Name: Apichado de cerdo
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 110 min
Total time: 135 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 800 g pork ribs, fresh, cut into serving pieces, bone-in (about 500 g edible meat after cooking); 120 g roasted unsalted peanuts, finely ground; 35 g fine maize flour, plain, not pre-cooked polenta; 700 ml unsalted pork or meat stock, cool for blending 150 ml; 550 ml for braise; 450 g green plantain, peeled, cut into large pieces; 1000 ml water, for cooking plantain; 120 g red onion, finely chopped; 12 g garlic, minced; 15 g mishquina seasoning paste, Amazonian annatto-based aromatic paste; 25 ml vegetable oil; 12 g fresh coriander leaves, chopped; 2 g dried oregano; 2 g ground cumin; 5 g salt; 1 g ground black pepper

Apichado de cerdo — Amazonian pork with peanuts and maize

Yield 4 generous servings

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 110 minutes

Passive 0 minutes

Total 135 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Apichado de cerdo — Amazonian pork with peanuts and maize

Apichado de cerdo is an Amazonian Peruvian pork preparation in which peanuts and maize give body to a seasoned braising liquid. Rather than a thin broth, the result is a coating sauce around soft pieces of pork. Its name should not be confused with a generic peanut stew from a different region.

Pork ribs supply flavour while toasted ground peanuts make the sauce rich and granular. Fine maize flour thickens it further, but it must first be dispersed in cool liquid so that the pot does not fill with dry lumps. A small quantity of mishquina, an Amazonian annatto-based seasoning, belongs to the aromatic base.

The green plantain is cooked separately until tender, then served alongside the pork. This keeps the sauce focused and gives the plantain its own soft, starchy texture. Add the peanut and maize mixture late in cooking: a long hard boil can make the sauce catch on the bottom before the ribs soften.

Ingredients

800 g pork ribs, fresh, cut into serving pieces, bone-in (about 500 g edible meat after cooking)
120 g roasted unsalted peanuts, finely ground
35 g fine maize flour, plain, not pre-cooked polenta
700 ml unsalted pork or meat stock, cool for blending 150 ml; 550 ml for braise
450 g green plantain, peeled, cut into large pieces
1000 ml water, for cooking plantain
120 g red onion, finely chopped
12 g garlic, minced
15 g mishquina seasoning paste, Amazonian annatto-based aromatic paste
25 ml vegetable oil
12 g fresh coriander leaves, chopped
2 g dried oregano
2 g ground cumin
5 g salt
1 g ground black pepper

Method

Season the ribs.Pat the pork ribs dry and rub with 3 g salt, the cumin and pepper. Leave them on a clean plate while the aromatics are prepared. The seasoning clings to the ribs rather than sitting in a wet puddle. For food safety, keep raw pork away from prepared vegetables.
Brown the pork.Heat 15 ml oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the ribs on both sides, turning with tongs; remove to a plate. The meat has browned edges and releases easily from the pot.
Build the fragrant base.Reduce to medium heat. Add the remaining 10 ml oil, onion and garlic; stir until softened, then cook the mishquina for a further minute. Return the pork to the pot. The onion is translucent, the garlic fragrant and the seasoning dispersed.
Braise the ribs.Pour 550 ml stock into the pot, bring to a gentle bubble, cover and simmer. Turn the ribs occasionally until tender and thoroughly cooked. The pork can be pulled from the bone with modest resistance. For food safety, check the thickest meat reaches at least 63 °C and rests 3 minutes; the braise continues until tenderness.
Cook the plantain.While the ribs braise, bring the 1000 ml water to a boil in a separate saucepan. Add the peeled plantain and simmer until a knife enters without a hard centre; drain. A knife slips into the plantain and the pieces keep their shape.
Thicken the sauce.Whisk the fine maize flour into the reserved 150 ml cool stock. Stir the ground peanuts into the pork pot, then whisk in the maize mixture. Simmer gently while stirring frequently. The sauce coats a spoon smoothly without floury lumps or a scorched smell.
Finish and serve.Stir in the remaining 2 g salt, oregano and coriander. Bring to a final gentle bubble, then divide the pork and sauce among four bowls and add the drained plantain. The sauce moves thickly around the ribs and the coriander is evenly distributed.

Practical

Success points

Use a gentle covered simmer, then whisk in finely ground peanuts and maize without lumps. Let the pork become tender before the thickener is introduced; ground peanuts scorch quickly in a fierce boil.

Serving, storage and substitutions

Serve the ribs and thick sauce immediately alongside green plantain. A splash of hot stock may loosen sauce that becomes too stiff, but additional stock changes the measured yield. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers at 4 °C or colder and use within 3–4 days; reheat to 74 °C before serving. The peanut sauce thickens further on cooling. Mishquina supplies a characteristic regional seasoning; substituting generic annatto alone changes its aromatic profile and is not equivalent.

Control points

Sauce forms lumpsthe maize flour entered hot stock dry — blend it with the reserved cool stock before adding.
Sauce catchespeanut solids are boiling too hard — lower the heat and stir against the pot base.

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Serving size1 of 4 servings
Calories620 kcal
Carbohydrates51 g
Protein35 g
Fat34 g
Fibre8 g
Sodium680 mg

Allergens and food safety

Peanuts; check commercial mishquina and stock labels for other allergens. Pork must be properly chilled and thoroughly cooked; keep raw meat utensils separate.

Closing

Tender ribs in a peanut-and-maize coating sauce, with soft green plantain. Stir the dispersed maize slurry into a low simmer after the pork has softened.

Apichado de cerdo — Amazonian pork with peanuts and maize

Ingredients

Ingredients

Method

Practical

Success points

Serving, storage and substitutions

Control points

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Allergens and food safety

Closing

Peruvian National Dishes

Caldo de cabeza

Chairo puneño

Chaque arequipeño