Chicken Aeropuerto (Chifa-Style Fried Rice with Noodles)

A standardized recipe for Aeropuerto de Pollo — a classic Peruvian chifa dish that combines arroz chaufa (Chinese-Peruvian fried rice) with thin egg noodles, bean sprouts, bell pepper, egg tortilla, and seasoned chicken, finished with soy sauce (pachic/sillao), sesame oil, five-spice, and tamarind sauce. Decorated with fried wonton and curled spring onion.

20m Prep

25m Cook

45m Total

1 Servings

chifa fried-rice noodles chicken wok streetfood chaufa aeropuerto chinese-peruvian fusion estandarizado emprender wonton soy-sauce

Ingredients

base

300 g chaufa rice base (arroz chaufa) (pre-cooked chaufa rice base, added at the end)
70 g thin fresh egg noodles (boil in hot water for 1 minute, drain, rinse in cold water; use 100 g cooked)

decoration

wonton wrappers (hantam / guantánamo) (folded into various shapes (boat / cross), deep-fried until golden — used as decoration)

liquid

chifa stock (fondo chifa) (kept boiling hot — never add cold stock to the wok)
cooking oil (for wok and deep frying wontons)

protein

150 g chicken (diced) (seasoned with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp white pepper)
1 unit egg (blended (licuado) to make it more liquid for a thin tortilla; add to wok whole first, then scramble)

sauce

60 ml soy sauce / pachic (sillao) (2 oz (60 ml) for the main wok; 15 ml (1/2 oz) for the tortilla)
sesame oil (aceite de ajonjolí / sésamo) (added at the end, off heat)
tamarind sauce (drizzled as garnish when plating)

spice

Chinese cinnamon / five-spice powder (pinch added near the end)
1 g salt (for noodles (noodles have no salt))
0.5 tsp white pepper (freshly ground) (for seasoning chicken)

vegetables

40 g bean sprouts (frijolitos chinos / brotes de soja) (cleaned — remove dark root tips)
30 g mini bell pepper (julienne (not too fine))
4 stalks Chinese spring onion (green part) (2 stalks sliced fine for garnish (soaked in ice water to curl); 2 stalks sliced fine and added during cooking)

Steps

1

Cook approximately 70 g of thin fresh egg noodles in boiling water for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, leave 1 more minute, then rinse immediately under cold water. Drain and set aside.

Consejo: Rinsing stops cooking and removes excess starch. Fresh egg noodles cook very quickly.

~5 min
2

Clean the bean sprouts by removing darkened root tips. Julienne the bell pepper. Slice the green part of 2 spring onions into thin strips and place in ice water to curl them for garnish. Slice the remaining 2 spring onions finely for cooking.

Consejo: The ice water technique curls the spring onion strips — useful as decoration for any dish, not just chifa.

~8 min
3

Season 150 g of diced chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper. Set aside.

~2 min
4

Fold wonton wrappers into desired shapes (boat or pinwheel style) and deep-fry until golden. Set aside to drain. These will be used as decoration.

Consejo: Make sure wonton shapes are well sealed so oil does not enter.

~5 min
5

Heat the wok over high heat until it reaches smoking point. Add 60 ml (2 oz) of soy sauce (pachic/sillao), then immediately add the seasoned chicken. Let it sear without moving — allow the Maillard reaction to develop.

Consejo: Do not overload the wok with chicken — it must fry, not steam.

~3 min
6

Once the chicken starts to brown, make space in the wok and add the whole egg. Let the white set fully before breaking the yolk and scrambling it into the dish.

Consejo: Adding the egg whole and letting the white set first gives better texture.

~2 min
7

Add the bell pepper julienne. If flames appear, reduce heat but be aware that open flames are unhealthy to ingest. Add the cooked noodles and 1 g of salt (noodles have no salt).

~3 min
8

Add the bean sprouts. Add the chaufa rice base and sauté everything together. If needed, add a splash of hot chifa stock to deglaze — never add cold liquid to the wok.

Consejo: Cold liquid will cause the rice to release starch and stick to the wok.

~4 min
9

Add the sliced spring onion (for cooking), a pinch of five-spice powder, and finish off-heat with sesame oil. Turn off the flame.

~1 min
10

In a clean pan, add 15 ml (1/2 oz) of soy sauce and pour in the blended egg. Tilt the pan to spread the egg thin into a tortilla. Once set, gently loosen and fold over the plated dish.

Consejo: Blending the egg (not just beating) makes it more liquid, allowing you to stretch it into a larger, thinner tortilla that covers the dish.

~3 min
11

Plate the aeropuerto. Place the egg tortilla on top. Decorate with fried wonton pieces, reserved chicken pieces, curled spring onion strips, and drops of tamarind sauce.

~2 min

Nutrition (por porción)

580

Calorías

38g

Proteína

62g

Carbohidratos

18g

Grasa

Fibra

Cultural Context

The Aeropuerto is a beloved dish in Peruvian chifa cuisine — a fusion culinary tradition born from Chinese immigrant communities in Peru, primarily in Lima. It is essentially an arroz chaufa (Peruvian-style Chinese fried rice) elevated with thin egg noodles, creating a heartier, more textured dish. The name 'Aeropuerto' (airport) is said to reflect the abundance and variety of the dish — a 'landing strip' of ingredients. Victor Heredia emphasizes the importance of a very hot wok, proper searing technique, and always using hot stock to avoid releasing starch from the rice.