Chorrillana

Ingredients

Chips

• 1.5 kgpotatoes, cut into thick chips
• oil, for frying
• salt

Topping

• 600 gbeef sirloin, cut into strips
• 300 glonganiza or good pork sausage, sliced
• 3onions, sliced
• 4eggs
• 2 tbspoil
• 1 tspground cumin
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• pebre
• beer

Directions

1. Cut the chips thick and fry them twice: first at 140°C (285°F) for 6 minutes to cook them through, then again at 190°C (375°F) for 3 minutes to crisp them.
2. The double fry matters far more here than for an ordinary plate of chips, because these will sit under wet toppings for several minutes and a single-fried chip collapses into mush immediately.
3. Cook the onions slowly in oil for 15 minutes, until soft, sweet and lightly golden.
4. Fry the sliced sausage until well browned, then lift it out.
5. Sear the beef strips hard and fast in the same pan, season with cumin, salt and pepper, and take them off while they are still pink in the middle.
6. Fry the eggs, keeping the yolks soft.
7. Build it on one large platter: chips first, then the onions, then the sausage and beef, then the fried eggs laid over the top.
8. Serve it as a single shared platter with forks and no individual plates, which is how it is eaten at the Casino Social J. Cruz in Valparaíso, where the dish is credited to.
9. Break the yolks over the pile at the table so they run down through everything, and eat it immediately.

Technique

• It is designed to be shared straight from the platter, and portioning it out onto plates misses most of the point.
• Nothing about it survives standing. Have everyone at the table before the eggs go on.
• Cumin on the beef is the Chilean signature and it is used more heavily than you might expect.

Substitutions

• Any good frying sausage in place of longaniza.
• Chicken or pork instead of beef, both of which are sold this way.

Variations

• With melted cheese over the top, which is common now.
• A vegetarian version built on mushrooms and onions.
• Chorrillana a lo pobre, essentially the same idea under an older name.

History

Chips heaped with beef, onion and fried egg, credited to the Casino Social J. Cruz in Valparaiso and shared from one platter.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chorrillana?

Chorrillana is a main from Chile: fry pile under sliced beef, sausage, onions, fried eggs; Valparaíso. Chips heaped with beef, onion and fried egg, credited to the Casino Social J. Cruz in Valparaiso and shared from one platter.

How long does Chorrillana take to make?

Chorrillana takes 20 min of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings, shared. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Chorrillana?

Yes, within limits. Any good frying sausage in place of longaniza. Chicken or pork instead of beef, both of which are sold this way.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chorrillana?

It is designed to be shared straight from the platter, and portioning it out onto plates misses most of the point.