Name: Seco de chabelo
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 66 min
Total time: 151 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 800 g green cooking plantains — peeled, cut into thick pieces; 240 g food-grade dried beef — commercially prepared; rinsed and soaked in the refrigerator; 45 g sunflower oil — 30 g for plantains, 15 g for sofrito; approximately 30 g retained overall; 1000 ml water — 600 ml for beef rehydration, 400 ml for simmering; drained liquid discarded; 180 g red onion — finely diced; 140 g ripe tomato — diced; 15 g garlic — crushed; 40 g ají amarillo paste — plain, without added salt; 120 ml chicha de jora — commercially prepared cooking chicha; 25 g fresh culantro — roughly chopped; 2 g ground cumin; 2 g salt — add only after tasting the cooked dried beef

Seco de chabelo with green plantain and beef

Yield 4 servings

Prep time 25 minutes

Cook time 66 minutes

Passive time 60 minutes

Total time 151 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Seco de chabelo with green plantain and beef

Seco de chabelo is associated with Piura, especially the cooking of Catacaos and Chulucanas. Despite its name, it is not a ladleable seco stew: green plantain is softened, roughly mashed and tossed through a savoury beef seasoning. Pieces should remain separate enough to pick up with a fork.

Beef preserved by drying appears in well-established accounts of the dish. Here, commercially prepared food-grade dried beef is rehydrated and cooked before it is added; home air-drying raw beef is not part of this preparation. The beef should keep some chew, while the plantain forms the substantial base.

The seasoning is built from red onion, garlic, tomato, ají amarillo, chicha de jora and chopped culantro. Keep the liquid modest and let it evaporate before folding in the plantain, so the final pan is aromatic and moist without becoming porridge.

Ingredients

Plantain and beef

800 g green cooking plantains — peeled, cut into thick pieces
240 g food-grade dried beef — commercially prepared; rinsed and soaked in the refrigerator
45 g sunflower oil — 30 g for plantains, 15 g for sofrito; approximately 30 g retained overall
1000 ml water — 600 ml for beef rehydration, 400 ml for simmering; drained liquid discarded

Seasoning

180 g red onion — finely diced
140 g ripe tomato — diced
15 g garlic — crushed
40 g ají amarillo paste — plain, without added salt
120 ml chicha de jora — commercially prepared cooking chicha
25 g fresh culantro — roughly chopped
2 g ground cumin
2 g salt — add only after tasting the cooked dried beef

Method

Soak the dried beef.Rinse the dried beef and immerse it in 600 ml cold water in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for 60 minutes; drain and discard the water. The beef bends instead of snapping. Keep the soaked meat at or below 4 °C.
Cook and shred the beef.Put the soaked beef with the remaining 400 ml water in a small saucepan and simmer gently for 25 minutes, then drain and pull into short shreds. The meat separates with two forks but still holds its fibres. Verify the heated dried beef reaches 74 °C; drying alone is not a proven kill step.
Soften the plantains.Heat 30 g oil in a broad non-stick pan over medium heat and pan-fry the plantain pieces for 18 minutes, turning repeatedly. Mash roughly with a fork. A fork enters the centre without resistance and the edges are lightly browned.
Build the Piura seasoning.In a second pan heat the remaining 15 g oil and cook the onion, garlic, cumin and ají amarillo for 7 minutes; add the tomato and stir for another 5 minutes. The onion is soft and the tomato has reduced to a thick, glossy mixture.
Reduce the chicha.Pour in the chicha de jora, fold in the beef and simmer for 7 minutes, stirring until the pan is nearly dry. No puddle forms when a spoon draws a line across the base.
Fold in the plantains.Add mashed plantains, culantro and 2 g salt only after tasting; toss for 4 minutes, breaking up any dense clumps. Plantain pieces remain distinct and are coated with the seasoning. Serve hot or refrigerate leftovers promptly.

Practical

Success points

The decisive control is reducing the chicha and tomato before the plantain goes in.

Practical guidance

Serve directly from the pan rather than adding stock after mixing; the name describes a relatively dry finish. A little surface sheen is desirable, but pooled liquid means the tomato or chicha has not reduced enough. Prepare the beef in advance and refrigerate it below 4 °C; reheat the completed dish to 74 °C before serving. Refrigerate shallow leftovers within two hours and use within three to four days. Use genuinely green cooking plantains rather than yellow ripe ones: ripe fruit turns sweeter and breaks down more readily in the pan.

Control points

The plantain becomes stickyThe pieces were too wet or overmashed. Spread them in the pan and toss gently rather than pressing them into a paste.
The beef tastes overly saltyIts curing salt was not sufficiently washed out. Drain soaked beef thoroughly and avoid adding additional salt before tasting.

Nutrition per 1 of 4 servings

Serving size1 of 4 servings
Calories625 kcal
Carbohydrate86 g
Protein23 g
Fat23 g
Fibre8 g
Sodium820 mg

Allergens and food safety

Check commercial chicha de jora for declared allergens, other grains and any alcohol content. The preserved beef reaches 74 °C after refrigerated rehydration; do not dry uncooked meat at home. Use care with the variable salt level of cured beef. Keep refrigerated at or below 4 °C until needed; heat leftovers to 74 °C.

Closing

What to expect: Tender, roughly mashed plantain carries strands of beef and a concentrated onion–ají dressing.
Key control: The decisive control is reducing the chicha and tomato before the plantain goes in.