Ají de Gallina (Peruvian Chili Chicken)
Serves 8 Time About 45 minutes Difficulty 2/5 Ingredients 15 Steps 9
(Spanish for chili pepper chicken) is a traditional Peruvian dish which has its roots in the social upheaval of the French Revolution in 1789.
Ingredients
- 1300 g (4 lb) chicken
- 120 ml (½ cup) of olive oil
- 1 large finely chopped onion
- 8 cloves of minced garlic
- 3 hot yellow South American chilis (seeds and filaments removed): Adjust quantity for individual taste.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 chicken stock cube
- ¼ loaf of bread
- 110 g (¼ lb) of chopped pecans
- 110 g (4 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 can of evaporated milk
- 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) boiled rice (flavored with chopped garlic and salt)
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 6 potatoes
- 120 g (½ cup) black olives
Steps
- Boil the chicken in salted water with the stock cube. Remove bones. Break into bite-size pieces. Keep the stock.
- In a saucepan, heat oil. Sauté the onion, garlic and finely chopped chili peppers with salt and pepper until the onions are cooked and golden.
- Soak the bread in two cups of the chicken stock. Blend a couple of minutes. Add the liquid to the saucepan.
- Cook slowly ten minutes, stirring to thicken.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice: fry the garlic a couple of seconds. Add the rice, salt, then the water (1 cup rice to 2 cups water).
- When the water boils, cook covered, very slowly, about 20 minutes until the water has evaporated.
- Add the chopped pecans, grated cheese and chicken pieces to the sauce. Cook until thick and creamy.
- About five minutes before serving, add the evaporated milk. Cook on low heat.
- Serve over the rice. Garnish with halved potatoes, eggs quartered lengthwise, and olives.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Ají de Gallina (Peruvian Chili Chicken)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-10-01, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Ají de gallina (gourmet)-b.jpg by Dtarazona, Public domain, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.