Peruvian · main

Tallarín Saltado de Pollo

Tallarín Saltado de Pollo reads umami 7.7, richness 6.0 and salinity 5.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Peruvian main, about 21 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 8.5 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.2 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.8 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.3 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 6.3 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.9 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.7 · Richness 6.0 · Salinity 5.5 · Sourness 3.4 · Allium 3.3 · Herbaceous 3.2 · Heat 3.0 · Funk & Ferment 2.8 · Sweetness 2.6 · Earthy 2.1 · Fruity 2.1 · Warm Spice 1.9 · Citrus 1.3 · Bitterness 1.3 · Nutty 1.0 · Floral 0.8

What's in it (14)

• thin spaghetti — 400 g
• chicken thigh — 500 g
• red onions — 320 g
• roma tomatoes — 300 g
• ají amarillo — 60 g
• garlic — 16 g
• soy sauce — 59 g
• red wine vinaigrette — 30 g
• oil — 41 g
• cilantro leaves — 20 g
• cumin — 5 g
• freshly ground black pepper — 3 g
• green onion — 45 g
• salt — 5 g

Time & effort: about 21 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 182.6 kcal, 4.4 g protein, 15.6 g fat, 6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. Saltado means tossed in the wok over a fire hot enough to scorch, and the chifa cooks of Lima did it to noodles long before anyone called it fusion. The signature is the smell of soy hitting hot metal — what Cantonese cooks call wok hei — and you cannot get it at a timid heat.
2. Boil the noodles in well-salted water until barely al dente, about a minute short of the packet time. Drain, toss with a teaspoon of the oil, and spread them out so they do not glue together.
3. Season the chicken strips with the cumin, black pepper and half the salt. Have the onion petals, tomato quarters, ají strips, garlic, cilantro and cebollita china in separate piles beside the stove; the whole stir-fry takes about seven minutes and you will not have time to cut anything.
4. Get a wok or your heaviest steel pan ripping hot over high heat, add 2 tbsp of the oil and wait until it shimmers and just begins to smoke. Add the chicken in one layer, leave it alone for 90 seconds so it takes colour, then toss for 2 minutes more until cooked through. Tip it into a bowl.
5. Add the last of the oil, then the onion petals. Toss for 90 seconds only — they should stay crisp at the centre and take dark blistered edges. Add the garlic and ají strips and toss 30 seconds until fragrant, then the tomatoes for another minute, just until they slump at the edges but hold their shape.
6. Return the chicken, pour the sillao and the vinegar down the side of the pan, and let them hiss and reduce for 30 seconds. Add the noodles and the remaining salt and toss everything hard for 2 minutes, lifting and folding so the sauce coats every strand.
7. Off the heat, throw in the cebollita china and the cilantro, toss twice, and serve at once. In a chifa this arrives with a small bowl of rice alongside, which is not redundancy but the standard Lima portion.
8. Substitutions: thick Chinese wheat noodles can stand in for the dried spaghetti; 1 tbsp ají amarillo paste can stand in for the ají amarillo.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Cajun Meatloaf with Tomato Gravy — Cajun/Creole · Cajun
• Sausage and Kale White Bean Stew — Italian-American
• Lomo a la Chorrillana — Peruvian
• Baked Ziti with Sausage and Ricotta — Italian-American
• Roasted Red Pepper and Sausage Rigatoni — Italian-American

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.