Peruvian Chicken in Yellow Chili Sauce (Ají de Gallina)
Ají de gallina Say it: ah-HEE deh gah-YEE-nah
Ají de gallina is Peru's beloved creamy chicken stew: poached chicken shredded into a golden sauce built on ají amarillo, garlic, soaked bread, evaporated milk, walnuts and Parmesan. Despite the name ('gallina' means hen), it is a mild, gently spiced dish, more comfort food than heat, and it appears on Lima lunch menus, in family kitchens and at Sunday gatherings across the country. It is always plated with rice, boiled potatoes, hard-boiled egg and olives, and it tastes rich, nutty and faintly sweet from the yellow chili.
Peruvian Chicken in Yellow Chili Sauce (Ají de Gallina)
Ají de gallina
Pronounced ah-HEE deh gah-YEE-nah
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 1 hr 15 min
- Level
- Medium
Allergens: contains gluten, milk, egg, nuts. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
For the chicken
For the sauce
To serve
Method
Put the chicken, quartered onion, 2 garlic cloves, bay leaf, 1 tsp salt, pepper and 6 cups (1.5 L) water in a pot. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover partly and cook 30–35 minutes, until the meat pulls easily from the bone and reaches 165°F (74°C) at the thickest point.
Lift the chicken out and let it cool in a bowl for 15 minutes, then strain the pot and reserve 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of the broth. Shred the chicken, discarding skin and bones.
While the chicken cools, tear the bread into pieces and soak it in the evaporated milk for 10 minutes, until completely soft with no dry patches left.
Blend the soaked bread and milk with the toasted walnuts, Parmesan and 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the reserved broth until you have a smooth, thick paste.
Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and cook the chopped onion for 7–8 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and ají amarillo paste and cook 4–5 minutes more, stirring, until the paste darkens slightly and smells sweet rather than raw.
Stir in the bread and walnut paste, then the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) broth. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; loosen with a splash of broth if it tightens too much.
Fold in the shredded chicken and simmer 5 minutes to heat through, then taste and season with salt and pepper.
Spoon over white rice and serve with the boiled potatoes, hard-boiled egg wedges and black olives.
Regional variants
Some cooks add a spoonful of ají panca paste for a deeper red-gold colour, and pecans often stand in for the walnuts. Turkey can replace the chicken when cooking for a larger table.
Cook's notes
- Use genuinely stale bread rather than fresh — it gives the sauce body without turning it gluey.
- Keep the sauce at a bare simmer once the chicken goes in; a hard boil can make it grainy.
- A squeeze of lime at the end sharpens the flavours if the sauce tastes flat.
Serve with
Steamed white rice, boiled potatoes, egg and olives, with chilled chicha morada or icy lemonade.
Make ahead and storage
Keeps 3 days covered in the fridge and tastes even better the next day; reheat gently with a splash of stock. Freezing is not ideal, as the sauce can split.
