Name: Inchicapi de gallina
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 128 min
Total time: 163 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 900 g hen pieces, 4 to 6 bone-in raw pieces (food-grade poultry); 180 g unsalted roasted peanuts, ground to a fine meal (no added sugar); 80 g yellow maize flour, fine, uncooked (for thickening); 500 g peeled yuca, cut into 3 cm pieces, central woody core discarded (use commercially sold sweet-type edible cassava; never bitter or wild cassava); 130 g red onion, finely diced (seasoning); 15 g garlic, crushed (seasoning); 25 g fresh sacha culantro, chopped (finishing herb); 25 ml vegetable oil, measured (for sofrito); 2400 ml water, 2200 ml broth plus 200 ml for maize slurry (measured); 9 g salt, 6 g broth and 3 g finishing (estimated sodium includes peanuts)

Inchicapi de gallina — hen, peanut and yuca soup

Yield 4 generous soup bowls

Prep 35 minutes

Cook 128 minutes

Passive 0 minutes

Total 163 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Inchicapi de gallina — hen, peanut and yuca soup

Inchicapi is an Amazonian Peruvian soup built around gallina, ground peanuts and the starchy body supplied by maize and cassava. Its thickened broth differs from a clear chicken soup: the nut and grain mixture should coat the spoon while still flowing naturally into bowls.

The peanut paste must cook in the broth rather than being stirred in at the last second. Grinding the nuts finely and diluting the maize flour before adding it reduces lumps and prevents scorching. Sacha culantro, also known as culantro de monte, brings an unmistakable green aroma.

Mature hen is firmer than common broiler chicken, so the base simmer takes time. Add the yuca only once the meat begins to soften, then thicken the soup gradually. This keeps the cassava distinct rather than dissolving into a gluey paste.

Practical

IdentityFinely grind roasted peanuts so the soup thickens smoothly without grit.
TextureDisperse maize flour in cold measured water before it touches boiling broth.
Final controlStir the thickening soup frequently from the pot bottom, especially toward the end.

Ingredients

900 g hen pieces, 4 to 6 bone-in raw pieces (food-grade poultry)
180 g unsalted roasted peanuts, ground to a fine meal (no added sugar)
80 g yellow maize flour, fine, uncooked (for thickening)
500 g peeled yuca, cut into 3 cm pieces, central woody core discarded (use commercially sold sweet-type edible cassava; never bitter or wild cassava)
130 g red onion, finely diced (seasoning)
15 g garlic, crushed (seasoning)
25 g fresh sacha culantro, chopped (finishing herb)
25 ml vegetable oil, measured (for sofrito)
2400 ml water, 2200 ml broth plus 200 ml for maize slurry (measured)
9 g salt, 6 g broth and 3 g finishing (estimated sodium includes peanuts)

Method

Start the hen broth.Bring 2200 ml water and the 900 g hen to a gentle simmer in a heavy soup pot. Add 6 g salt, skim and cook for 75 minutes with the lid partly on until the meat begins to loosen from the bone. Check at least 74 °C in the thickest part. The broth is aromatic and the meat pulls away from the bone with a fork. Safety: handle raw poultry separately; do not depend on meat colour for safety.
Soften the aromatics.While the hen cooks, heat the measured oil in a small pan. Cook diced onion and crushed garlic gently for 8 minutes until soft and sweet-smelling, without browning the garlic. The onion is translucent and the garlic smells mellow, not bitter.
Cook cassava in the broth.Add the 500 g peeled, cored yuca pieces and cooked onion-garlic mixture to the pot. Simmer for about 25 minutes until the cassava is completely tender, maintaining enough liquid to cover the ingredients. A knife passes through a yuca cube easily and there is no chalky centre. Safety: cassava must be peeled and fully cooked; do not taste it raw.
Make the smooth peanut-and-maize base.Blend the roasted peanuts into a fine meal. Whisk the 80 g maize flour into the remaining 200 ml cold water, then stir in the ground peanuts. Add this mixture to the simmering soup a little at a time, stirring well. The slurry has no dry flour lumps and disperses smoothly in the broth.
Thicken without burning.Continue simmering for 20 minutes, stirring and scraping the pot base frequently. Add the remaining 3 g salt and chopped sacha culantro during the final 3 minutes. The soup runs thickly from a ladle but is still pourable and the herbs smell fresh. Safety: peanuts and raw maize flour must be heated thoroughly.
Portion with the hen.Divide the soup into four large bowls, ensuring each contains hen, yuca and thickened broth. Remove loose bones from smaller portions before serving. Each bowl has visible tender yuca and a well-emulsified peanut broth. Safety: serve hot and refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within two hours.

Practical

Practical guidance

The soup thickens as maize starch hydrates; stir from the bottom so the peanut solids do not catch. If it seems excessively thick after resting, the correct remedy is to serve it promptly rather than add unmeasured liquid. Sacha culantro has a stronger and differently shaped leaf than familiar coriander; using ordinary coriander changes the herbal finish. Hen can be replaced by chicken for a quicker, lighter soup, but the bird and broth character will differ. Cool remaining soup rapidly in shallow portions and refrigerate for up to 3–4 days. Reheat to 74 °C with thorough stirring so the thick centre heats evenly. Substitutions and their effects Broiler chicken can replace mature hen but will cook sooner and give a less robust stock; use the same 74 °C safe endpoint.

Control points

Common problemLumps indicate that dry maize flour was added directly; always disperse it in the measured cold water first.
Common problemA scorched taste often develops once the peanuts settle on a hot pot base; lower the heat and stir all the way to the bottom.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size1 bowl with 1 hen portion
Calories750 kcal
Carbohydrates64 g
Protein49 g
Fat33 g
Fibre7 g
Sodium965 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains peanuts. Ensure purchased ground nuts have not been mixed with other allergens. Cook hen to 74 °C, cook yuca thoroughly, and avoid leaving thick soup warm for extended periods.

Closing

What to expect: A thick Amazonian soup of tender hen, ground peanuts, maize and yuca, finished with fragrant sacha culantro.
Most important control: Respect the defining cooking sequence and follow the observable readiness cues and safety temperatures.

Inchicapi de gallina — hen, peanut and yuca soup

Practical

Ingredients

Ingredients

Method

Practical

Practical guidance

Control points

Nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

Closing

Peruvian National Dishes

Picante a la tacneña

Adobo arequipeño

Ocopa arequipeña