Chilean Fried Yuyo — Homemade Yuyo Frito (Wild Field Greens) Recipe

Versión en Español

Chilean yuyo frito is a country dish of young yuyo stems and leaves, a wild field mustard, blanched and then sauteed in olive oil with onion, shallots, and garlic until lightly browned. It takes 20 minutes of preparation plus 10 minutes of cooking and serves 4 people.

Yuyo (Brassica campestris) is a field plant of the mustard family whose stems are eaten before it develops its bright yellow flowers.

How to Make Chilean Fried Yuyo?

The name yuyo comes from the Quechua word for tender herb, which refers in general to any edible wild green. The greens are softened briefly in water, squeezed dry, and fried with onion and garlic, then served with boiled potatoes.

Nutritional Information

Each serving of fried yuyo contains approximately 140 kcal, 5 g of carbohydrates, 10 g of fat, 3 g of protein, 2 g of fiber, 1 g of sugars, 0 mg of cholesterol, and 150 mg of sodium. These values are estimates and may vary depending on ingredients and portion sizes.

Homemade Chilean Yuyo Frito Recipe

Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 400 g (14 oz) of yuyo (young field mustard greens)
• 4 shallots
• 1 large onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• Merken
• Salt

Instructions

1. Wash the yuyo in cold water and cut it into pieces. Place it in a pot with a little warm water and cook over low heat for a couple of minutes to soften it. Squeeze the yuyo with your hands to remove the excess water and set aside.
2. Finely dice the shallots and the onion and crush the garlic with a little salt. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the yuyo, the onions, and the garlic, and fry everything together until the yuyo is lightly browned and the onions are cooked.
3. Serve the fried yuyo right away with boiled potatoes, sprinkled with a little merken or aji cacho de cabra if you like. It is also eaten at once with pan amasado and mate.

Additional Tips

Pick it young

Gather or buy yuyo before it flowers, when the stems and leaves are tender. Once it blooms, the stems turn woody and bitter.

Squeeze it well

After blanching, squeeze out as much water as possible so the greens fry and brown instead of steaming in the pan.

Season at the end

Add the merken just before serving so its smoky heat stays fresh and does not burn in the hot oil.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is yuyo?

Yuyo is a wild field mustard (Brassica campestris) that grows throughout Chile. Its young stems and leaves are edible before the plant develops its yellow flowers.

2. Where can I find yuyo?

It grows wild in fields and roadsides across Chile in late winter and spring and is sold at farmers markets in the south. Outside Chile, mustard greens or broccoli rabe are the closest substitutes.

3. Why blanch it before frying?

A brief blanch softens the stems and tames their bitterness, so the greens cook evenly and quickly in the pan.

4. What goes well with fried yuyo?

Boiled potatoes are the traditional side, but it also works with a fried egg, with grilled meat, or on pan amasado at once.

Uses of Yuyo

Yuyo is an annual herb with yellowish flowers that grows all over Chile. According to the book El uso medicinal y alimenticio de plantas nativas y naturalizadas en Chile, it was used in folk medicine against diabetes, as an antiscorbutic, and as a mouth disinfectant.

Wild Greens in Chilean Country Cooking

Rural Chilean cooking has long made use of wild greens such as yuyo, nalca, and berros, picked in spring when they are young and tender and cooked simply with onion and garlic.

Did You Know?

The tender leaves of yuyo were part of the everyday diet of the Mapuche people, who called it napor or napur and used it in many preparations.

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• Chilean Nalca and Diguenes Salad Recipe
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• Chilean Pickled Nalca Recipe