Four Chaufa Rice Styles for Food Truck or Street Cart

A complete Peruvian-Chinese chaufa rice course covering four variations — classic chicken, vegetarian, beef, and aeropuerto — designed for high-volume street food service. Includes the secrets of pachic (aromatic chifa oil), properly strained rice, and a standardized premix sauce for consistent flavor at speed.

60m Prep

45m Cook

1h 45m Total

4 Servings

chaufa chifa fried-rice arroz-frito street-food food-truck carretillero peruvian-chinese wok pachic aeropuerto vegetarian-option beef chicken batch-cooking standardized victor-heredia master-cook

Ingredients

Aeropuerto

Chinese noodles (for aeropuerto) (cook 3 min in boiling water, drain, rinse with cold water) optional

Finishing

sesame oil (drizzle at the very end; make a small gap in the rice to pour through to prevent excess)
five-spice powder / canela china (add a pinch after reducing heat at end of cook)

Pachic (Aromatic Chifa Oil)

122 g garlic (slice thin perpendicular to fibers)
122 g spring onion white part (slice thin perpendicular to fibers)
120 g ginger / kion (with skin) (slice perpendicular to fibers, skin on)
779 g neutral vegetable oil (start cold with aromatics; heat slowly to ~129°C then turn off; strain)

Premix Sauce

1 g star anise (add to water used to boil proteins for premix stock)
100 mL dark soy sauce / sillao (add to premix stock)
60 mL oyster sauce (add to premix stock)
60 mL ginger extract (blended kion with water) (blend 60 g kion with 60 mL water; use extract in premix)

Proteins

chicken thighs or drumsticks (boneless) (remove skin and bone; blanch 4 min in premix stock; cut into medium cubes)
beef (dice; blanch briefly in premix stock; drain) optional
eggs (crack directly into wok during stir-fry; move wok in circles to prevent sticking)
mushrooms (slice; use as protein substitute in vegetarian chaufa) optional

Rice

1000 g aged long-grain white rice (no washing needed for strained method; cook in 4 L boiling water until tender, then drain)
4 L water (for boiling rice) (bring to rolling boil before adding rice)
10 g salt (stir into hot drained rice immediately after straining)
15 g chicken powder (stir into hot rice with salt; substitute powdered chicken bouillon if unavailable)
5 g MSG (Glucomax) (stir into hot rice; omit if preferred) optional

Vegetables

spring onion greens (chop; add at the very end of stir-fry)
bean sprouts / frijolitos chinos (trim root tips; add mid stir-fry)
red bell pepper (julienne; use in vegetarian and aeropuerto versions) optional
broccoli (blanch briefly in boiling water to clean and parcook; use in vegetarian version) optional

Steps

1

Bring 4 L of water to a rolling boil. Add 1 kg aged rice without washing (strained/colado method). Cook until grains are fully tender but still distinct. Drain completely through a strainer.

Tip: Use aged (añejo) rice — its low starch content keeps grains separate. This strained method works at any altitude without adjusting water ratios.

~15 min
2

While still hot, season the drained rice with 10 g salt, 15 g chicken powder, and 5 g MSG (optional). Stir gently over minimum heat until seasonings are absorbed. Spread rice in a ventilated area to cool.

Tip: Keep rice above 65°C during service or it starts to contaminate. For a food truck, prepare and use within the same service window.

~5 min
3

Make the pachic: thinly slice 122 g garlic, 122 g spring onion white parts, and 120 g ginger with skin — all cut perpendicular to their fibers. Place aromatics cold into ~779 g neutral oil in a pot. Heat slowly, stirring occasionally, until the oil reaches ~129°C (just beginning to bubble gently). Turn off heat immediately. Let cool, then strain — the clear fragrant oil is the pachic.

Tip: The key is low and slow — the longer the aromatics infuse at low temperature, the more flavor the oil extracts. Properly made pachic keeps 1–2 months sealed.

~25 min
4

Prepare the chifa premix stock: add 1 g star anise, 100 mL dark soy sauce, 60 mL oyster sauce, and ginger extract (60 g kion blended with 60 mL water) to the residual water from straining the pachic aromatics. Bring to a boil. Blanch chicken 4 min in this stock, beef briefly. Drain and reserve proteins. Keep the premix stock warm — use 30 mL per chaufa portion during service.

Tip: Pre-cooking protein in premix stock infuses full umami flavor and extends shelf life — critical for food truck operation without continuous refrigeration.

~15 min
5

Prepare mise en place: julienne red bell pepper, blanch broccoli florets briefly in boiling water, clean bean sprouts by trimming root tips, chop spring onion greens, and cook noodles for aeropuerto (boil 3 min, rinse with cold water, drain).

~15 min
6

Per serving — Vegetarian Chaufa: heat wok to smoking point. Add 30 mL pachic. Add mushrooms and red pepper, stir-fry. Add 1 egg; move wok in circles to prevent sticking. Add 2 ladlefuls cooked rice. Stir-fry briskly, scraping the bottom. Add bean sprouts and a splash of soy sauce. Reduce heat, add a pinch of five-spice powder and a drizzle of sesame oil. Add spring onion greens last. Plate by scooping center-up.

Tip: Wok must be at full heat before adding pachic. Constant movement is essential — you are stir-frying, not steaming.

~4 min
7

Per serving — Classic Chicken Chaufa: heat wok to smoking point. Add 30 mL pachic. Add pre-cooked chicken cubes; sauté until lightly golden. Reduce heat, move in circles, add 1 egg. Once egg sets, add rice. Stir-fry, scraping any sticking bits. Add 30 mL premix sauce. Add pinch five-spice, drizzle sesame oil. Add spring onion greens. Serve.

~4 min
8

Per serving — Beef Chaufa: same process as chicken but with pre-cooked beef cubes. Heat wok, add 30 mL pachic, stir-fry beef, add egg, rice, stir-fry, 30 mL premix, five-spice, sesame oil, spring onion greens.

~4 min
9

Per serving — Aeropuerto (mixed chaufa and noodles): follow the classic chicken chaufa process but add pre-cooked noodles along with the rice. Stir-fry rice and noodles together until both are hot and lightly fried. Finish the same way.

Tip: Aeropuerto means the dish 'lands' everything together — rice and noodles combined in one plate.

~4 min

Nutrition (per serving)

520

Calories

28g

Protein

62g

Carbs

18g

Fat

Fiber

Cultural Context

Chaufa is Peru's beloved Chifa cuisine — the fusion of Chinese Cantonese cooking brought by 19th-century immigrants with Peruvian ingredients. It is one of the most popular street foods in Peru, sold from carts (carretillas) and food trucks across the country. Victor Heredia presents the carretillero version: practical, standardized, and optimized for fast service without a full commercial kitchen.