Flavors · Cusco

Chiriuchu

Cold festive dish with roasted cuy, chicken, cecina, chorizo, torreja, cancha, cheese, cochayuyo seaweed and rocoto. It is the Corpus Christi dish in Cusco.

Traditional dish from Cusco, Cusco

Also known as: chiri uchu, chiriuchu cusqueño

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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Peru
Peru
Chiriuchu — Cusco, Peru
Chiriuchu
Chiriuchu — Cusco, Peru
Chiriuchu
Chiriuchu — Cusco, Peru
Chiriuchu
Chiriuchu — Cusco, Peru
Chiriuchu

Chiriuchu — Cusco, Peru

Chiriuchu is a dish served cold, arranged with many ingredients side by side. It includes roasted cuy, chicken, cecina (dried meat), Cusco-style chorizo, torreja (a fried dough made with corn), cancha (toasted corn), cheese, cochayuyo (a dried seaweed), fish roe in some versions, and rocoto. The name comes from Quechua and is translated as “cold ají” or “cold pepper.”

Each ingredient recalls a region of Peru: cuy and corn from the highlands, the seaweed and roe from the sea, and other products from the jungle. For this reason the official Andina agency describes the dish as a tribute to Andean biodiversity and one of Cusco’s great cultural legacies.

Chiriuchu is the signature dish of the Corpus Christi festival, celebrated in Cusco about 60 days after Easter, usually in June. On that day, fifteen images of saints and the Virgin arrive in procession from several parishes to the cathedral on the Plaza de Armas. The festival was declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 2004.

Cusco cooks prepare chiriuchu for the festival, and the dish is sold in the square and nearby areas during the celebrations. Outside Corpus Christi, it appears in some traditional restaurants.

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Where it comes from

Cusco , Cusco
Signature dish of the Corpus Christi festival in the city of Cusco.

Ingredients

Roasted cuy, chicken, cecina, Cusco-style chorizo, torreja, cancha, fresh cheese, cochayuyo, rocoto; in some versions, fish roe.

How it is eaten

Cold, on a plate with all ingredients side by side, eaten by hand or with a fork.

When it is eaten

Corpus Christi festival in Cusco, about 60 days after Easter, usually in June.

Your questions

Questions about Chiriuchu

What is chiriuchu?

A cold festive dish from Cusco, with roasted cuy, chicken, cecina, chorizo, torreja, cancha, cochayuyo seaweed and rocoto.

When is chiriuchu eaten in Cusco?

At the Corpus Christi festival, celebrated about 60 days after Easter, usually in June.

Does chiriuchu contain cuy?

Yes. Roasted cuy is one of the main ingredients, alongside chicken and cecina.

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