Ingredients
Pork
- 1.5 kgpork shoulder and ribs, in chunks
- 2 litreswater
- 1onion
- 6 clovesgarlic
Seasoning
- 6dried ají amarillo, soaked
- 1 tbspground cumin
- 1 tspdried oregano
- 1 tspblack pepper
- 3 tbspbreadcrumbs
- salt
To serve
- 300 gmote, cooked
- 8chuño, soaked and boiled
- hot sauce
- bread
Directions
- Soak the dried ají amarillo in hot water for 30 minutes, then blend them to a smooth paste with a little of the soaking water.
- Simmer the pork in the water with the onion, garlic, cumin, oregano and pepper for 1 hour 30 minutes, skimming as it goes.
- Skim it properly. Fricasé is meant to be a clear golden broth around the meat rather than a cloudy one, and the fat rises early.
- Add the ají paste and simmer for a further 30 minutes.
- Stir in the breadcrumbs to thicken the broth very slightly. There is no flour and no roux here; the breadcrumbs are the only thickener and they should barely register.
- Prepare the chuño separately: soak it overnight, squeeze out the dark water, and boil it for 30 minutes.
- Cook the mote separately as well, until soft right through.
- Both go into the bowl at the end rather than cooking in the broth, so that each keeps its own texture.
- Season and serve in deep bowls, with pork, mote and chuño arranged in each and the broth ladled over.
- Serve it at dawn after a long fiesta, which is its reputation in La Paz and the reason people know exactly where to find it at four in the morning.
Technique
- Ají amarillo is fruity and only moderately hot, and it gives the broth its yellow colour as much as its heat.
- Chuño is the freeze-dried Andean potato and it has an entry of its own. It is dense and spongy rather than fluffy.
- It is eaten as a restorative, and the reputation is taken quite seriously.
Substitutions
- Ají amarillo paste from a jar, which is widely sold and perfectly good.
- Tinned hominy in place of mote.
Variations
- Made with chicken rather than pork.
- Without chuño, which is what happens outside Bolivia.
- With more ají for a fiercer bowl.
History
La Paz pork soup with chuño and yellow aji, eaten at dawn after long fiestas and known as a hangover cure.
Frequently asked questions
What is Fricasé?
Fricasé is a soup & stew from Bolivia: spicy paceño pork stew with hominy, famed hangover remedy. La Paz pork soup with chuño and yellow aji, eaten at dawn after long fiestas and known as a hangover cure.
How long does Fricasé take to make?
Fricasé takes 40 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Fricasé?
Yes, within limits. Ají amarillo paste from a jar, which is widely sold and perfectly good. Tinned hominy in place of mote.
What is the most important thing to get right in Fricasé?
Skim it properly. Fricasé is meant to be a clear golden broth around the meat rather than a cloudy one, and the fat rises early.
