth paste with a fork and transfer it to the skillet along with the milk. Pour in 200 ml of chicken broth and whisk vigorously to break up any lumps. The sauce should reach the consistency of thin sour cream.
Step 4. Final assembly
Stir the crushed walnuts and grated Parmesan into the sauce. Mix until the cheese fully melts (1-2 minutes). Add the shredded chicken and fold gently. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with the remaining broth to the consistency of thick sour cream. Season with salt and black pepper. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should become smooth, silky, and coat the chicken without being too runny.
Step 5. Prep the sides
While the chicken simmers, boil the potatoes in their skins until tender (15-20 minutes). Peel and halve each potato. Quarter the eggs lengthwise.
Step 6. Serve
Pile the boiled rice on a wide plate, arrange the potato halves alongside. Generously ladle the chicken in ají de gallina sauce over the top. Garnish with egg quarters and black olives. The sauce should be golden-yellow, thick, and aromatic.
💡 Fact: The name ají de gallina translates to "chicken in pepper," and this dish emerged in the colonial era as Peru’s adaptation of the Spanish manjar blanco. The original ají amarillo pepper is a symbol of Peruvian cuisine—it’s been cultivated in the Andes for over 5,000 years.
🥩 Lomo Saltado
Juicy stir-fried beef with crispy fries, tomatoes, and onions in a soy-vinegar sauce—this is the result of a Chinese-Peruvian culinary fusion. The dish is cooked over maximum heat using the saltado (jump) technique, where ingredients literally leap in the pan, preserving texture and creating that smoky wok hei aroma.
Ingredients:
• Beef tenderloin (or sirloin) — 600 g
• Potatoes for fries — 4 large
• Red onion — 2 medium
• Tomatoes — 3 large ripe
• Garlic — 4 cloves
• Soy sauce — 4 tbsp
• Red wine vinegar — 2 tbsp
• Smoked paprika — 1 tsp
• Ground cumin — ½ tsp
• Fresh cilantro — 1 large bunch
• Vegetable oil for frying — 100 ml + 3 tbsp
• Salt — to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper — to taste
• Chili pepper (optional) — 1
For serving:
• White rice, boiled — 400 g
Preparation:
Step 1. Prep the meat
Pat the beef dry with paper towels—this is critical for a proper sear. Slice the meat against the grain into 1 cm-thick strips, 5-6 cm long. Place in a bowl, season with salt (½ tsp), black pepper, paprika, and cumin. Massage the spices into the meat with your hands and let it marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature. The meat should be evenly coated.
Step 2. Fries
Peel the potatoes and cut into 1×1×6 cm batons—uniformity is key for even frying. Rinse under cold water, then pat thoroughly dry with a towel (moisture is the enemy of a crispy crust). Heat 100 ml of oil in a deep skillet or wok to 170-180°C (test with a potato piece—it should bubble vigorously). Fry the potatoes in batches for 3-4 minutes until golden and crispy outside, tender inside. Check: the fries should crunch but yield easily when pierced. Drain on paper towels, salt lightly. Reserve the oil.
Step 3. Prep the veggies
Peel the red onion and slice into 1 cm-thick half-moons—they should hold their shape during frying. Cut the tomatoes into 8 wedges each, scoop out most of the seeds and juice (leave only the firm flesh). Slice the garlic into thin slivers. Roughly chop the cilantro. If using chili, slice into thin rings.
Step 4. Sear the meat (critical step)
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the same wok or a very large skillet over maximum heat until it just starts to smoke. Add the meat in a single layer (work in batches if the pan is small—pieces shouldn’t touch). Sear for 1.5-2 minutes without stirring until the bottom develops a dark brown crust. Flip and cook for another minute. The meat should be medium-rare—pink inside. Transfer to a plate.
Step 5. Saltado—final assembly
Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil to the scorching wok, toss in the garlic and (if using) chili. Sauté for 20 seconds until fragrant. Add the onion and stir-fry for 2 minutes, constantly tossing the pan or stirring vigorously with a spatula—the onion should char slightly at the edges but stay crisp. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute—they should soften but not fall apart. Pour in the soy sauce and vinegar, let it come to a boil.
Step 6. Finish and serve
Return the meat to the wok along with any accumulated juices. Add the fries and half the cilantro. Vigorously stir (or toss) everything for 30-40 seconds—the sauce should coat every piece, the fries should soften slightly on the outside but stay crisp inside. Remove from heat immediately.
Step 7. Plating
Pile the lomo saltado on a plate next to a mound of white rice. Sprinkle with the remaining fresh cilantro. The dish should be steaming, the fries should crunch, the meat should be juicy, and the sauce should cling without being watery.
💡 Fact: Lomo saltado is a prime example of chifa (Peruvian-Chinese cuisine), born in the 19th century with the arrival of Chinese laborers. The saltado technique is borrowed from Chinese stir-fry, but the fries are a purely Peruvian touch. Today, it’s one of Peru’s most beloved dishes—a symbol of cultural fusion.