Toasted Corn Kernels (Cancha Salada)

Name: Toasted Corn Kernels (Cancha Salada)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Peru
Ingredients: 2 cups (400 g) dried chulpe corn (maíz chulpe); large-kernel dried white corn works too, though it needs a few extra minutes in the oil; About 4 cups (960 ml) vegetable oil, for frying — enough to come 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) up the side of your pot; 1 1/2 tsp (9 g) fine sea salt, plus more to taste

Cancha salada cancha saladaSay it: KAHN-chah sah-LAH-dah

By the Passport Plate editors. Published November 9, 2026.

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Cancha salada is Peru's everyday crunchy snack: whole dried corn kernels dropped into hot oil until they split open, puff and turn golden, then showered with salt while still warm. Bowls of it land on the table before ceviche, alongside a cold beer, or in a paper cone from a street cart. The flavour is deeply toasted and corn-sweet, the texture shatteringly crisp with a slightly chewy heart. Nothing more than corn, oil and salt — and it disappears fast.

Toasted Corn Kernels (Cancha Salada)

Cancha salada, cancha salada

Pronounced KAHN-chah sah-LAH-dah

Serves: 4
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 25 min
Level: Easy

Also nut-free and egg-free.

Allergens: none of the major allergens in the listed ingredients. Check labels on packaged ingredients.

Ingredients

4 servings

2 cups (400 g)400 g (2 cups) dried chulpe corn (maíz chulpe); large-kernel dried white corn works too, though it needs a few extra minutes in the oil
About 4 cups (960 ml) vegetable oil, for frying — enough to come 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) up the side of your pot
1 1/2 tsp (9 g)9 g (1 1/2 tsp) fine sea salt, plus more to taste

Method

Spread the dried corn on a tray and pick out any broken kernels, bits of husk or stones; you want evenly sized kernels so they cook at the same rate.
Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pot to a depth of about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) and heat over medium-high to 350°F (175°C). A single kernel dropped in should sizzle and rise straight away.
Add 1/2 cup (100 g) of the corn — no more, or the oil temperature drops and the kernels turn greasy. Stand back slightly; they will crack and spit.
Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring gently, until the kernels have split open, float at the surface and are pale golden with a toasted smell.
Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto paper towels, sprinkle immediately with salt and toss so it sticks while the oil is still hot.
Let the oil come back to 350°F (175°C) between batches and fry the remaining corn the same way, salting each batch as it drains.
Cool for 3 to 4 minutes — they crisp up as they cool — then taste and add a final pinch of salt before piling into a bowl.

Regional variant: Cancha tostada (sand-toasted corn)

In Andean kitchens the corn is toasted rather than fried: heat 1 cup (250 g) of coarse salt or clean fine sand in a heavy clay or cast-iron pot over medium heat, add the dried corn and stir constantly for 6 to 8 minutes until the kernels crack open and smell toasted. Tip into a sieve, shake off the salt or sand, and salt lightly — the result is drier and crisper than the fried version.

Cook's notes

Fry in small batches and let the oil recover its heat; crowded kernels steam instead of puffing.
Salt the moment they leave the oil, when the surface is still tacky enough to hold it.
For extra-toasty flavour, use the oil once for a batch of corn, let it cool, strain it and fry the next batch in it.

Serve with

Ceviche, ají de gallina or any stew, with chicha morada, a cold beer or an Inca Kola.

Make ahead and storage

Keeps in an airtight jar for up to 5 days; refresh in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 5 minutes if it softens.

Toasted Corn Kernels (Cancha Salada)