Aji de Gallina Holiday Platter

About This Recipe

Aji de gallina is one of Peru's most iconic comfort dishes, traditionally served at family celebrations and Sunday gatherings across the country. Shredded chicken is bathed in a thick, creamy sauce built from aji amarillo paste, walnuts and bread soaked in milk, blended until smooth — the bread and walnuts are what give the sauce its distinctive body without relying on a roux or heavy cream alone. Coconut isn't part of the traditional dish, so this platter stays honest to the real recipe, letting the aji amarillo and walnut-thickened sauce carry the dish the way it has for generations, rather than introducing a flavor that doesn't belong. Parmesan cheese, a legacy of Italian immigration to Peru, is often stirred into the sauce for extra richness and a subtle savory edge. Served the traditional way over white rice with boiled potato slices, black olives and a wedge of hard-boiled egg, this platter is a proper Peruvian holiday-table presentation of a dish most Peruvian families grew up eating.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 700 gboneless chicken breast(poached and shredded)
• 4 sliceswhite sandwich bread(crusts removed)
• 1 cupwhole milk
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 1 largeonion(finely chopped)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 3 tbspaji amarillo paste
• 0.5 cupwalnuts(roughly chopped)
• 0.5 cupgrated parmesan cheese
• 1.5 cupschicken poaching stock
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 3 cupscooked white rice(for serving)
• 3 mediumpotatoes(boiled and sliced)
• 0.33 cupblack olives
• 2 largehard-boiled eggs(quartered)

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the bread

   Tear the bread into pieces and soak in milk for 10 minutes until fully softened.

2. 2

   Build the sofrito

   Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook 6-7 minutes until soft. Add garlic and aji amarillo paste, cooking 2 minutes until fragrant.

3. 3

   Blend the sauce base

   Blend the soaked bread with its milk, walnuts and half the poaching stock until smooth. Pour into the pot with the sofrito.

4. 4

   Simmer the sauce

   Stir in remaining stock, parmesan and salt. Simmer over low heat 10 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce thickens to a texture like a loose gravy.

   Stir frequently once the sauce is on the heat — the walnut-thickened base can catch and scorch on the bottom of the pot if left unattended.

5. 5

   Add the chicken

   Fold in the shredded chicken and simmer 8-10 minutes until heated through and the sauce clings to the chicken.

6. 6

   Plate the platter

   Serve the chicken and sauce over rice, arranged with sliced boiled potatoes, black olives and quartered hard-boiled eggs around the plate.

Variations

• •

  Use pecans instead of walnuts if that's what you have on hand; the flavor shifts slightly sweeter but the texture stays similar.

• •

  Make it milder by reducing the aji amarillo paste to 2 tablespoons for a gentler heat level.

• •

  Swap chicken breast for a whole poached chicken, shredding both light and dark meat for extra richness.

Storage

Refrigerate the chicken and sauce together up to 4 days; the flavor often improves the next day. Reheat gently over low heat, stirring often and adding a splash of stock if the sauce has thickened too much.

Frequently Asked Questions