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1
Start the Rice and Season the Chicken
10 Mins
Boiling water, 100°C (212°F)
Put the rinsed rice on to cook by your usual method. Meanwhile, season the chicken pieces all over with half the salt and leave them at room temperature while you chop the onion, garlic, tomato, pepper and locoto.
Starting the rice first means everything finishes together.
Done when: The rice is simmering gently; the chicken is seasoned and dry to the touch.
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2
Brown the Chicken
12 Mins
Hot oil, about 180°C (350°F)
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken pieces in two batches, skin-side down first, for about 5 minutes a side until deep golden all over. Lift out and set aside — the chicken does not need to be cooked through yet.
Do not crowd the pot: crowded chicken steams and never browns.
Done when: Deep golden skin on all sides; the pot has browned bits stuck to the bottom — that is flavour, not burning.
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3
Fry the Red Aji Base
8 Mins
Medium heat, about 160°C (320°F)
Add the remaining oil to the same pot. Fry the onion for 5 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the garlic, aji panca paste, chopped locoto, cumin and oregano and fry for 3 minutes more, stirring, until the paste darkens a shade and smells toasty. Add the diced tomatoes and red pepper strips and cook for 2 minutes until they start to collapse.
Frying the chili paste until it darkens is what turns raw heat into a rich sauce.
Done when: The paste is a shade darker and fragrant; the tomatoes are softening into the oil.
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4
Braise the Chicken in the Sauce
30 Mins
Gentle simmer, about 95°C (200°F)
Pour in 500ml of water, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot, then return the chicken to the pot and spoon sauce over it. Cover, lower the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes, turning the pieces once halfway through, until the chicken is tender and the thickest piece reads 74°C (165°F) on a thermometer.
Keep the simmer gentle — a hard boil toughens the chicken and splits the sauce.
Done when: The chicken is tender and reads 74°C (165°F) at the thickest part; the sauce has thickened and turned a deep brick red.
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5
Stew the Potatoes and Peas In
20 Mins
Gentle simmer, about 95°C (200°F)
Lift the chicken out briefly, add the diced potatoes to the sauce and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until they are nearly tender. Take out two or three potato pieces, mash them and stir them back in to thicken the sauce — this is the old Bolivian trick for body. Return the chicken, add the peas and simmer for 5 minutes more.
Mashing a few potatoes into the sauce thickens it without flour and keeps the flavour clean.
Done when: A knife slides easily into the potatoes; the sauce coats a spoon; the peas are bright green.
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6
Make the Sarsa and Serve
5 Mins
No heat
While the stew finishes, toss the sliced red onion and diced tomato for the sarsa with the lime juice and a pinch of salt. Serve the chicken and potatoes on hot plates with a mound of white rice, spoon the red sauce over everything, pile the sarsa on top and scatter with parsley.
Soaking the sliced onion in cold water for 5 minutes takes the raw bite off without losing the crunch.
Done when: Plates are hot, the sauce is spooned generously, and the sarsa sits bright and fresh on top.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the plates hot, with the sauce spooned over the chicken and the sarsa piled on top. Picante de pollo is a knife-and-fork dish — the chicken is eaten off the bone, the potatoes are for mopping up the sauce, and the rice is there to catch every drop.
Bolivia
2h 25m
