The market · Chillies and peppers · The Americas

Ají amarillos

Peru's yellow chilli: fruity, sunny and fairly hot, the backbone of ají de gallina, causa and many ceviches.

fruity · hot · sunny

Kinds

Paste
The easiest form, and what most recipes outside Peru assume.
Frozen whole
Closest to fresh; blanch, deseed and blend.
Dried (ají mirasol)
Smokier and fruitier — a different flavour, not a swap.

If you can't find it

Latin American grocers, as paste in jars or frozen whole.

  1. 1Yellow pepper
    Roasted yellow pepper with a little scotch bonnet
    You lose the fruity, sunny heat — close-ish.

Goes with

limered onionpotatocorn

Knowing it

Where to buy
Latin American grocers and online, in jars or frozen.
Worth knowing
Blanching whole chillies three times in fresh water takes the edge off the heat without losing the fruit.

Kitchens that keep it in

Peru — the Pacific coast, the Andes and the AmazonPeruvianAndean potatoes, maize and chillies, met by Spanish, African, Chinese and Japanese cooks — and a coast that eats its fish raw in lime.10 classics

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