The chorillana is a typical recipe from Valparaíso, Chile.
The dish consists of a plate of French fries topped with various types of sliced meat, sausage and eggs, most commonly scrambled or fried, and fried onions.
Some preparations also use hot dogs, chorizo, tomatoes.
It is a large dish that is very often shared among four or six people.
There are versions that indicate this dish originated during the War of the Pacific (1879-1884), when Chilean army troops were fighting on the field in the Battle of Chorrillos in Peru and invented a dish with what they had available.
Another version circulated among the bohemians of Valparaíso suggests that the name originated from slicing the chorizo, although current versions of the dish have abandoned this essential ingredient in its origins to adapt to a more mass taste.
Popularly in Chile, it is believed that the chorrillana originated in 1970 in a non-commissioned officers’ casino of the Carabineros of Valparaíso, called J. Cruz, where the owner requested that a dish be served as an appetizer for the young people who frequented the place.
The chorillana resembles the Canadian poutine and is composed of elements similar to lomo
a lo pobre, although in this case it is enriched with more types of meat, and the lomo saltado, it is indeed considered the predecessor dish of both Peruvian dishes.
Since 2012, every August 13 in Chile is celebrated as “Chorrillana Day”.
This was an initiative of the Municipality of Santiago to commemorate this dish.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stove, Frying
- Cuisine: South American
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs potatoes
- 4 beef steaks (and/or 4 pieces of chorizo)
- 2 onions
- 4 eggs
- to taste vegetable oil
- to taste salt and pepper
Preparation
Peel, slice, and fry them.
Cook the steak: heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook the steaks for about 5-6 minutes per side or until desired doneness. Adjust salt and pepper.
Grill the chorizo if using.
Caramelize the onions: in the same pan, add another tablespoon of oil if needed. Add the sliced onions and cook until they become translucent.Slice the steak: cut the steaks into thin strips.
Fry the eggs.
Assemble: arrange the crispy fries, meat and/or chorizo, and onion on top of each other, finishing with the fried eggs on top of everything.
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Chorizo available for purchase online.
Where does the term chorillana come from?
The term chorrillana or chorrellana originally refers to a preparation in Peruvian gastronomy.
The earliest reference to its origin is found in the locality of Chorrillos in Peru during the beginning of Asian immigration to Peru, with Asian cooks using the wok with stir-frying.
This dish represents the beginning of the fusion of Inca, Asian, and European cultures.
The expression “a la chorrillana” has been known since the 19th century and denotes a particular style of stew with a sauce made from onions, tomatoes, garlic, peas, and yellow chili.
The Chorrillana spread during the War of the Pacific in Peru.
The Peruvian dish became appreciated in Chile after the War of the Pacific.What is the difference between chorillana and lomo saltado?
The chorrillana and the lomo saltado are two dishes that, although belonging to different culinary cultures (Chile and Peru, respectively), share some similarities:
– Ingredients: beef and potatoes as main ingredients.
– Fusion cuisine, lomo saltado is a dish that arises from the fusion of Peruvian and Chinese cuisine, known as chifa. Similarly, Chorrillana also has Asian influences.
– Preparation: both dishes are prepared with the culinary technique known as sautéing.
For lomo saltado (beef steak strips sautéed with onions, tomatoes, French fries) yellow chili, vinegar, tomato, onions are used and it is served with rice.
Chorrillana is cooked with onions and accompanied by fried eggs placed on top of the fries.
N.B. Lomo saltado differs from lomo a lo pobre because the meat is sliced, there is the addition of onions, and there is no fried egg.
