Name: Chairo cusqueño, home-style beef soup
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 97 min
Total time: 602 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 650 g boneless beef chuck, 3 cm pieces; 1800 ml water; 140 g cooked wheat berries, fully cooked; 75 g dry chuño, cold soak before cooking; 2000 ml water, for chuño soaking (1200 ml) and two rinses (400 ml each); discard; 300 g potatoes, 2 cm pieces; 160 g carrots, small dice; 140 g green peas, shelled; 110 g red onion, chopped; 15 g garlic, minced; 25 g ají amarillo paste, unseasoned; 20 ml vegetable oil; 5 g salt; 2 g ground cumin; 10 g fresh mint leaves, chopped

Chairo cusqueño, home-style beef soup — complete home recipe

Yield 6 servings

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 97 minutes

Passive 480 minutes

Total 602 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Chairo cusqueño, home-style beef soup — complete home recipe

For home cooking, a smaller meat selection makes chairo easier to organise without leaving out its recognisable foundation. This Cusco-style soup still holds chuño and wheat alongside potato, beef and garden vegetables. Neither the word “home” nor the ingredient proportions should be read as a claim about what every Cusco family serves.

Beef chuck is simmered until fork-tender, then the starchy elements and vegetables are added in a controlled order. Carrot and peas bring their own sweetness, while ají amarillo gives the broth a gentle chilli edge. The chuño has a more elastic, distinctive bite than a fresh potato piece.

Do not use dry uncooked wheat as a direct substitute for the measured cooked wheat berries. The soup’s stated time already includes an overnight-style cold soak for the chuño; the grain should be fully cooked before starting. Keep the soup lively but not violently boiling so the diced potato holds its shape.

Ingredients

Soup base

650 g boneless beef chuck, 3 cm pieces
1800 ml water
140 g cooked wheat berries, fully cooked
75 g dry chuño, cold soak before cooking
2000 ml water, for chuño soaking (1200 ml) and two rinses (400 ml each); discard

Vegetables and ají

300 g potatoes, 2 cm pieces
160 g carrots, small dice
140 g green peas, shelled
110 g red onion, chopped
15 g garlic, minced
25 g ají amarillo paste, unseasoned
20 ml vegetable oil
5 g salt
2 g ground cumin
10 g fresh mint leaves, chopped

Method

Soak and rinse the chuño.Cover 75 g dry chuño with 1200 ml cold water and refrigerate for 480 minutes. Drain, squeeze gently, rinse twice in separate 400 ml portions of clean water, discard the rinse liquid and chop into small pieces. The rehydrated chuño is pliable, with no hard dry centre. Soak in the refrigerator, not on a warm counter.
Soften the seasoning.Heat the full 20 ml vegetable oil in the soup pot; gently soften 110 g diced red onion, 15 g garlic and 2 g cumin, then incorporate 25 g ají amarillo paste. Stir for 8 minutes over medium heat. The onion is soft, fragrant and not darkened.
Cook the meat and broth.Add 650 g boneless beef chuck and all 1800 ml soup water to the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer, skim any foam and cook for 55 minutes with a loose lid. The broth smells meaty and a fork begins to enter the larger meat pieces. Do not sample meat until it reaches the safe final temperature.
Simmer wheat, potato and chuño.Add 140 g cooked wheat, 300 g potato pieces, 75 g soaked chuño and 160 g diced carrots to the simmering broth. Cook 20 minutes. The potato breaks with a fork and the chuño is tender through the centre.
Cook the final vegetables.Add 140 g green peas and cook gently for 10 minutes. Stir so the soup remains thick but fluid. The last vegetables are fully tender and the broth flows off a ladle in a thick stream.
Season and finish safely.Add 5 g salt and 10 g fresh mint leaves, stir for 4 minutes, and check the centre of the largest meat chunk reaches at least 74 °C before serving hot. A spoonful contains tender grain, potato, chuño and meat, and the meat reads at least 74 °C. Conservative mixed-soup meat endpoint 74 °C, measured away from bone.

Practical

Serving, storage and substitutions

The intended result is a deep soup with separate meat and grain pieces, not a completely blended purée. Keep prepared cooked wheat refrigerated until use. Put leftover soup into shallow containers while still warm and chill at 4 °C or below within 2 hours, using within 3–4 days; reheat to 74 °C. A lamb substitution would change the single-meat character and is not included in this home-style formula.

Control points

Peas fade and collapseThe peas cooked for the whole simmer. Add them only during the last vegetable stage.
Thin brothThe potato pieces were very firm and released little starch. Press a small quantity of listed potato into the soup while stirring.

Nutrition per 1 of 6 servings (approximate)

Serving size1 of 6 servings
Calories355 kcal
Carbohydrates34 g
Protein26 g
Fat12 g
Fibre6 g
Sodium440 mg

Allergens and food safety

Soak dried chuño in clean water under refrigeration at 4 °C or below and discard the soaking water. Keep the single-meat beef broth at a safe temperature until serving. Use a food thermometer to check the thickest meat reaches 74 °C as a conservative mixed-soup target. Cool soup promptly in small, shallow containers, refrigerate at 4 °C or below within 2 hours and use within 3–4 days. Reheat leftovers to 74 °C. Contains wheat (gluten). Check any packaged cooked wheat or seasoning for other labelled allergens.

Closing

In the bowl or on the plate: An everyday Cusco-style chairo with chuño, wheat, beef, carrot and peas.
The decisive control: The last vegetables are fully tender and the broth flows off a ladle in a thick stream.