Name: Ají de gallina — creamy ají amarillo chicken
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 65 min
Total time: 95 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 600 g skinless boneless chicken breast, raw; 700 ml water for poaching, measured; reserve 300 ml broth after cooking; 500 g yellow potatoes, washed, whole; 2 large eggs, in shells, for boiling; 1300 ml water for boiling potatoes and eggs, 800 ml for potatoes and 500 ml for eggs; 90 g plain white bread, torn into small pieces; 220 ml evaporated milk, divided 170 ml for bread and 50 ml for sauce; 160 g red onion, finely chopped; 18 g garlic, minced; 70 g ají amarillo paste, unsweetened; 30 ml neutral oil, for the sauce; 35 g toasted pecans, roughly chopped; 35 g Parmesan-type hard cheese, finely grated; 4 g fine salt, measured; 2 g ground cumin, measured; 40 g pitted black olives, four or more pieces, drained

Ají de gallina with shredded chicken in a bread-thickened yellow sauce

Yield 4 portions

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 65 minutes

Passive 5 minutes

Total 95 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Ají de gallina with shredded chicken in a bread-thickened yellow sauce

Ají de gallina is a creamy Peruvian preparation in which shredded poultry sits in a sauce flavoured by ají amarillo and thickened with soaked bread. Its familiar plate includes cooked potatoes and, in many versions, egg and black olives. The name recalls gallina, a mature hen; the household method here uses readily available chicken breast and therefore should not be mistaken for a long-simmered mature-hen preparation.

The defining texture comes from two separate decisions. First the bread absorbs evaporated milk and blends to a smooth slurry; then that slurry cooks with softened onion, garlic and yellow chilli. The sauce should coat shredded chicken without being grainy or gluey. Toasted pecans and a modest quantity of hard grated cheese add body and salinity, so use the measured salt only after the other ingredients have been combined.

The poultry should be properly cooked before it is shredded, and the reserved hot poaching liquid becomes part of the sauce rather than a disposable by-product. Cook the potatoes and eggs separately, slice only after handling them safely and assemble while the sauce is warm. This takes longer than a single-pan stew, but preserving the sauce and garnishes as distinct components produces a more intelligible, executable recipe.

Ingredients

Chicken and potatoes

600 g skinless boneless chicken breast, raw
700 ml water for poaching, measured; reserve 300 ml broth after cooking
500 g yellow potatoes, washed, whole
2 large eggs, in shells, for boiling
1300 ml water for boiling potatoes and eggs, 800 ml for potatoes and 500 ml for eggs

Sauce

90 g plain white bread, torn into small pieces
220 ml evaporated milk, divided 170 ml for bread and 50 ml for sauce
160 g red onion, finely chopped
18 g garlic, minced
70 g ají amarillo paste, unsweetened
30 ml neutral oil, for the sauce
35 g toasted pecans, roughly chopped
35 g Parmesan-type hard cheese, finely grated
4 g fine salt, measured
2 g ground cumin, measured

Finish

40 g pitted black olives, four or more pieces, drained

Method

Poach the poultry.Place the 600 g chicken breast in a saucepan with 700 ml water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for roughly 20 minutes; transfer the breast to a clean bowl and measure out 300 ml of the strained cooking liquid for the sauce. The chicken should feel firm enough to pull into fibres rather than fall apart into paste. Test the thickest centre for at least 74 °C.
Cook the potatoes and eggs.In separate saucepans, use 800 ml water to boil the 500 g whole potatoes for approximately 25 minutes and 500 ml water to boil the 2 large eggs until their whites and yolks are firm, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. A skewer should slide through the potatoes, and the peeled eggs should be fully set. Use clean water and separate cooked food from raw poultry tools.
Soak the bread.Pour 170 ml of the evaporated milk over the 90 g torn bread, rest for 5 minutes and blend to a smooth thick cream. Retain the other 50 ml milk separately. The bread should have no dry centre or obvious lumps after blending.
Build the ají base.Heat 30 ml oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the 160 g onion and cook 6 minutes; stir in 18 g garlic, 70 g ají amarillo paste and 2 g cumin for another 4 minutes. The onion should be soft and the chilli mixture fragrant, without scorched garlic.
Thicken and loosen the cream.Stir the blended bread mixture into the pan, then add the reserved 300 ml poaching broth in measured portions. Cook gently for 8 minutes, stirring frequently, and incorporate the remaining 50 ml evaporated milk. The sauce should fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon rather than forming a solid paste.
Fold in the cooked chicken.Pull the cooked chicken into small shreds and mix them into the sauce with the 35 g pecans, 35 g cheese and 4 g salt. Warm gently for about 2 minutes, then spoon over peeled, sliced potatoes and garnish each plate with half an egg and the olives. Chicken should be evenly coated, with visible separate shreds and no dry pockets. Keep the chicken thoroughly heated; refrigerate any leftovers promptly.

Practical

Practical guidance

For a smooth sauce, blend the soaked bread thoroughly before it reaches the hot pan. If the consistency becomes too thick, take a little of the allocated broth from its reserved measure early rather than pouring in new unlisted liquid. Do not boil the milk vigorously, which can encourage sticking at the bottom. The stated chicken breast makes a practical everyday version; a mature hen has different texture and simmering needs and cannot simply inherit these times. Keep leftovers at 4 °C or below for 3–4 days and reheat to 74 °C, stirring so the centre of the sauce heats as evenly as the edges.

Control points

Texture and handlingIf the sauce is grainy, the bread was not fully blended or the mixture boiled hard; blend before adding it and stir over low heat.
Finish and recoveryIf the sauce sticks to the pot, the heat is too strong for bread and milk; move it to a clean pan without scraping burnt residue and reduce the heat.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size1 of 4 main-course portions
Calories635 kcal
Carbohydrate47.5 g
Protein51.3 g
Fat27.8 g
Fibre5.7 g
Sodium895 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk, wheat/gluten in white bread, eggs and tree nuts (pecans); cheese also contains milk. Cook poultry to at least 74 °C, keep cooked chicken separate from raw preparation boards and handle hot milk sauce carefully.

Closing

On the plate: Peruvian shredded poultry in creamy ají amarillo and bread sauce, commonly presented with potato, eggs and olives.
Control that matters: Chicken breast is used rather than a mature hen; no claim that its cooking time matches traditional gallina.