The Aji Amarillo chili pepper is a spicy South American pepper with brilliant orange-yellow skin and a great flavor. Because “Amarillo” means “yellow” in Spanish and “Aji” means “chili” in South America, this pepper is also known as the “yellow chili.”
The Aj Amarillo is grown all across Peru. It was utilized by the Incas, and it is now Peru’s most common and popular chili pepper.
It’s probable that it’s the most important ingredient in Peruvian cuisine, as it occurs in a wide range of national cuisines, from main courses to side dishes and more. In Peruvian markets, they come in a number of forms, including fresh and dried, canned, and chili paste.
Capsicum baccatum is one of the five domesticated pepper species, and it contains the Aji Amarillo, which is produced across Peru. In terms of food, the Aji Amarillo, together with garlic and red onion, is considered part of the Peruvian “holy trinity.”
Aji Amarillo paste is widely accessible and used in a variety of spicy recipes, including the popular and tasty Aji Amarillo sauce.
Despite its name, the Aji Amarillo pepper is a lovely orange pepper that develops to be roughly 4-5 inches long.
Despite being ruffled, the skins remain vivid and silky. As the pods grow, their color can shift from brilliant orange to deep, dark orange.
Are Aji Amarillo Peppers Good For Cooking?
Like other peppers from this region, the Aji Amarillo has a wonderful, berry-like flavor. It’s somewhat hot, yet it doesn’t burn your mouth. It can also be used as a condiment.
Fresh Aji Amarillo peppers have a vibrant flavor, making them great for sauces, salsas, or drying and grinding into powders. It’s an essential component in Peruvian cuisine, which is known for its particular flavor.
The Aji Amarillo pepper’s Scoville Heat Units (SHU) range from 30,000 to 50,000, making it nearly as fiery as a serrano pepper. This jalapeo pepper might be 10 times hotter than a conventional jalapeo pepper.
Fresh or frozen Aji Amarillo chilis can be substituted for more traditional chilis in Mexican meals that call for a hot chili. Crush the dried peppers and use them as a spice rub or chili powder. The chile paste may be used to give rice or sauces a distinctive flavor.
If you reside in a warm climate, you can grow your own Aji Amarillo. These peppers grow in the same circumstances as other chilis and may be grown in planters if they get adequate sun.
They’ll grow to be around 5 feet tall and produce about 40 peppers per plant. They do, however, take around four months to mature, so be patient. Once they’re ready, you may use them fresh or dried.
Aji Amarillo Pepper Recipes
Aji Amarillo gives a dish spice, an unique flavor, and a lovely golden color. Serve roasted chicken, veggies, and even French fries with a simple Aji Amarillo sauce.
If you can’t find or grow these peppers, you may usually substitute habanero or Scotch Bonnet peppers, which are more readily accessible. However, both of those peppers are far hotter than the aji. They do, however, have a similar flavor profile and a lovely fruitiness to them.
If you want to cool those options down, core them out to remove the interiors, which are where the majority of the heat is stored. Alternatively, for a comparable flavor without the heat, gentler sweet bell peppers (yellow, orange, or red) can be used.
This Aji Amarillo sauce is a versatile Peruvian sauce made with fresh aji peppers that gives a nice amount of spice to fried or roasted vegetables as well as grilled meats. It’s a fantastic table sauce.
The Aji Amarillo paste is mixed with other ingredients like mayo, crema, tomato paste, and more to make a basic table or dipping sauce.
A recipe for homemade spicy sauce created from garden-grown aji peppers that have been fermented for 6 weeks before being processed with fresh garlic, lime juice, and vinegar.
Simple, but delectable. Fermentation effectively breaks down the peppers, softens them, and generates flavor. The process is normally evident in the form of bubbles in the brine, but if the fermentation is quiet, you may not detect the bubbles.
This simple sugar-free jam recipe is quick and easy to create, using delightfully spicy aji peppers, fresh mashed kiwi, and lime juice. It’s wonderful as a spread or glaze.
Jellies and jams are a great way to use up a lot of your chili peppers in a single preserving session, and the result is something insanely delicious that you can enjoy all winter long. This recipe creates two half-pint jars and uses a cup of minced peppers.
The classic Peruvian beef stir-fry Lomo Saltado is cooked with marinated beef strips, french fries, and plenty of vegetables.
So delicious! Lomo Saltado is a Peruvian dish made with soy-marinated beef strips stir-fried with peppers, red onion, tomatoes, and french fries. It’s a typical Peruvian food influenced by many other cultures, akin to a Chinese-Peruvian stir fry but with more local ingredients.
Pebre is a South American condiment similar to salsa that is made using chiles, onion, cilantro, garlic, oil, and other ingredients. It’s fiery and spicy, and it’s delicious!
Pebre, on the other hand, is mostly composed of cilantro, garlic, onion, olive oil, and peppers, most often aji chili peppers. It has a similar flavor to chimichurri.
Pebre is a versatile spice that works well in a wide range of foods. Pour it over boiling potatoes for a flavor boost, or sprinkle it over grilled chicken or a tasty steak.
