Peruvian Grilled Chicken

 

This statement may sound a little biased, but Peruvian food is the best! When people ask me to describe Peruvian food, it is literally impossible to do that with just few words. Our cuisine has so much variety, the food from the coast is completely different from the food from the Andes and the Amazon, it literally has something for everyone.

I can’t tell you how excited I got when I saw ají panca at Whole Foods during the weekend. Honestly, I didn’t use to cook too much Peruvian food because I didn’t have access to these essential pastes, plus my mom always spoils me every time when I go back home. But now that I can get ají panca and ají amarillo around the corner, you will be getting bombarded with lots of Peruvian dishes!
In case you are wondering what the heck is aji panca, let me explain a bit. Aji Panca is a type of chile pepper that is a super important ingredient in Peruvian cuisine. It is dark red, mild pepper with a smokey, fruity taste. It’s often sold dried or prepared into a paste. You can find the dried peppers and jarred paste in Latin food stores and now, at Whole Foods. Woot! Woot!

Peruvian Grilled Chicken is one of the easiest Peruvian recipes, you are more than welcome to bake it if you prefer it that way. So without further ado, I present to you the preparation process!

Enjoy my friends!

Peruvian Grilled Chicken 

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs. of chicken. I used a mixture of chicken thighs and drumsticks.
• 2 tbsp. aji panca paste (You can also get it on Amazon)
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp bone stock or water (recipe for bone stock here)
• 1 tbsp apple cider
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder

How?

1. In a small bowl mix all the ingredients, except the chicken.
2. Rub the chicken with all the mixture.
3. If you life the flavor to penetrate even more, I recommend preparing it overnight. But if you are too excited like I was to make this chicken, just let it sit with all the seasonings for 30 minutes.
4. Grill for 20 minutes per side. Make sure the chicken if fully cooked. If you decide to bake it, place chicken in an oven-resistance container, add 1/2 cup of chicken stock or water and with aluminum foil. Bake at 375F for 45-55 minutes and broil for 5 minutes uncovered.
5. Time to lick your fingers!