Chaufa de Quinoa

Quinoa Fried Rice with Shrimp & Pickled Radishes

There’s something about making dinner with leftovers that is relaxing, like you are just messing around in the kitchen. The Peruvian version of Chinese fried rice is called a chaufa. It comes, or so I’ve always been told, from Spanish-speaking locals mispronouncing the Cantonese name for fried rice, chau fan. Chaufas are some of the closest Peruvian dishes to authentic Cantonese, with some kind of meat, poultry, or seafood, onions, and often eggs cooked at high heat in a soy-based stir-fry sauce. The main Peruvian components are a little fiery ají pepper paste and local ingredients like red onions (instead of green or white) and often organ meats. You can use any leftovers you have, or fry up some chicken or beef instead of shrimp. I prefer to use quinoa instead of rice because it has a lighter texture and flavor.

This version doesn’t have any saltado sauce, but like any stir-fry, have your ingredients prepped and ready to go. Unlike leftover rice, when you stir-fry quinoa, you need to add it to the hot wok or pan toward the end of the cooking time, or it can break down and fall apart. If you are frying eggs instead of using leftover scrambled eggs, have your frying pan hot and ready to go when you start cooking to fry the eggs quickly.

• 2 to 3 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pureed ginger (page 37) or finely zested ginger
• 2 teaspoons pureed garlic (page 37)
• 12 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp with tails intact, butterflied if extra-large (see page 123)
• 2 to 2½ cups leftover cooked quinoa, drained on paper towels if moist
• About ⅓ cup leftover scrambled eggs, or 2 eggs for frying
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably a good-quality Japanese brand, or 1½ tablespoons tamari, or to taste
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) homemade fish, chicken, or vegetable stock (page 40) or low-sodium store-bought broth
• ¼ bunch fresh cilantro, leaves and tender top stems finely chopped
• About ¼ cup ají amarillo aioli or Sriracha aioli (page 38) or a blend of the two
• ¼ cup thinly sliced pickled radishes (see page 39) or store-bought pickled ginger, drained (optional)

1 Heat a wok or large sauté pan over high heat until hot—a good 2 minutes. Pour in the oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and heat the oil for 2 to 3 minutes, until very hot. The oil shouldn’t be smoking, but close to it. Swirl the oil around the pan, toss in the ginger, garlic, and shrimp, and shake the pan or use tongs to flip and sear them on all sides until they just begin to turn pink along the edges, 30 to 45 seconds, depending on their size. Add the quinoa, toss again, and fry the chaufa until the grains begin to lightly brown and smell toasty, about 1 minute, stirring often.

2 Toss in the scrambled eggs and about half the scallions, mix well, then drizzle the soy sauce along the edges of the wok or pan (not on top of the stir-fry ingredients) so the sauce sizzles, and cook for a few seconds. (If frying eggs, heat up a separate pan to fry them in; cook and hold them to place on top of the stir-fry.) Next, pour in the stock around the edges of the wok, then add the cilantro. Toss everything together one more time, taste, and add another drizzle of soy sauce, if you’d like. The chaufa should be really flavorful.

3 Spoon the chaufa straight out of the pan into serving bowls, and sprinkle the remaining scallions on top. Top each serving with a generous spoonful of the aioli and the radishes (if using).