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Aji de gallina (Peruvian chicken stew) with rice and potato
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4.84 from 12 votes

Aji de gallina (Peruvian chicken)

This Peruvian chicken stew is comforting and delicious (plus it's great for leftovers too!)
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Peruvian
Servings: 4 (or more)
Calories: 255kcal
Author: Caroline
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Ingredients

  • 3 ¾ cups cooked chicken approx (see note 1 to cook from scratch)
  • 2 slices bread or 3, if small, crusts removed
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 tablespoon walnuts
  • 3 tablespoon grated parmesan or a little more, to taste
  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoon aji amarillo chili paste or more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ cup chicken stock (or reserved poaching liquid)

Instructions

  • Poach the chicken (if making from scratch - see details in note 1 below) then once cool enough to handle, shred it up. Alternatively, shred leftover cooked chicken.
  • Soak the bread in the milk for a few minutes. Dice the onion in a small dice and finely dice the garlic.
  • Put the soaked bread, walnuts and parmesan in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
  • Warm the oil in a medium pan and add the onion. Cook a few minutes until softened then add the garlic, aji amarillo and turmeric and cook a minute more.
  • Add the bread-walnut mixture, the chicken and around ½ cup (120ml) of cooking water from the chicken or stock. You can add a little more or less to taste - it should be moist but not runny. Mix well and simmer for around 10 minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

  1. If cooking chicken from scratch - put 1lb (450g) chicken breast plus 1lb (450g) chicken legs on the bone in a pot with 1 carrot, ½ onion and any parsley, chard stems etc you have. Add 5 cups (1 ¼ litres) water and some salt and pepper. Bring to simmer and poach for around 20 - 45 min depending on thickness until cooked through. You may want to remove the breast sooner as it may cook quicker. Remove chicken, cool and shred. 
  2. Note cooking time does not include time to cook the chicken from scratch.
  3. You could also use leftover turkey in this recipe. 
  4. Many recipes use evaporated milk rather than fresh - you can use this if you prefer but it's not an ingredient we typically have and fresh milk works fine.
  5. This dish is typically served with white rice, boiled and sliced yellow potatoes and hard boiled eggs on the side.

Nutrition

Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 275mg | Potassium: 182mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 2mg
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