Chilean Andean chairo is a thick highland soup made by simmering beef, lamb, and charqui until tender, then cooking hominy, wheat mote, potatoes, white chuño, onion, garlic, and tripe in the broth, and finishing with fava beans, peas, carrots, black chuño, oregano, and parsley. It takes 45 minutes of preparation plus 45 minutes of cooking and serves 8 people.
Chairo has been eaten by Andean peoples for centuries, shaped by the geography of the altiplano rather than by today’s borders.
How to Make Chilean Andean Chairo?
Over time, chairo combined native Andean foods such as chuño and corn with ingredients brought from Spain, mainly beef and lamb. The meats are cooked first, and the grains, potatoes, and vegetables are added to the broth in stages.
Nutritional Information
Each serving of Andean chairo contains approximately 350 kcal, 20 g of protein, 18 g of total fat (6 g of saturated fat), 60 mg of cholesterol, 30 g of carbohydrates, 4 g of sugars, and 700 mg of sodium. These values are estimates and may vary depending on ingredients and portion sizes.
Homemade Chilean Andean Chairo Recipe
Preparation: 45 minutes
Cooking: 45 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
- 500 g (1.1 lb) of beef
- 500 g (1.1 lb) of lamb
- 250 g (9 oz) of cleaned tripe
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of charqui (dried meat)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of fava beans
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of peas
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of hominy (mote de maíz)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of hulled wheat (mote de trigo)
- 3 potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
- 3 white chuños
- 3 black chuños
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- Dried oregano
- Chopped parsley
- Fine salt
Instructions
- Place the beef, lamb, and charqui in a large pot, season with salt, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook until the meats are tender, then remove them to a platter and set aside.
- Add the chopped onions and garlic, the hominy, the wheat mote, the peeled and chopped potatoes, the white chuños, and the tripe to the meat broth, and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until everything is cooked.
- Add the fava beans, peas, carrots, and black chuños and keep cooking until the soup thickens and everything is tender. Adjust the seasoning and add the oregano. Return the meats to the pot, bring to a boil over medium heat, and turn off the heat. Serve very hot, sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Additional Tips
Soak the chuño
Soak white and black chuño in cold water overnight, or at least 8 hours, so it softens fully and cooks faster.
Start with a sofrito
Sauté the onion, garlic, and carrot in a little oil with a spoonful of ají de color before adding them to the broth.
Keep it thick
Chairo should be a dense soup; the hominy, chuño, and vegetables give it body.
| Original ingredient | Substitute | Ratio | Flavor note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charqui | Smoked beef | 1:1 | Less traditional |
| Chuño | Extra potatoes | 1:1 | Milder, less earthy |
| Lamb | Llama or alpaca | 1:1 | More traditional Andean |
| Tripe | Omit | Simpler soup |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How thick should chairo be?
It should be a dense soup, not a thin broth; the hominy, chuño, and vegetables give it that texture.
2. How is Chilean chairo different?
The northern Chilean version often includes tripe and more kinds of meat, while Bolivian and Peruvian versions may use more Andean potatoes and local herbs such as huacatay.
3. What does chairo mean?
The word is often said to come from Aymara and to mean soup; it was originally made with llama or alpaca meat.
4. Where can I find chuño?
In Andean markets in northern Chile, Bolivia, and Peru, or in Latin American shops abroad.
What Is Chairo?
Chairo is a hearty Andean soup of meats, chuño, hominy, and vegetables, eaten by Aymara and other highland communities in northern Chile, Bolivia, and Peru.
Aymara Food Culture
Aymara cooking in the altiplano relies on ingredients adapted to high altitude, such as potatoes, chuño, quinoa, and camelid meat.
Did You Know?
Chuño is an ancestral freeze-dried potato made by Andean peoples through repeated freezing at night and drying in the sun, and it can keep for years without refrigeration.
