Flavour infused and juicy on the inside. Deep red and crispy on the outside. AND garlicky buttery rice. For just 10 minutes of active effort? Yes please!
I know I shared a baked chicken recipe last week but this is so good, I didn’t have the patience to wait longer!
I saw Peruvian rotisserie chicken being made on a cooking show once and unsurprisingly, it was added to my ever growing list of “things to make”.
Do you keep a list of “things to make”? I actually have 4 5 lists. “Make for blog”, “Clients” (being recipes I create and shoot for clients), “Meals” (being my normal meals), “Ideas” (that list where 95% of the things on it never get made) and “ABSOLUTELY MUST TRY”.
This chicken made the “ABSOLUTELY MUST TRY” list instantly. Straight to the top of the queue! As soon as I saw the recipe, I knew it was my type of food. Easy to make, every day ingredients and kapow! flavours.
I’ve never been to Peru, but from the research I’ve done, this chicken is known as Pollo la Brasa (Peruvian Blackened Chicken) and is by far the most popular chicken dish in Peru.
Traditionally, this is made like a rotisserie chicken over charcoals. So this version I’m sharing doesn’t have that lovely smokey flavour but there’s certainly plenty of flavour from the marinade to make up for it!
Soy sauce is a surprising ingredient in the marinade for this recipe. I was very interested to read about Chinese and Japanese influence on Peruvian cuisine owing to waves of immigration starting in the 1900’s. I love that Peruvians embraced the new ingredients the early immigrants introduced, like soy sauce.
I decided to serve this with a buttery garlic rice. Not sure if it’s strictly Peruvian, but honestly, it goes with it so well and is so delicious that you can eat it plain. Seriously!
I must have read 20+ recipes for Peruvian Roast chicken. And unsurprisingly, every single recipe is different! As with every traditional dish, there is no single recipe. The key ingredients that are common across all recipes are soy sauce, garlic, paprika, cumin and something to add tag (lime or vinegar).
So I made my own guided by those recipes I read – I’ve referenced a few in the recipe. The marinade is actually very straight forward and it’s a matter of just getting the proportions right to suit your palette. I like strong flavours so the marinade for mine is probably stronger than other recipes. I also up the flavour a bit to compensate for the absence of the charcoal flavour.
Hope you consider trying this!! – Nagi x
PS I roasted this in the oven to get the beautiful even browning on the skin you can see in the photos but it’s also really delicious cooked on the BBQ or even on the stove.
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Peruvian Chicken with Garlic Butter Rice
Ingredients
- 2.5 lb (1.2 kg) chicken pieces (Note 1)
Marinade
- 1 tbsp garlic powder OR 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp paprika powder (preferably smoked but plain is ok)
- 4 tbsp soy sauce (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp lime juice , fresh (1 lime)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Garlic Butter Rice
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 onion , finely diced (white, brown, yellow)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups long grain rice , uncooked
- 2 cups chicken broth / stock
- 1 cup water
- 2 - 4 tbsp butter (Note 3)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the Marinade ingredients in a small bowl and mix until lump free.
- Place the chicken in a ziplock bag (my preferred method) or non reactive bowl and coat with Marinade. Marinade for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight (24 hours) OR freeze it straight away, then it will marinade while it defrosts.
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Place chicken in a baking dish, skin side up. Slather leftover marinade onto the skin. Roast for 45 minutes or until deep burnt-red golden brown in colour.
- Rest for 5 minutes before serving with Garlic Butter Rice and a green salad.
Garlic Butter Rice
- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes until onion is translucent and sweet.
- Add rice and stir so the rice becomes translucent. Add broth and water, then cover and turn heat down to medium low.
- Cook for 12 to 15 minutes until the liquid has JUST evaporated, then remove from stove and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- After resting, add the butter and stir the rice to fluff it up and disperse the butter.
Recipe Notes:
- Peruvian Roasted Chicken with Yellow Potatoes - Pollo a la Brasa
- Peruvian Grilled Chicken
- The Food Lab: Peruvian-Style Whole Grilled Chicken 6. Nutrition for chicken assuming 5 servings. This does not take into account the fat that renders out during roasting that remains in the pan so the actual calories will be considerably less. I estimate it is between 60 and 100 calories less, assuming you don't drink the pan juices!
Nutrition per serving for the rice, assuming 6 servings (that's quite generous servings!).
Nutrition Information:
This looks great! I loved the food I had in Peru-this is definitely something I’d like!
Thanks so much Sabrina!!
Hi Nagi!
I’ve loved your blog for quite a while, and it’s definitely served as an inspiration to try some amazing dishes I’ve seen here.
I was very surprised to see a Peruvian recipe on my inbox from you because despite it being a widely recognized cuisine, not many people seem to know it, and I felt very honored to see you include a Peruvian dish here.
Your version of it looks incredible, and I’m pretty sure it’s even healthier than the ones sold on restaurants on the street, because for some reason they’re very greasy. The garlic butter rice seems like an interesting choice of side dish and I think I’ll have to try that next time I order one of these for take out. We normally use fried potatoes as a side dish.
