Fricasé Paceño

Name: Fricasé Paceño
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 95 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Bolivian
Ingredients: 1kg beef shank, cut into chunks; 2 cups dried hominy corn (mote), soaked overnight; 8 dried yellow aji peppers, rehydrated; 1 onion, quartered; 4 cloves garlic; 2 tsp cumin; 1 tsp oregano; 6 cups water; Salt; Chuño (freeze-dried potatoes) or fresh potatoes

Fricasé Paceño (free-kah-SEH pah-SEH-nyoh)

La Paz Spicy Stew

⏱ Prep Time 20 min

📈 Difficulty Medium

👥 Servings

🔥 Calories 518 kcal

A fiery, brick-red La Paz stew of tender beef simmered in a thick sauce of yellow aji peppers, cumin, and hominy corn, served steaming hot at dawn.

Nutrition & Info

Protein 35.0g

Carbs 45.0g

Fat 22.0g

Protein Carbs Fat

Dietary

gluten-free dairy-free nut-free

Equipment Needed

large heavy pot blender ladle

Presentation Guide

Vessel: large deep bowl

Garnishes: chopped onion, parsley

Accompaniments: bread, llajwa

Ingredients

1kg beef shank, cut into chunks
2 cups dried hominy corn (mote), soaked overnight
8 dried yellow aji peppers, rehydrated
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
6 cups water
Salt
Chuño (freeze-dried potatoes) or fresh potatoes

Instructions

1
Boil beef in water with onion and garlic for 1 hour until tender. Reserve broth.
2
Blend rehydrated aji peppers with cumin, oregano, and 1 cup broth into a smooth paste.
3
Strain aji paste into the pot with the beef. Stir to combine.
4
Add soaked hominy and chuño or potato chunks. Simmer 30 min until corn is tender.
5
Season with salt. The broth should be thick and intensely golden-red.
6
Serve very hot in deep bowls, traditionally at 5 AM from market stalls.

💡

Did You Know?

Fricasé is Bolivia's legendary hangover cure — market stalls in La Paz start serving it at 4 AM for revelers stumbling home.

Chef's Notes

Equipment Tips

large heavy pot
blender
ladle

Garnishing

chopped onion, parsley

Accompaniments

bread, llajwa

The Story Behind Fricasé Paceño

Fricasé arrived with French-influenced colonial cooking but was radically transformed by Andean ingredients. La Paz cooks replaced wine with aji peppers and added indigenous hominy corn and chuño. The dish became inseparable from the city's dawn market culture, where workers and party-goers alike seek its restorative warmth.

🕐 Traditionally enjoyed early morning breakfast or hangover cure 📜 Origins: Colonial La Paz

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