One of the main ingredients in Peruvian cooking is ají amarillo paste. And I don´t mean store-bought paste, even though you can find this product in many markets and stores. Cooks (both professional and home cooks) all over the country make their own ají amarillo -or ají panca or mirasol– paste on an almost daily basis, as it is a part of most of their recipes. There are those who don´t like to peel the chili peppers; others don´t blanch them and use them raw. I recommend that you blanch them because the peels will give the food a coarse texture and make it more acidic. If you don´t like the heat of chili peppers, blanch the peppers up to three times, changing the water each time. This will make a mild ají amarillo paste, but will keep the beautiful color and delicious flavor of these chilies. Use this paste in any recipe that calls for ají amarillo paste, such as salsa huancaína, ají de gallina, and causa.
You can also add a pinch of salt to the creamy paste and serve it over cooked potatoes or fried yucca sticks. If you add chopped scallions, this is a great sauce for anticuchos.
Freeze this paste in ice cube trays, and keep them in plastic bags for up to three months.
1.- Start with ají amarillos, fresh from the market (or frozen if that’s all you can find).
2.- Cut them in half and discard the seeds and veins. To do this, protect your hands from the heat of the peppers with plastic gloves.
3.- Cook the peppers in simmering water for about 5 / 10 minutes.
4.- Drain the peppers and let them cool. Peel the ají -this is very easy to do, as you can see in the photo above.
5.- Transfer to the blender , add a couple tablespoons water or vegetable oil, and process until creamy.
Now you are ready to make most Peruvian recipes that call for this brightly colored and perfumed ingredient.
I wish I could get my hands on some Aji peppers so I could make this. I love the flavor of these chiles.
Easy, very easy to grow. Can send some seeds if you pay shipping. Or, I can have a friend mail them to you when they retun to he states. I do not live in the US any more.
Thanks Lily. We have grown aji amarillo plants several times too. Delicious!
Wonderful! Nothing really can be substituted for this unique flavor…..
These peppers actually have three different dimensions. When green, they are crunchy, are moist and sweet; when they start turning light green, they switch to being mildly hot; and, when they turn orange (even though called yellow aji) they get their unique flavor and a bit extra heat. In a good location, these plants can grow 30″ to 36″ tall. All peppers are perennials and I have one plant that is four years old. Another great choice is manzano (purple flower and black seeds).
this is obviously a long shot but here goes. Are you by any chance still able to get seeds? I got some but they were bogies. id love to grow some 20 years since I was in Peru eating the real thing.
Hi there, I could send you some. Mine are fairly mild chilli wise, but may produce more heat in your climate.
I get my aji plants from the chiliwoman.com she has nearly every type of aji peruano.
Local market has manzano. I’m going to try those.
Grow your own. It’s very easy indeed.
Can you tell me the best way to do this if I’m using DRIED adi peppers?
aji
Can I get some seeds shipped to india?
Has anyone tried using aji jarred in brine to make paste? Jarred is the only way I’ve found them sold around here. Nice part would be not having to cook them…they peel very easily!
I just saw a YouTube video on making this and it called for one red and one yellow roasted pepper, some oil, and cayenne. Maybe it’s a decent substitute for the ahi peppers. I’m trying it tomorrow so we shall see. However I’ve only had this at a local Peruvian restaurant so I won’t know exactly sure how it compares to an authentic recipe.
I love Peruvian peppers and i actually found this natural aji Amarillo pepper mash from the Magic Plant company . it come in a glass jar. very good flavor. http://www.magicplantshop.com
If you’re using the paste in a recipe that calls for one pepper, how much paste equals one pepper?
It all depends on how hot is the paste. Start with 1/2 teaspoon.
Where can I buy the Aji peppers or seeds in the SF Bay Area?
I would love to also get my hands on some choclo.
thanks
I just found some frozen ones at Mi Tierra market on San Pablo ave. in Berkeley
That’s why I’m here:( they are so beautiful but I had no idea what to do:(
Muy buena la receta la prepare
hi. in nyc there are a number of good Peruvian restaurants, but we like to cook at home.
all the aji amarillo paste that I have seen has preservatives. I’ve yet to find fresh or dried in the markets.
Is there a recipe to make aji amarillo paste from aji amarillo powder, as that is easier to find in nyc.
The clearness in your post is essentially great and that I can accept you’re educated in Aji Amarillo Paste. Incredible, much obliged for sharing this article post.
There are hundreds of chillies around the world that you can try, but none of them will leave a mark on your heart like Aji amarillo!
How long can I have the yellow pepper on he freezer ?
Cuánto tiempo puedo congelar el ají amarillo ?
Hi Romina, it all depends on how well it’s frozen but normally people say it’s safe to freeze a sauce for 6 months.
Hi, thanks for the recipe. I have a big crop of ajies amarillos. Some recipe pages have a print option. Your does not. This means that a one page recipe can use up 5 pages unless you go through the effort of cropping and cutting photos, wrapping text, etc. I don’t know what you gain from not having a print option, but maybe in future supply it. I don’t always have time for the extra editing work and there are other sites with recipes.
I found that peruvian pepper plants, amarillo, limo, rocoto, panca are perennials and very easy to “winter”, in the winter, prune them and keep them in a place where they are not exposed to excessive cold, and most probably they will come back biger and stronger next spring. I have a rocoto plant that is 9 years old, and several amarillo and limo 4 or 5 years old.
Happy ceviches!
I would love to have some ají amarillo seeds to plant