Delicious Salchipapas with Four Sauces

Giacomo Bocchio teaches how to prepare classic Peruvian salchipapas using two types of potatoes (papa amarilla and papa guairo), steam-cooked then fried for maximum crunch, topped with four different charcuterie options and four homemade sauces: cornstarch mayonnaise, golf sauce, tartar sauce, aji cream with huacatay, and a Cajamarcan butter-cheese sauce.

30m Prep

40m Cook

1h 10m Total

4 Servings

salchipapas papas fritas street food comfort food papa amarilla sauces mayonesa de maicena huacatay queso mantecoso charcuteria peruvian classics party food

Ingredients

Aji and Huacatay Cream

3 units aji amarillo chili (stem removed, kept whole with seeds and veins, sautéed)
2 units garlic cloves (crushed, sautéed with the chilies)
0.5 unit white onion (core removed, roughly chopped (matignon cut), sautéed)
2 sprigs huacatay (Andean black mint herb) (blanched briefly in boiling water then drained, added to blender) optional
4 units crackers (plain sweet) (added to blender to provide texture and subtle sweetness)
60 ml evaporated milk (added to blender to loosen and cool the mixture)
neutral oil (for sautéing)

Bechamel (for Cheese Sauce)

70 g butter
70 g all-purpose flour
1000 ml whole fresh milk (added cold if roux is hot, or hot if roux is cold)
nutmeg (freshly grated)

Charcuterie

4 units frankfurter sausages (cut into coins, diagonal slices, or scored with a cross and fried)
2 units cabanosi sausages (cabanossi) (cut into half-moon slices; already cooked and cured, no extra cooking needed) optional
1 unit fine herbs chorizo (precooked) (cut into thick rounds and fried) optional
1 unit grilling chorizo (raw) (cut into thick rounds and fried until cooked through) optional
pork belly or chicharrón (fried until crispy) optional

Cheese Sauce

200 g Cajamarcan butter cheese (queso mantecoso cajamarquino) (roughly broken or crumbled, melted into the warm bechamel)
400 g bechamel sauce (from above) (warm, well-thickened)
evaporated milk (to loosen) (added as needed while melting the cheese) optional

Cornstarch Mayonnaise

30 g cornstarch (maizena) (mixed with water and cooked into a gel (empuje/engrudo))
100 ml water
salt
200 ml neutral oil (for emulsifying) (added in a thin stream while blending)
2 units eggs (whole eggs, added to the warm gel in the blender)
15 ml white vinegar
10 g American mustard

Golf Sauce

150 g cornstarch mayonnaise (from above)
20 g American mustard
50 g ketchup (sweet style)

Potatoes

500 g yellow potato (papa amarilla) (steamed whole until just cooked, then cut into cubes or wedges with skin on)
500 g guairo potato (papa guairo) (steamed whole until just cooked, then cut into cubes or wedges with skin on)
vegetable oil (for frying) (heated to 180°C)

Tartar Sauce

150 g cornstarch mayonnaise (from above)
10 g American mustard
1 unit hard-boiled egg (finely chopped or grated)
30 g white onion (brunoise, soaked in ice water then drained for crunch)
10 g flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped)
10 g spring onion (green onion) (finely chopped)

Steps

1

Prepare the cornstarch gel (empuje): Combine cornstarch, water, a pinch of salt, and a small drizzle of oil in a small saucepan. Whisk together until smooth — it will look like white milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (switching arms to avoid fatigue), until the mixture thickens, changes from opaque white to semi-transparent, and is fully cooked through — about 2 to 3 minutes after it first thickens. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly to around 65–80°C.

Tip: The gel is ready when it no longer tastes of raw starch. Keep stirring to avoid lumps. The color change from white to translucent signals it is cooked.

~8 min
2

Make the cornstarch mayonnaise: Pour the warm gel (around 65–80°C — hot enough to pasteurize but below egg coagulation at 85°C) into a blender jar. Add the 2 whole eggs, white vinegar, and American mustard. Blend briefly to homogenize. Then, with the blender running, drizzle in the neutral oil in a steady stream until fully emulsified into a thick, firm mayonnaise. Season with salt. Refrigerate until needed.

Tip: This mayonnaise holds its structure very well and won't weep liquid when mixed with other ingredients. The warm gel pasteurizes the eggs gently.

~10 min
3

Make the golf sauce: In a bowl, combine cornstarch mayonnaise, American mustard, and sweet ketchup to taste. Stir well. Adjust proportions to your preference — Giacomo prefers a sweeter ketchup for this sauce.

~3 min
4

Make the tartar sauce: In a bowl, combine cornstarch mayonnaise, American mustard, finely chopped hard-boiled egg, brunoise white onion (soaked in ice water and drained), finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, and chopped spring onion. Mix with a whisk until combined. Season with salt to taste.

