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Dish · Cochabamba
Pique macho
Platter to share, with beef strips, sausage, French fries, onion, tomato, locoto and boiled egg. Created in Cochabamba, it was chosen in 2019 as the department's most representative dish.
Flavors · Oruro
Charquekan
Oruro dish of shredded llama charque fried until crispy, served with mote (corn), potato, hard‑boiled egg, cheese and llajwa. It is a traditional specialty of the city of Oruro.
Traditional dish from Oruro, Oruro
Also known as: Charquekán, Charquecán, Charquekan orureño
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Charquekan — Oruro, Bolivia
Charquekan is a dish made from charque, meat salted and dried in the sun and cold of the high plateau, usually llama. The charque is cooked, beaten, shredded and fried until golden and crispy. It is served with mote, the large‑grained cooked white corn, boiled potato, hard‑boiled egg, a slice of fresh cheese and llajwa, the spicy tomato and locoto sauce.
Oruro sits at about 3,700 meters altitude, in a region where llamas are raised and drying meat is an old method of preservation. Educational material from the Bolivian Ministry of Education presents it as a typical dish of Oruro.
In the city, charquekan is seen as Oruro’s signature dish. There is a whole block of charquekan houses on Ayacucho Street, and the dish appears in the central markets. It also features at food fairs and gastronomic festivals.
It is a dry dish, without broth, hearty and salty, eaten with a fork and with llajwa served separately so each person can add the spicy sauce as they like.
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Where it comes from
Oruro , Oruro
Traditional dish of Oruro, identified as a typical dish in educational material from the Bolivian Ministry of Education.
Ingredients
Llama charque (sometimes beef) cooked, shredded and fried; white mote corn, boiled potato, hard‑boiled egg, fresh cheese and llajwa, tomato and locoto sauce.
How it is eaten
Dry, with the fried charque in the center and mote, potato, egg and cheese arranged around it. Llajwa is served on the side so each person can add as much as they want.
When it is eaten
Year‑round, at lunchtime. It also appears at food fairs and gastronomic festivals; check the dates of each edition.
Your questions
Questions about Charquekan
What is charquekan?
An Oruro dish of shredded llama charque fried until crispy, served with mote corn, potato, hard‑boiled egg, cheese and llajwa.
Is charquekan made with llama meat?
Generally, yes. Llama charque is the most traditional in Oruro, but some recipes use beef charque.
Where to eat charquekan in Oruro?
In the central markets and in the specialized houses on Ayacucho Street, where there is a whole block dedicated to the dish.
Flavors of Bolivia
Discover other flavors of Bolivia
Dish · Cochabamba
Silpancho
Layered dish from Cochabamba: rice, boiled and fried potato, a very thin breaded steak, fried egg and a salad of onion, tomato and locoto. The name comes from Quechua and means flattened and thin.
Dish · La Paz
Fricasé
Thick soup from La Paz with pieces of pork cooked in a yellow ají broth, served with mote of white corn and chuño. It is part of the traditional cuisine declared a municipal heritage.
Dish · Potosí
K'alapurka
Thick soup made from white cornmeal with meat, potato and red ají, served in a clay bowl with a very hot volcanic stone inside that makes the broth boil at the table. It is a national heritage dish as representative cuisine of Potosí.
Dish · Potosí
Salteña
Baked empanada with a slightly sweet dough and a juicy filling of meat, potato, ají and broth, eaten mid-morning throughout Bolivia. Law 485 declared the salteña potosina a national heritage; its origin is disputed.
Dish · Santa Cruz
Majadito
Cooked rice with shredded charque or other meats, served with a fried egg and fried cooking banana. It is the most consumed dish of cruceña cuisine from the Bolivian Lowlands (Oriente).
Dish · Sucre
Mondongo chuquisaqueño
Pork stew in a red ají sauce, served with mote of white corn and potato. It is listed among Sucre’s emblematic dishes and has its own fairs in the city.
Dish · Tarija
Saice tarijeño
Spicy stew of ground beef with diced potato, peas and red ají, served with rice and a fresh salad. It is Tarija’s signature dish and the most representative of Tarija cuisine, according to the municipality.
Drink · Tarija
Singani
Brandy (aguardiente) from Moscatel de Alexandria grapes with Bolivian denomination of origin, produced in high-altitude valleys. The Tarija valleys are the primary production zone of the denomination and the center of the Wine and Singani Route.