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Charquican (charquicán): photo of the dish
Illustrative photo: Lufke — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Everyday meals

Charquican (charquicán)

A rustic Andean stew made with dried and salted llama or beef meat (charqui), potatoes, squash and vegetables. A hearty mountain dish, served hot in most Bolivian homes.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

On the side

Instructions

  1. Soak the charqui in cold water for 12 hours, changing the water two or three times to desalt it, then drain and cut into pieces.
  2. Brown the charqui pieces in hot oil for 5 minutes until nicely golden.
  3. Add the sliced onions, crushed garlic and diced bell pepper; let them sweat for 5 minutes over medium heat.
  4. Stir in the peeled, chopped tomatoes, the chili paste and the cumin, then cook for 5 minutes, stirring.
  5. Pour in the water, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
  6. Add the potatoes and squash cut into large cubes, then cook for another 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
  7. Adjust the seasoning with a little salt and pepper, since the meat is already salty.
  8. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve hot with white rice.

Variations and tips

Vegetarian version. Replace the charqui with rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms and add broad beans to keep it hearty.

Using what you have. If you don't have charqui, use 300 g of stewing beef salted the day before, or dried beef shank from an oriental market.

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Original Ecomely recipe.