I read on a comment above that you were surprised this recipe wasn’t included in Peruvian cookbooks, the reason for this I believe is because the restaurants specialized in this dish are so ubiquitous here that you can probably find one in every corner! Sometimes you can see two different restaurants right next to each other, so it’s easy for people to just go to their favorite restaurant and eat it, or call for take out. But I think, the main reason is, because it is considered junk food. Hard to believe, since it’s simply delicious, but, well, we don’t just eat the chicken. Like I said before, the accompanying side is is fried potatoes (what Americans call French Fries), and sometimes we just drown it in mayonnaise, ketchup and other similar products.
I believe the usual marinade time is 24 hours, so the chicken can absorb all the flavors, and definitely rub it inside too, since that enhances the flavor as well.
I have to say, the recipe does seem to vary according to who makes it, but I agree, the main flavor comes from the charcoals burning under the chicken as it roasts! You should definitely take a trip over here so you can try all the different dishes and flavors our cuisine has to offer!
I hope to see your take on more Peruvian dishes soon! 🙂
Thank you so much for this thoughtful message Anna! I adore South American flavours and I’ve been reading up a lot lately on Peruvian cuisine. I plan to share more!! There are so many amazing dishes, I can’t wait to try more!! N xx
You’re killing me for 2 reasons. One this looks spectacular and quite tasty. I can never have too many chicken dishes to try. Secondly, this recipe has been in my testing/draft post for 2 months! 🙂
Great minds think alike!! N x
Hi Nagi! Girl, you make me smile every day! Thinking of you on the other side of the world creating such luscious recipes that I can make here WOW! I’m am so fortunate that I met you and we are friends!! 🙂
And it makes ME smile every time I hear from you Dorothy. 🙂 It really does. I love hearing what you think of the food I share!
Oh, Nagi! It’s been ages since I had pollo a la brasa! When I was living in DC, there was a healthy Peruvian population and so there were a number of awesome places to get their roast chicken. I would go and order a half chicken to myself on a fairly regular basis. I had completely forgotten about it until you reminded me! Thank you so much for this recipe! And I’m so surprised to see soy sauce in the marinade – but when you mentioned the Chinese and Japanese migration, it totally makes sense. So interesting to learn 🙂
I’m so jealous! There are barely any Peruvian places here!! And bring on the soy sauce! Peruvians know a good secret ingredient when they discover it!! 🙂
Yummo! There’s a restaurant in Maroochydore called Machu Pichu and they serve a dish much like this. I just love the flavours. I’m going to make this one soon.
No! Really?? how is there not a Peruvian restaurant in my area!
Wow! I’ve never had Peruvian food but this looks awesome. And the garlic butter rice sounds like it would be a delicious meal all on its own 🙂
Seriously Tara, I could have the rice as a meal on its own!!
Oh my gosh. How GOOD does this look?! We think our gorgeous friend from Adelaide is visiting Sydney next week and staying with us during his visit, so this is going straight on to the menu for next week right now!
Finally made this last night. Love how easy this meal was to make, and how flavoursome everything was. The chicken was tender and the rice was sooooooo delicious. I need to work this rice into more meals! Plenty of leftovers for me to take to work and make my colleagues jealous. Nom nom nom!
Based on my Instagram photo, a friend made this for her family tonight. Her comments: “OMG, Gloria, this was amazing!!!” You rock, Ms Nagi! x
https://instagram.com/p/BCC-tj2KyfS/
I saw your IG!! It looked so delicious! 🙂 SO GLAD you loved it Gloria!!! N x
Tried to print the recipe on Peruvian Roast chicken with garlic butter rice. When I hit the print button, it printed the entire article not simply the receipt. That is ridiculous. I wasted all that paper. Something should be corrected about that error!
Hi Jospeh, sorry you had that problem! There’s a print button on the recipe which prints just the recipe. The print button at the top prints the whole post.
We love strong flavors and we make chicken several times a week. I can’t wait to make this and truthfully I’ve been subscribing to food magazines for years and years. Hubby was getting a little perturbed that we had all of these magazines around the house and yet never made anything from them. Then lo and behold I was inspired ( by my kids) to start a blog and then I could start going through all those cookbooks and magazines. I am happy as a clam cooking — and it’s not even the eating. I like to taste and then go on to the next recipe. BYW — tomorrow we are going to the Asian market and stocking up on oriental ingredients — several posts ago you made a basic sauce for stir fry that you use in many dishes. You called that soy base sauce “Charlie” that is the reason I said I was going to call my sauce “Sammy Salsa” Salsa is Italian for sauce. 🙂 Can’t wait to make it up and dish up some stir fry. After that this recipe is on the list.
Salsa is Italian for Sauce? How did I not know that??? Ohhhhh I love that! Charlie’s Italian Sister!!! We’re building a very ethnically diverse community with Charlie – ha ha ha!!
Had to chime in! Salsa is Portuguese for parsley 🙂 No idea why Portuguese is the odd one out with that word LOL. When my mom and I share recipes we have to clarify with each other if we mean ‘Mexican salsa’ or ‘parsley’ lol
I love reading your blog and all the comments. I’ll be making this chicken and rice combo soon and I’ll report back 🙂
Thank you VERY much for sharing all your recipes with us!
