La Despensa
Ají Amarillo Substitute: Every Option, Ranked Honestly
The best ají amarillo substitute is ají amarillo in another form: paste, frozen, or dried mirasol. Everything after that is a compromise, ranked honestly.
Cada semana, de la casa
El Blog
Stories from the chifa tradition, recipes tested in our kitchen, and the Peruvian despensa explained. Every week.
Recetas
Salsa criolla recipe: five minutes, fixes everything
Red onion, ají limo, lime, and five minutes: the real Peruvian salsa criolla recipe, with the feather cut, the iced-water soak, and everything it belongs on.
La Despensa
What Is Lomo Saltado? The Peruvian Stir-Fry Born in a Chinese Wok
Beef, red onion, tomato, ají, soy sauce, vinegar. Rice AND fries. Here's what lomo saltado actually is, and why it tastes like Peru.
Cultura
Why every Peruvian town has a chifa (the whole story)
Why are Peruvian Chinese restaurants everywhere? How a Cantonese migration and one street in Lima turned chifa into the most ordinary restaurant in Peru.
La Despensa
Ají amarillo: the pepper that makes Peru taste like Peru
Bright, fruity, and warm rather than truly hot, ají amarillo is the orange chili behind half of Peru. What it is, how it tastes, and where to buy it.
Recetas
Arroz chaufa recipe: what leftover rice dreams of becoming
A tested arroz chaufa recipe: Peruvian fried rice the chifa way, with day-old rice, sillao, kion, and the hottest flame you own. The weeknight dish of our casa.
Cultura
What is chifa? The Chinese-Peruvian kitchen that raised us
Chifa is what happened when Cantonese cooks met Peruvian fire. Here is the story of the cuisine behind lomo saltado, and the street our casa is named for.