Tip: Soaking the onion in ice water makes it crunchy and removes harshness. This is a 'criolla' version of tartare — no pickles or tarragon.

~5 min
5

Make the aji and huacatay cream: Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat (do not overheat — shake the pan off the flame to cool it down if it gets too hot before adding oil). Sauté the whole aji amarillo (stem removed, seeds and veins left in), crushed garlic, and roughly chopped onion for about 5 minutes until softened and lightly colored. Meanwhile, blanch the huacatay sprigs in boiling water for a few seconds, then drain. Combine the sautéed vegetables and blanched huacatay in a blender. Add crackers, evaporated milk, and salt. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Tip: Blanching the huacatay tones down its intense potency. Keeping seeds and veins in the chili gives full flavor; the heat from sautéing reduces the sharpest spice.

~12 min
6

Make the bechamel: In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir constantly to form a roux. Cook briefly. If the roux is hot, add cold milk; if the roux is cold, add hot milk — this prevents lumps. Stir constantly until thickened into a firm, smooth béchamel. Season with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg.

Tip: The key to a lump-free bechamel: always contrast temperature — cold milk into hot roux or hot milk into cold roux.

~15 min
7

Make the cheese sauce: Warm the bechamel in a saucepan over medium-low heat, adding a splash of evaporated milk to loosen it. Add the crumbled Cajamarcan butter cheese (queso mantecoso) and stir continuously until fully melted and incorporated into a creamy, smooth cheese sauce. Do not let it boil vigorously or the cheese may split. Add a little more evaporated milk if needed to reach a pourable consistency. Season with salt.

Tip: Queso mantecoso cajamarquino is a buttery, high-fat fresh cheese from Cajamarca; if unavailable, substitute with a creamy mild cheese like Oaxaca or young Gouda.

~8 min
8

Steam the potatoes: Cook both types of potatoes (papa amarilla and papa guairo) whole, with skins on, in a steamer basket until just cooked through but not bursting. If a steamer is unavailable, boil them gently and remove before they split. Allow to cool slightly, then cut into cubes or wedges. Steamed potatoes can be prepared in advance and refrigerated.

Tip: Steaming over boiling absorbs far less oil during frying, resulting in a lighter, crunchier chip that is creamy inside. Pre-cooked potatoes stored in the fridge also work beautifully for lomo saltado, purees, or any fried potato dish.

~25 min
9

Fry the potatoes: Heat oil to 180°C in a deep pan or fryer. Working in batches to avoid crowding, fry the potato cubes in a spider skimmer or basket, separating them slightly so they brown evenly. Fry until deep golden and very crispy on the outside. Drain on paper towels and season with salt immediately.

~10 min
10

Prepare the sausages and charcuterie: Cut frankfurters into coins, diagonal slices, or score a cross on the end and fry until cooked and lightly browned. Cut cabanosi into half-moons (already cooked — no extra frying needed). Cut precooked fine herbs chorizo into thick rounds and fry briefly. Cut raw grilling chorizo into thick rounds and fry until cooked through. Fry pork belly or chicharrón until crispy.

Tip: Scoring a cross on the end of frankfurters causes them to open up attractively as they fry, creating larger, meatier bites.

~10 min
11

Assemble the four salchipapas: Distribute the fried potato mix (amarilla and guairo) equally among four bowls. Top each bowl with a different protein option: (1) classic frankfurters with golf sauce; (2) pork belly / chicharrón with tartar sauce (Giacomo calls this 'chanchipapas'); (3) mixed chorizo (grilling and fine herbs) with aji and huacatay cream; (4) cabanosi with warm cheese sauce poured generously over the top. Serve immediately with all four sauces available on the side for sharing.

Tip: This dish is meant to be shared communally — put everything in the center of the table and let everyone build their own plate.

~5 min

Nutrition (per serving)

560

Calories

18g

Protein

52g

Carbs

30g

Fat

Fiber

Cultural Context

Salchipapas is one of Peru's most beloved street foods and comfort dishes, deeply embedded in the social fabric of Peruvian nightlife. It is the quintessential late-night meal eaten after a night out with friends — a plate of fried potatoes topped with sausages and sauces shared communally. Peru is the birthplace of the potato with thousands of native varieties; the papa amarilla (yellow potato) is particularly prized for its creamy, waxy texture and is one of the most widely available varieties. The combination of potatoes with various charcuterie and creamy sauces reflects the Peruvian tradition of abundant, generous, sharing-style food.

Giacomo Bocchio

TE ENSEÑO A PREPARAR UNAS DELICIOSAS SALCHIPAPAS ¦ GIACOMO BOCCHIO

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Delicious Salchipapas with Four Sauces ☆

Ingredients

Steps

Nutrition (per serving)

Delicious Salchipapas with Four Sauces