Here is an updated Peruvian classic for Sean and Sam made dairy-free/vegan! The Aji Amarillos should be fresh or the paste salt free.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp. of Aji Amarillo fresh, or paste
- 1/2 cup red onion
- 1/2 cup of nut cheese like Kite Hill, traditional is Queso Fresco
- 4 saltines
- 4 cloves of garlic chopped into larger pieces
- 1/2 cup of coconut milk, unsweetened
- 1 tbs of turmeric
Directions
Remove the stem, seeds and placenta of the Aji Amarillo and chop into small pieces along with the onions and garlic. Keep the garlic apart from the Aji Amarillos and red onions. You will separate the garlic at the end of 10 minutes. Cook all 3 ingredients in a pan with coconut oil for 10 minutes on low-medium.
Put the Aji Amarillo and onions in the blender, leave the garlic in the pan. Add the cheese, saltines, coconut milk, and turmeric. Blend until silky smooth. If you need to add more coconut milk to match your preferred consistency, do it! Mix your sauce back together with the garlic. Done!
Using Huancaína Sauce
It’s very versatile. Either serve cold as a condiment (plenty of options here), or pour on top of your already cooked protein and cook for less than 10 minutes! The traditional dish pairs the Huancaína Sauce with boiled yellow potatoes or chicken. You should also try sweet potatoes cut into slices and baked. Fried tempeh! Huancaína Sauce makes a great dipping sauce! Or, try with veggie burgers, it’s incredible!
Aji Amarillo Paste
Also, instead of preparing the Aji Amarillo by chopping up and cooking with the onion, you can also boil them for a paste. Remove the stem, seeds and placenta and cover the peppers with water in a pot. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes.
Let the peppers cool a bit and then remove the skin. This makes the sauce sweeter and smoother, however it is more time consuming and requires more peppers.
Vegan Huancaína Sauce
The traditional recipe calls for Queso Fresco cheese—this is easily substituted with several options for nut cheeses. Or, try a mix of nutritional yeast and cashew butter. Be sure to use unsweetened, non-vanilla coconut milk. It’s much more flavorful versus dairy milk and it doesn’t have pus innit!
Pepper Substitutes
Also, you should try pepper substitutions, there are tons of options here. The Aji Amarillo might be the real MVP, but you should swap in chinense peppers such as the Aji Panca for more of a smokey flavor.
Mix in other fresh peppers such as the CGN 21500. This will provide some experimental tastes from the future. The key here is to not be a little baby bitch if it’s too spicy.
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