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1
Cook the Aderezo
10 Mins
Medium heat, about 160°C (320°F)
Heat the oil in a large, deep pan over medium heat. Add the red onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the garlic, aji amarillo paste, aji panca paste and cumin and cook for 2 minutes more until fragrant and the pastes darken slightly. This sofrito, called the aderezo, is the flavour base of the whole dish.
Keep the heat at medium: the onion should soften and sweeten, not brown and turn bitter.
Done when: The onion is soft and sweet-smelling, the pastes have darkened slightly, and the pan smells warm and fragrant.
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2
Simmer the Charqui
10 Mins
Gentle simmer, about 95°C (203°F); meat reheated to 74°C (165°F)
Add the soaked, shredded charqui to the pan and stir to coat it in the aderezo. Pour in the beef stock, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for 10 minutes so the dried meat softens further and takes up the chilli flavour. The meat should be hot right through, to 74°C (165°F).
If the pan looks dry, add a splash more stock or water; the charqui should simmer, not fry.
Done when: The charqui is pliable and chewy-tender, and the stock has taken on a golden colour.
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3
Add the Olluco and Stew
20 Mins
Gentle simmer, about 95°C (203°F)
Stir in the diced, rinsed olluco and the black pepper, cover the pan, and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks. Taste the stew, then add the salt only if it needs it — the charqui is already salty. The olluco is done when a cube yields to a fork but still holds its shape.
Do not boil hard or overcook: olluco goes mushy and slimy if it is boiled to pieces. A gentle simmer keeps its crisp bite.
Done when: The olluco cubes are tender but still firm, and the stew is thick enough to mound on a plate.
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4
Warm the Rice
5 Mins
Medium heat, about 160°C (320°F); rice steaming hot, to 74°C (165°F)
While the olluco stews, warm the cooked rice in a covered pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of water sprinkled over it, until it is steaming hot right through, to 74°C (165°F). Fluff it with a fork so the grains stay separate.
Warm the rice while the stew finishes, so both reach the plate hot at the same time.
Done when: The rice is steaming hot and fluffy, with no cold spots in the middle.
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5
Plate and Serve
5 Mins
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Stir the chopped parsley through the stew. Mould a dome of rice on one side of each warm plate using a small bowl, spoon the olluquito beside it, and serve at once.
Pack the rice firmly into the bowl and turn it out in one quick movement for a neat dome like the one in the photo.
Done when: Each plate holds a neat white rice dome beside a generous mound of golden stew.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve each plate hot, with the rice dome beside the stew and salsa criolla on the side — the sharp, pickled onion is what cuts through the rich, salty charqui.
Peru
35m
