An Amazonian peanut soup with tender hen and the unmistakable aroma of sacha culantro. Thick without becoming heavy, with soft cassava and a creamy broth that captures the warmth of Peru’s rainforest cooking.
Turn what you find into an experience you can actually bring to your kitchen.
Cut the cassava into medium pieces, chop the red onion, peel the garlic, remove the seeds from the sweet chili, and wash the sacha culantro. Check the hen pieces for any loose bone fragments and have everything ready before you begin.
Reserve about 300 ml of the water. Heat the oil in the pressure cooker and cook the red onion, garlic, and sweet chili for 4 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Add the turmeric and cumin, stir briefly, then add the hen pieces, remaining water, and half the salt. Seal the cooker and cook for 25 minutes once full pressure is reached; turn off the heat and allow the pressure to release naturally for about 8 minutes before opening according to your cooker's safety instructions. The hen should feel tender when pierced and the broth should taste concentrated.
While the hen cooks, blend the toasted peanuts, corn flour, and most of the sacha culantro with the reserved water. Blend until smooth, with no large peanut pieces and a consistency loose enough to pour easily.
Remove the hen pieces and keep them covered. Bring the broth back to a gentle boil, add the cassava, and cook uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, until a knife passes through easily while the pieces still hold their shape. Lower the heat, gradually pour in the peanut mixture while stirring, and cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the soup lightly coats a spoon but still flows easily. If it thickens too quickly, lower the heat before it can catch on the bottom.
Return the hen to the pot and warm it in the soup for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the remaining sacha culantro and salt, and serve immediately with one hen piece and several pieces of cassava in each bowl. If the broth is creamy but still spoonable, the peanut tastes toasted, and the sacha culantro is aromatic without overpowering the hen, it came out exactly as it should. Done! 🥘