I didn’t know that!!! That’s SO COOL! Now I’m going to feel like I should clarify every time I use “salsa” in a recipe!!! N x
I have a rotisserie and think I can adapt this a little and do a whole chicken especially if I marinate the chicken overnight. Whole chickens are on sale this week! One to cook tomorrow and one for the freezer. YUM!
YES!! I’m so jealous!!! To do this for a whole chicken, I would probably double the marinade and rub it on the inside as well as outside. 🙂 And use the leftover marinade when you take the chicken out to baste it while it’s cooking. I would really love to know what you think if you try it!! Oh and I would definitely marinade it for at least 24 hours. 🙂
Hi Nagi!
We had this chicken last night and I useda whole chicken and the rotisserie. I doubled the marinade as you suggested and marinaded it for over 24 hours. The smell, when roasting, was wonderful and I had a difficult time waiting for it to finish so we could eat. The flavor was out of this world and the chicken was very moist. I think next time, and there will be a next time, I will marinate it even longer- 48 hours probably since we were crazy about the taste of the marinate on and in the chicken. I also made the rice in my rice cooker instead of on the stove top and it really complemented the chicken nicely. Thank you for the recipe and the suggestions.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know! N x
10 minutes of active effort. Yes!!!. 🙂
This is a ripper!!! 🙂
Hi Nagi! What a beautiful dish with that crispy dark skin! We had crispy baked wings last night 🙂 Gary made them but I was in the kitchen “helping” him – in other words I was quoting you on how to do it properly! I don’t have lists, I have big, fat file folders!
Ohhhhh…..you make me smile Dorothy, thinking about you and Gary cooking my recipes in your home on the other side of the world!
I bet your folders are SERIOUSLY OVERFLOWING!!!!
One more thing in common, Nagi: I make a whole roasted Peruvian chicken that a is divine. I’ll be posting it mid-January, before we leave for a major trip whose first stop is Cuzco and Machu Picchu. I also found a kebab recipe using these flavors. Both are terrific, as I am sure yours is. As you noted, the recipes vary and mine is different. I’ve used the America’s Test Kitchen version as the base, which I then tweaked after reading several other recipes.
Oooh! Where are you going?? I can’t WAIT to see your whole roasted Peruvian chicken! Keen to try it!!
Oh wow, my list of stuff to make? Hundreds — probably thousands — of things on it. I’ll never get to it all. Even the stuff I want to make for the blog I often take quite awhile to get to. There are items on that list that are years old! Anyway, need to add this to my list, too. This looks wonderful! Of course when I’ll get around to making it is another story. 🙂
I BET your list is LONG!!! It’s so sad to think about all those things that I will never ever make 🙂
Looks really yummy – and I just so happen to have a load of chicken thighs in my fridge that I was planning on roasting tonight! Wonder if smoked paprika or a dash of liquid smoke would up the ante in the absence of charcoal? I’ll give it a whirl. Thanks again Nagi!
Hi Rochelle! It sure would add extra flavour! Thanks for the tip, I will add it to the recipe!
You can never have too many chicken recipes, or post them too often. I honestly make baked chicken at least once or twice a year, especially now in the winter. Love the flavors in this chicken, it’s going on my list to make. Funny, I also have a long list with recipes to make for the blog. LOL
Once or twice a YEAR?? 😉 N x
A week!!!!!
What a lovely recipe, Nagi! Simple and full of flavour, just the way I like my meals. We like to make a simple chicken dish at least once a week. I think this one’s got to go on the ‘to make’ list (yes, I have several of those too – I usually scribble them on scraps of paper though and lose them, so most of my ideas never get made, either 😉
Love the idea of the garlic butter rice!
Thanks so much Helen! Simple with big flavours, the BEST!!! 🙂
I just got a big, beautiful Peru cookbook, and it does not seem to have a recipe like this in it. You would probably enjoy Peru. We’ve been to Lima a couple of times (as part of a cruise), and one of the things we did was an excursion that was a cooking class and visit to a market. The food was wonderful, and the huge market in Callao (the port city for Lima) had the most amazing produce I’ve ever seen. I’d move to Callao just to be a be able to shop at that market. It would also be required to make many of the recipes in my cookbook, because they use a lot of ingredients that aren’t found anywhere else. You also see Chinese restaurants everywhere in Lima. You’ll just have to visit Peru…
You’re so well travelled Susan!! I’m surprised the cookbook doesn’t have Blackened Chicken in it, I read it was the most popular chicken in Peru!!! I think Peru’s just been added to my list of “must visit soon” 🙂 N x PS I adore that you do cooking classes when you travel
Nagi, I do that all the time. I watch cooking shows while I exercise. I then recreate the recipe guessing what they used and how much spice. It is so fun isn’t it?
I love the color of the chicken and the flavors you brought in. Quick and tasty. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
You watch cooking shows while you exercise? BA HA HA!!! I LOVE IT!!!