Name: Pollo chijaukay with savoury soy sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 29 min
Total time: 49 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 650 g boneless skinless chicken thigh, cut into 4 cm pieces; 110 g potato starch, 95 g for coating plus 15 g for sauce; 55 g egg, 1 large, beaten; 3 g fine salt, for chicken; 600 ml neutral vegetable oil, for frying; most oil is discarded; 300 ml unsalted chicken stock, hot; 35 ml soy sauce, regular; 25 g oyster sauce, commercial; 20 g fresh ginger, thinly sliced; 12 g garlic, crushed; 60 g spring onions, whites and greens separated; 8 ml sesame oil, to finish; 8 g toasted sesame seeds, for topping

Yield 4 servings

Prep 20 minutes

Cook 29 minutes

Passive 0 minutes

Total 49 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Pollo chijaukay with savoury soy sauce

Pollo chijaukay pairs tender chicken in a crisp starch coating with a dark, generously flavoured sauce. Soy sauce and oyster sauce create savouriness; ginger, garlic and sesame oil provide the recognizable chifa aroma. Unlike tipakay, the sauce is not built around tamarind and pineapple.

Keeping sauce and chicken separate until service protects the crisp exterior. A coating of potato starch, known as chuño in many Peruvian chifa recipes, cooks into a brittle shell that softens once it is covered by hot sauce. This is why timing and draining matter more than an especially thick crust.

Simmer the stock and aromatics first, then thicken with a measured starch slurry. The sauce should coat a spoon without becoming a sticky paste. Fry the chicken in small batches, check its temperature, and spoon sauce over only when the plates are ready.

Ingredients

Chicken and coating

650 g boneless skinless chicken thigh, cut into 4 cm pieces
110 g potato starch, 95 g for coating plus 15 g for sauce
55 g egg, 1 large, beaten
3 g fine salt, for chicken
600 ml neutral vegetable oil, for frying; most oil is discarded

Savoury sauce

300 ml unsalted chicken stock, hot
35 ml soy sauce, regular
25 g oyster sauce, commercial
20 g fresh ginger, thinly sliced
12 g garlic, crushed
60 g spring onions, whites and greens separated
8 ml sesame oil, to finish
8 g toasted sesame seeds, for topping

Method

Coat the chicken.Pat the 650 g chicken dry, mix with 3 g salt and the beaten 55 g egg, then toss with 95 g of the potato starch in a bowl. Leave the remaining 15 g starch for the sauce. Time: 8 minutes. Readiness: The pieces have a light, even powdery coating without thick wet lumps.
Infuse the stock.Place 300 ml stock, 35 ml soy, 25 g oyster sauce, 20 g ginger, 12 g garlic and the white parts of 60 g spring onions in a small saucepan. Simmer gently. Time: 8 minutes. Readiness: The sauce smells fragrant and the spring-onion whites are soft, not scorched.
Thicken the sauce.Strain the aromatics from the stock, return the liquid to the pan and whisk in the remaining 15 g potato starch mixed first with a spoonful of cooled sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Time: 4 minutes. Readiness: A spoon leaves a thin trail through the glossy sauce before it closes.
Heat the frying oil.Heat the 600 ml vegetable oil in a deep, heavy saucepan to 175 °C, using a frying thermometer and leaving generous headroom. Time: 5 minutes. Readiness: The oil is clear and ripples gently at 175 °C. Mandatory safe endpoint: 175 °C. Never leave hot oil unattended; lower food away from you to prevent splashing.
Fry the chicken.Fry the coated chicken in two batches, 5 minutes each, lifting out pieces as they turn golden and the thickest parts reach at least 74 °C. Drain on a rack. Time: 10 minutes. Readiness: The coating feels crisp when tapped and the pieces drain without dripping oil. Mandatory safe endpoint: 74 °C. Check several large chicken pieces with a thermometer and use clean serving tools.
Finish and serve.Rewarm the savoury sauce, stir in 8 ml sesame oil and spoon it over the chicken; scatter the green spring-onion pieces and 8 g toasted sesame seeds. Time: 2 minutes. Readiness: The sauce coats the chicken but does not flood the plate.

Practical

Serving and storage

Serve immediately so the chicken retains some crunch beneath its savoury sauce. Refrigerate sauce and chicken separately in shallow containers within 2 hours, up to 3 days at 4 °C or below. Reheat chicken and sauce fully to 74 °C; the crust softens after storage.

Substitutions

Cornstarch can replace potato starch, but its crust is finer and less brittle. Oyster sauce may contain shellfish; do not assume that replacing it with more soy gives the same flavour.

Control points

CheckPossible cause — If the sauce is gummy, too much starch or too much evaporation is responsible; loosen gradually with a little measured stock reserved before reducing.
CheckPossible cause — If the crust slips off, pat the chicken dry and dust evenly before frying.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size1 of 4 servings
Calories695 kcal
Carbohydrate29 g
Protein41 g
Fat46 g
Fibre1 g
Sodium1400 mg

Allergens and food safety

Main allergens and dietary notices: egg; soy; oyster/mollusc; sesame. Bring chicken to a verified internal temperature of at least 74 °C and avoid reusing utensils that touched raw chicken. Refrigerate leftovers promptly; ensure food reheated from the refrigerator reaches at least 74 °C. Refrigerate perishables promptly and observe the specific storage and reheating guidance above.

Closing

On the plate: Golden chicken pieces are coated in a rich, ginger-scented chifa sauce made with soy, oyster sauce and chicken stock.
The key control: Simmer the stock and aromatics first, then thicken with a measured starch slurry.