AI-generated image
Choros a la chalaca
Cold mussels with corn salsa
Choros a la chalaca: cold mussels on the half shell heaped with corn, onion, tomato, rocoto and lime
Named for the people of Callao, Lima's port, choros a la chalaca are what you order with friends at a seafront cevichería on a hot afternoon: steamed mussels, chilled, each on its half shell under a bright, wet salsa of red onion, tomato, Andean corn, rocoto and lime. Cool, sweet, briny and sharp, they are eaten with your fingers in two bites, often before a ceviche or a jalea. Here the mussels are fully steamed open first, so nothing is served raw. People often overcook them while waiting for the last stubborn shells, which leaves the rest rubbery; lift them out as soon as each one opens. Chef's tip: dress the salsa no more than 15 minutes ahead, and spoon a little of the juice onto every mussel; that juice is the whole point of the dish.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the mussels
- 2 ¼ lb live musselsabout 36, scrubbed and debearded
- ½ cup water
For the chalaca salsa
- 1 red onionvery finely diced
- 2 tomatoesdeseeded and finely diced
- 3 ½ oz cooked choclo kernelsAndean white corn, or sweetcorn
- ½ rocoto chillideseeded and finely diced; or 1 red chilli
- 2 tbsp fresh corianderfinely chopped
- ¼ cup lime juicefrom about 5 limes
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
To serve
- 4 lime wedges (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Check 2 ¼ lb live mussels one by one: tap any open ones sharply on the worktop and throw away those that don't close, and any with cracked shells.
Step 2: Put ½ cup water in a wide pan with a lid over a high heat. When it boils, add the mussels, cover and steam, shaking the pan, until the shells open.
4 minStep 3: Lift the mussels out onto a tray as they open. Throw away any that stay shut after 6 minutes. Let them cool, then chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 4: Twist off and discard the empty half of each shell, and loosen each mussel in the half it sits in. Arrange on a platter over ice if you have it.
Step 5: Mix 1 red onion, 2 tomatoes, 3 ½ oz cooked choclo kernels, ½ rocoto chilli and 2 tbsp fresh coriander in a bowl. Stir in ¼ cup lime juice, 1 tbsp neutral oil, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper and let it sit for 5 minutes, until the onion turns pinkish.
5 minStep 6: Spoon a little salsa with its juice onto every mussel, add 4 lime wedges and serve cold straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does choros a la chalaca take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of red onion?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Moreton Bay bugsSlipper lobster with garlic butter
Moreton Bay bugs are the flat, shovel-nosed slipper lobsters caught off the Queensland coast around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and for Queenslanders they are a summer treat, split and grilled at the beach house. The tail meat is sweet and rich, somewhere between lobster and prawn. Buy them raw, frozen or fresh, from a fishmonger and ask them to halve them if you like. A common mistake is overcooking, which makes the meat rubbery; it is ready the moment it turns white. Chef's tip: grill flesh side down first to mark it, then turn and baste in the shell.
Australian
All i pebreEel and potato paprika stew
In El Palmar and the other villages around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, the restaurants that are famous for paella serve something older first: all i pebre, "garlic and pepper", a brick-red stew of lagoon eel and potatoes thickened with a pounded almond and fried-bread picada. It is rich, garlicky and gently hot, eaten with bread to mop up the sauce. Ask your fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and handle it with gloves: raw eel blood is irritating, though harmless once cooked. If you can't find eel, monkfish or hake works well. A common mistake is letting the paprika burn; it turns bitter in seconds, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: break the potatoes with a knife instead of cutting cleanly; the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.
Spanish
Midia saganakiMussels with tomato and feta
Thessaloniki is Greece's mussel capital, with farms in the Thermaic Gulf a few kilometres from the seafront ouzeries where this two-handled pan arrives, still bubbling, at the table. Mussels steam open in a quick sauce of peppers, tomato and chilli, and crumbled feta melts into the juices at the end. Bread is essential. The classic version adds a splash of ouzo; this one is alcohol-free, using a pinch of fennel seed for that aniseed note (add 2 tbsp ouzo with the tomatoes if you like). Common mistake: overcooking — take the pan off the heat as soon as the shells open. Chef's tip: buy mussels on the day and keep them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, never in water.
Greek