What is Aji Amarillo Pepper?

Aji Amarillo is a chile strongly associated with Peruvian cooking. It brings fruity flavor and noticeable heat to potato sauces, rice, seafood and stews. “Amarillo” means yellow, though ripe fresh peppers can look orange. In a home kitchen, the most important choice is the form: fresh pepper, whole dried pepper, powder or prepared paste.

What does Aji Amarillo taste like?

Savu Birra describes its Aji Amarillo as fruity, with mango or passion-fruit notes and a raisin aroma. Those descriptions help explain its appeal in creamy sauces: a dairy or mayonnaise base carries the fruit character while spreading the heat through a larger portion. It is still a hot chile, so begin with a small amount.

How hot is Aji Amarillo?

Our product listing gives a typical range of 30,000–50,000 Scoville Heat Units. This is a variety-level guide, not a laboratory certificate for the bottle in your kitchen. Heat varies with growing conditions and harvest, and the amount used determines how hot the finished dish tastes. See New Mexico State University's explanation of chile heat.

Powder, whole dried peppers or paste?

• Powder: Measure directly into sauces, soups and rubs. Savu Birra's Aji Amarillo product is ground chile, not prepared paste.
• Whole dried: Choose whole dried Aji Amarillo when you want to soak and blend peppers. Remove stems, soak in hot water until pliable, then blend with a little liquid. Cook the resulting sauce according to your recipe.
• Prepared paste: Check the jar's ingredients. Water, salt or other additions can change its strength and texture. Powder and paste are not interchangeable spoon for spoon.
• Fresh: Follow a recipe written for fresh peppers, since their water content and texture differ from dried products.

How much powder should you start with?

Try ¼ teaspoon in a cup of sauce or a two-serving dish, mix thoroughly and taste a small cooked portion before increasing. For someone new to hot chiles, start with less. In a long-simmered stew, add some early and make the final adjustment after cooking. Do not taste a marinade that has touched raw meat.

Simple Aji Amarillo yogurt sauce

Ingredients: 1 cup plain yogurt, ¼–½ teaspoon Aji Amarillo powder, 1 tablespoon lime juice and salt to taste.

1. Stir the yogurt, smaller amount of powder and lime juice together.
2. Refrigerate for 10 minutes, then taste and adjust the chile or salt.
3. Spoon over roasted potatoes, cooked vegetables or a rice bowl.

This is a quick Peruvian-inspired sauce, rather than a traditional huancaína recipe. For a thinner drizzle, add water a teaspoon at a time.

What can you substitute?

There is no exact match for its combination of fruit flavor and heat. A small amount of another chile can supply warmth, but chipotle also adds smoke and cayenne has a more direct heat profile. Begin below the original amount and adjust the rest of the dish. If Aji Amarillo is the main flavor of a named Peruvian dish, using the specified pepper will give a closer result.

Handling and storage

Keep dry powder tightly closed in a cool, dry cupboard. Wear gloves when handling hot pods and avoid breathing powder dust. Keep prepared yogurt sauce refrigerated and make a small batch for prompt use. Flavorful seasoning portions are small; this article focuses on cooking rather than promises of medical or weight-loss benefits.

Explore more from Savu Birra

Shop Aji Amarillo Powder or Whole Dried Aji Amarillo. For measured sauce, salsa, marinade and aioli ideas, read our Aji Amarillo uses guide. Compare other flavors in the chile pepper comparison guide.