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Inchicapi
Inchicapi: Iquitos's chicken soup thickened with ground peanuts and maize, with cassava and sacha culantro
From the riverside kitchens of Iquitos and the Peruvian Amazon comes inchicapi, a festive chicken soup traditionally made with a free-range hen for birthdays and fiestas. Raw peanuts and a little maize flour are ground and stirred into the broth, which turns it creamy, pale and nutty, and pieces of cassava, garlic, ají dulce and sacha culantro (a long, serrated, strongly flavoured coriander) finish it. It is served with rice, boiled plantain or cassava. If you can't find sacha culantro in Asian or Latin shops (sold as culantro or ngo gai), use a big handful of coriander. The pitfall is adding the peanut paste dry: it clumps and catches on the bottom, so loosen it with broth first and stir often. Chef's tip: use raw, not roasted, peanuts; they keep the soup pale and give it the right fresh, milky taste.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
To serve
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 2 ⅝ lb chicken pieces, 10 ½ cups water and 2 tsp salt in a large pot, bring to the boil and skim. Simmer gently while you make the paste.
15 minStep 2: Blend 7 oz raw peanuts and 1 ¾ oz fine cornmeal with 500 ml of the hot broth until completely smooth, like thin cream.
Step 3: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion, 5 garlic cloves, 2 ají dulce or sweet red pepper, 1 tsp achiote (annatto) powder and ½ tsp ground cumin until soft and orange.
8 minStep 4: Stir the fried mixture into the pot with 14 oz cassava (yuca) and simmer until the cassava is just tender.
15 minStep 5: Pour in the peanut mixture, stirring all the time, and simmer gently, stirring often, until the soup thickens and no longer tastes of raw peanut, and the chicken reaches 165°F at the bone.
20 minStep 6: Stir in ⅔ oz sacha culantro, check the salt and serve with 1 ⅓ lb cooked white rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 510 kcal
- Protein
- 43 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does inchicapi take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 55 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 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 onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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