Quinoa “Chaufa” (Peruvian Fried Rice)

“Chaufa” is the name of the Peruvian-Chinese fusion of fried rice. I loooove it even more when it’s done as a quinoa chaufa instead. Also I’ve changed the recipe up a bit but I think you’ll like what I have in store for you. It’s one of the nicest dishes I’ve had in a while :). I love that because it’s a great beginning to July, the month that I dedicate 100% to Peruvian food because Perú’s independence day is on the 28th.

The good thing about this recipe is that you can also use rice and it will still be delicious. That’s the original version and I still like it a lot, it’s just that I like more the one with quinoa hahaha. Other changes I made to it is that I used a fried egg instead of chopping up an omelette or cooking scrambled eggs along with the rice. Also I fried wonton strips because I just love the crispiness it adds. Of course these are just suggestions and you and use them or not 🙂

You can also use these wonton fried strips in salads to give them a crispy edge. What I do have to warn you is that you always need to make more wonton strips than you need because everyone who steps into the kitchen will DEFINITELY have some haha.

The recipe below includes the way in which I cook the quinoa for the chaufa which is the same way I cook rice to be honest. The only thing that I don’t do with the quinoa in this recipe that I do when I’m cooking it to eat on its own is add salt before adding the water and I also cook a bit of garlic on the oil before adding the quinoa. But besides that the quantities of water, time and temperature are the same.

¡Nunca había comido chaufa con huevo frito pero me ENCANTÓ! La yema cuando se revienta se mezcla con la quinoa y queda uuuuuuuf. En verdad que la tortilla o huevo revuelto con el chaufa es lo que menos me emociona cuando como uno y esta vez fue de lo que más me gustó.

Quinoa "Chaufa" (Peruvian Fried Rice)

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Medium

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 people

Author: Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal

Ingredients

For the quinoa

• vegetable or olive oil
• 250 g quinoa really well rinsed until the water comes out clean
• 380 ml water or 1 1/4 times the volume of quinoa

For the fried wonton strips

• 6 wonton wrappers
• 200 ml vegetable oil to fry

For the chaufa

• vegetable oil to cook
• 3 spring onions / scallions
• 2 garlic cloves grated, minced or puréed
• 10 g ginger peeled and grated
• 1/2 red bell pepper cut in cubes
• 2 chicken breasts cut in cubes. Not too small so that they don't dry out
• cooked quinoa from above
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce

For the fried eggs

• 3 eggs
• vegetable oil

Instructions

For the quinoa

• Put a pot on medium heat and add the oil and rinsed quinoa and stir until it's hot.
• Add the water and wait for it to start burning.
• Once it starts boiling decrease the heat to minimum and put a lid on. Cook for 15-20min or until dry.
• Remove the lid, fluff with a fork and let it dry out for a couple extra minutes. Reserve.

For the fried wonton strips

• Cut the wonton wrappers in strips.
• Heat up the oil in a pan (you don't need much oil) on medium heat (not high heat or they burn) and fry until golden.
• Take them off the oil and onto a bowl with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.

For the chaufa

• Slice the spring onions thinly keeping  the white part separate from the green.
• Put a wok or pan on high heat. If your burner is a bit slow give it some time to really heat up the pan before you begin.
• Add vegetable oil and sear the chicken. Don't put it all in at once so that it can actually become golden instead of boiling away. We don't want to cook it completely but just sear it nicely. Reserve.
• Add more oil if necessary and cook the white part of the spring onion, the garlic, pepper and ginger for half a minute to a minute. We don't want it to burn.
• Add the chicken and quinoa and mix. Let it be still for a few seconds so the quinoa can become golden and then keep moving. Repeat about 6 times.
• Add the sesame oil, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Mix and let cook for 2 minutes.
• Finish by adding the green part of the spring onion and serve.

For the fried egg

• To get a nicer shape on fried eggs you can open them up on a slotted spoon so the most liquid part of the egg white falls down and you're left with the most solid part.
• Depending on how you like your fried eggs you use different temperatures: if you like it crispy and bubbly then fry it on a high temperature and if you like it white like me then cook it on a low heat and a bit more patience.
• Serve on the chaufa and finish with the fried wonton strips.

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