Peruvian Pescado a la Chorrillana Recipe

At my mom’s house, the main course traditional for the Easter season was always the Chorrillana Style Fish . I still remember that I loved to eat it with a portion of graneadito rice which I totally wet with the juice of the preparation. Delicious! Let’s go with the recipe!

How to Prepare Pescado a la Chorrillana

Exquisite, simple and economical, Chorrillana Style Fish is summed up in a fried fish bathed in juicy sautéed vegetables, with onion as the protagonist. The perfect accompaniment is a generous portion of granulated rice, however, you can change it for potatoes, yucca, beans or even a salad.

🔪 Prep Time	15 minutes
🍲 Cook Time	25 minutes
⏲️ Total Time	40 minutes
🍽️ Servings	6 servings
🔥 Calories	100 calories

Ingredients

• 6 fish fillets approx. 200 grams each
• 1/2 cup of unprepared flour
• Oil in necessary quantity
• 2 large onions julienned
• 2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and pitted, cut into julienne strips
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons ground yellow pepper
• 1 yellow pepper without veins or seeds, cut into thin strips
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon white or red vinegar
• 1 cup of fish broth
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
• Lemon juice to taste

Method

We start with the fish:

1. Wash the fillets in plenty of water and dry well with a paper towel, then season each fillet with a little salt and pepper, reserve on a plate.
2. Place the skillet on the burner over medium-high heat, add enough oil to cover the bottom and half the thickness of the fillets.
3. While the oil is heating, on a wide plate or on a chopping board, place the flour and mix with a little salt and pepper, pass the fillets through this mixture.
4. Once the oil is hot, place the fillets and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, taking care not to burn the flour crust. When they are ready, remove from the pan and place in a deep container with absorbent paper and keep it covered to retain the heat.

Now the chorrilla sauce:

1. In the same pan that you fried the fish, in the remaining oil (if there is too much left, remove until leaving approximately 2 tablespoons), brown the garlic for 1 minute, then add the ground yellow pepper and oregano, continue browning for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the onion, the tomato and the yellow pepper cut into strips, let it fry for about 2 minutes, now add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper, increase the heat and fry, moving constantly for about 3 minutes.
3. Finally add the fish broth, mix well, taste the seasoning and if necessary add a little more salt. Place the fish fillets on top and when it starts to boil, turn off the heat. Cover the pan and let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

3 secrets for a much tastier Chorrillana Fish:

Tips and tricks

• To serve, place a portion of rice and a fish fillet on each plate and cover with the sauce. The final touch is to sprinkle some chopped coriander and a few drops of lemon juice.
• The consistency of the fish is everything, the fillet must remain whole and not fall apart during cooking. Among the best fish to fry we have: Congrio, Cojinova, Cabrilla and Cheetah. If you leave them the skin will resist much more.
• You can make the fish broth with a concentrated cube, but it will be much tastier if you make it using fish heads or skeletons. You can order them at the fish market when you buy the fillets.

Additional information

Chorrillos is a district of the Department of Lima (Capital of Peru), which is next to the sea, so most of its inhabitants are dedicated to fishing, consequently their main source of food is marine products, both at home and in the large number of restaurants that exist in the district.

The “chorrillana” kitchen It is distinguished by using a lot of onion in its preparation, which is why in the Peruvian gastronomic menu, there are versions called “a la chorrillana” one of them today’s dish, Fish a la Chorrillana.

There is not much information about its origins, it is presumed that it was born more than a century ago in the old inns or “picanterías” where it was customary to feed the fishermen, when it occurred to them to complement the traditional fried fish with the chorrillana mixture of onions.

then this “village dish” It became popular and from the 20th century we already find it on the menu of several restaurants and as part of the family menu.