Do You Know How to Make Peruvian Fried Rice

Chinese immigration to Peru in the late 19th and also early 20th centuries led to a Chinese-Peruvian fusion cuisine called chifa. Perhaps one of the most popular dishes in chifa cuisine is arroz chaufa or Peruvian fried rice. It features a Chinese Cantonese influence combined with Peruvian ingredients.

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Peruvian Fried Rice

Arroz Chaufa is Peruvian’s version of Chinese fried rice. It is influenced by the large number of Chinese immigrants to Peru. Peru’s fried rice version consists of rice, sweet peppers, green onions, onions, garlic, soy sauce, scrambled eggs chicken, and also a dash of sesame oil, ginger, and cumin. Amazingly delicious and you probably already have all the ingredients to make this!

Ingredients

2 cups boneless/skinless chicken thighs diced into ½ inch cubes or chicken breast
5 eggs scrambled and then roughly chopped
2 ½ cups cold cooked white rice Cook the rice in chicken broth or chicken base like Better than Bouillon instead of water
½ cup onions diced small
2 garlic cloves minced
1 whole red bell pepper diced I diced mine into small pieces
½ cup thinly sliced green onions plus the white parts
Salt and pepper for taste
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Soy Sauce Mix

⅛ cup soy sauce
¼ tsp sesame oil
2 pinches cumin
¼ tsp ground ginger (only add it if you are not using fresh ginger) if using fresh, use 1 tablespoon and cook it with the fresh veggies
1 pinch of sugar

Ingredients Notes For Peruvian Fried Rice

Rice:

I prefer using jasmine rice (either white or brown) for all my fried rice dishes. Brown jasmine rice will make it a touch healthier, and you can barely tell a difference once it is seasoned with the flavoring sauce. You must cook the rice in advance, at least a day ahead of time. Once the rice is cooked, I like to spread it out on a sheet tray to cool and dry it out. The key to good fried rice is to have relatively dry cooked rice.

Soy Sauce:

I prefer low-sodium soy sauce for all my cooking needs. You can replace the soy sauce with Tamari if you’d like to make this dish gluten-free. Note that Tamari is usually a bit less salty than traditional soy sauce, so you may need to add a little extra or a pinch of salt to get the seasoning just right.

Toasted Sesame Oil:

Plain sesame oil is lighter in color than toasted sesame oil, which is dark brown, and much more flavorful. The packaging may not say “toasted” but you can tell the difference by the color. Plan to use toasted sesame oil for this arroz chaufa recipe.

Chicken:

I use boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders, diced into bite-size pieces, for this Peruvian fried rice. You could use thighs if you prefer, or even use leftover cooked rotisserie chicken, shredded into bite-size pieces.

Eggs:

Make a simple omelet by beating together the eggs and pouring them into a lightly greased non-stick skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Cook on one side, tilting the pan a bit to allow the raw egg to run off the interior sides of the pan and cook. Then carefully flip the omelet with a silicone spatula and cook the other side. You can even cut the omelet into halves or quarters with your spatula to flip it more easily if needed. Then remove the cooked omelet to a cutting board and roughly chop.

Instruction to Make Peruvian Fried Rice

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the red bell peppers and onions. Saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Right before the peppers and onions are done add the fresh ginger ( if using fresh ginger) and green onions, Saute for a min. Add the chicken and carefully mix well and cook for a couple of minutes or until cooked through
Add half the rice. Mix well then add the rest of the rice. Mix well. Add the soy sauce mixture. Mix well then add the chopped scrambled eggs. Toss. Season with salt and pepper

Notes

Preparations Tips:

This recipe moves pretty fast so get all of your veggies diced and minced and in order.
Skinless chicken thighs are the preferred choice. They are full of flavor and they will taste amazing in this dish. If all you have is chicken breast, feel free to use that too
If you want to save time, use prepackaged already diced peppers, garlic, and also onion
Mix all these ingredients together in a small bowl: Soy sauce, sesame oil, a pinch or two of sugar, a couple of pinches of cumin, and also ground ginger. If you prefer to use fresh add 1 tablespoon. Do not add fresh ginger to the soy sauce mixture. We will be cooking the ginger with the rest of the veggies

Why do You Need Day-Old Rice For Fried Rice?

Using warm, just-cooked rice for fried rice with a yield of soggy, sticky, clumpy rice. Cooking the rice in advance and giving it time to dry out will result in the optimal texture of your fried rice. This is also why I recommend spreading the cooked rice out on a large plate or tray so it has more surface area to dry out better as it cools.

Origins of Peruvian fried rice

This dish is probably the most widely consumed food from the Chinese-Peruvian fusion cuisine known as chifa. After the abolition of slavery in the mid-nineteenth century, plantation owners and managers from the incipient guano industry companies looked for another way of obtaining cheap labor. They looked overseas.

Around 100,000 Chinese immigrants, mostly Cantonese men were tempted to move to Peru to live and work. These people worked under very harsh working conditions, bound by a restrictive 8-year contract with the plantation owners.

After their contract ended they were free to choose whether to continue to work or settle elsewhere. It’s under these grim conditions that arroz chaufa de pollo was first prepared by the Chinese immigrants themselves.

FAQs

What is the difference between chaufa and fried rice?

What is the secret to good fried rice?

Use cold, leftover cooked rice. Left in the fridge overnight, the rice grains will firm up, making it easier to separate and also decreasing the chances of your fried rice turning out mushy. If you can’t wait, air freshly cooked rice to remove moisture and refrigerate the rice for a few hours before cooking.

Why is Peruvian food similar to Chinese?

Chifa took off after an influx of Chinese immigrants arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bringing their tasty cuisine with them. Chinese food became so popular in Peru that it began to influence traditional Peruvian and also Andean dishes.

Why is Peruvian food similar to Japanese?

The Japanese introduced new ingredients to Peruvian cuisines like miso, ginger, soy, wasabi, and also rice vinegar. They also integrated Peruvian ingredients such as aji or yellow pepper, Andes potatoes, and also corn. This fusion of the two cuisine cultures didn’t happen overnight but took place progressively.

What is the main ingredient in Peruvian food?

The four traditional staples of Peruvian cuisine are corn, potatoes, and other tubers, Amaranthaceaes (quinoa, kañiwa, and kiwicha), and legumes (beans and lupins). Staples brought by the Spanish include rice, wheat, and also meats (beef, pork, and also chicken).

Conclusion

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