Ají de Gallina (Creamy Chilli Chicken)
Shredded chicken in a velvety, golden sauce of ají amarillo, bread, milk, walnuts and Parmesan. Served over potatoes and rice with black olives and boiled egg.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Poach the chicken
Put the chicken in a large pot (at least 4 L/4 qt), add the salt and cover with water. Simmer gently for 30 minutes. Lift the chicken out, keep the broth, and shred the meat finely, discarding skin and bones.
- 1 kg chicken
- 1 tsp salt
- about 2.5 L water
✅ Done when: chicken is cooked through and shreds easily (no pink inside)
Soak the bread
Tear the bread into a blender, add the evaporated milk and let it soak for 5 minutes. Blend until completely smooth.
- 4 slices white bread
- 300 ml evaporated milk
✅ Done when: mixture is smooth with no lumps
Make the base
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Thicken the sauce
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Add the chicken
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Serve
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Poach the chicken
Put the chicken in a large pot (at least 4 L/4 qt), add the salt and cover with water. Simmer gently for 30 minutes. Lift the chicken out, keep the broth, and shred the meat finely, discarding skin and bones.
- 1 kg chicken
- 1 tsp salt
- about 2.5 L water
✅ Done when: chicken is cooked through and shreds easily (no pink inside)
Soak the bread
Tear the bread into a blender, add the evaporated milk and let it soak for 5 minutes. Blend until completely smooth.
- 4 slices white bread
- 300 ml evaporated milk
✅ Done when: mixture is smooth with no lumps
Make the base
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Thicken the sauce
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Add the chicken
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Ají de gallina descends from manjar blanco, a medieval Spanish dish of shredded chicken in a sweet almond and milk sauce. In colonial Lima, cooks replaced the almonds with local nuts, added the fruity yellow chilli, ají amarillo, and turned it into something completely Peruvian.
Traditionally it was made with an old laying hen (gallina), whose meat gives a richer broth. Today most families use chicken, but the name stayed.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It's creamy, comforting and gently spicy, the dish many Peruvians say tastes most like home.
💡 Fun Fact
Ají amarillo is called 'yellow chilli' but turns bright orange as it ripens; it's the backbone of Peruvian cooking.
Lima
-12.05°S, -77.04°W
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