Arroz Chaufa (Peruvian Chinese Fried Rice)
The fried rice of Peru's chifa restaurants: chilled rice stir-fried with garlic and ginger-marinated chicken, ham, squares of thin omelet and green onions, seasoned with soy sauce and served with lime and ají.
In Peru, Chinese-Peruvian cooking is called chifa, and its most famous dish is arroz chaufa. Wikipedia says it came from Chinese immigrants who arrived at the end of the 19th century and that the word comes from the Chinese chǎofàn, "fried rice". The newspaper La República says the workers labored mostly on coastal haciendas and were paid partly in a daily ration of rice; they fried it with soy sauce and ginger they brought from China and with yesterday's leftovers, and later opened small restaurants.
Laylita's Recipes, used here, places the story in central Lima, where Chinese immigrants settled on Billinghurst Street and then Calle Capón, today's Barrio Chino. Peru's state news agency Andina reported in 2023 that The New York Times dated chaufa to the mid-19th century, and that the word chifa comes from the Cantonese for "eat" and "rice". Wikipedia says a cook who specializes in it is called a chaufero, and that a plate of chaufa with stir-fried noodles beside it is nicknamed "aeropuerto", airport.
Why it works the kitchen science
Garlic and ginger on the chicken
Marinating the meat in the paste seasons it through and puts ginger, the kion of chifa cooking, into every bite.
The omelet cut into squares
A thin omelet cooked on its own stays tender and yellow in neat pieces instead of disappearing into the rice.
Step by step
- Step 1
Cook the rice without overcooking it, spread it out to cool and refrigerate it within 1 hour, ideally overnight. Break up any clumps before cooking.
- Step 2
Crush the garlic in a mortar, setting one crushed clove aside. Grate the ginger and mix it with the rest of the garlic. Toss the chicken with the paste, salt, sugar and 1 tbsp soy sauce and marinate while you prep, about 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Beat the eggs. Heat 1 tsp oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, pour in the eggs and tilt the pan to spread them thin. Cook about 3 minutes a side, slide out, cool and cut into squares.
- Step 4
In the same pan over medium-high heat, cook the chicken 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until golden brown and 165°F inside.
- Step 5
Heat the 1/3 cup oil in a large pot or wok over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and the reserved garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until soft.
- Step 6
Add the rice and the remaining 3 tbsp soy sauce and stir 3 to 4 minutes, until every grain is coated and hot.
- Step 7
Add the chicken, ham, omelet squares and green onions and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes more, until the rice is steaming hot (165°F). Taste for soy sauce and serve with lime and ají.
Arroz Chaufa (Peruvian Chinese Fried Rice)
Serves 4 · 4 plates · 1 hr total
Rice
- 1 1/2 cups (240 g) long-grain white rice, cooked, cooled and refrigerated (overnight is best)
Chicken
- 4 to 6 garlic cloves
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger
- 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1 lb), cut into pieces no bigger than 3/4 inch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Stir-fry
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tsp neutral oil
- 1 small white or yellow onion (about 3 oz), diced
- 3 1/2 oz ham, diced
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions or chives
- Lime wedges and ají or another hot sauce, to serve
Method
- Cook the rice without overcooking it, spread it out to cool and refrigerate it within 1 hour, ideally overnight. Break up any clumps before cooking.
- Crush the garlic in a mortar, setting one crushed clove aside. Grate the ginger and mix it with the rest of the garlic. Toss the chicken with the paste, salt, sugar and 1 tbsp soy sauce and marinate while you prep, about 10 minutes.
- Beat the eggs. Heat 1 tsp oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, pour in the eggs and tilt the pan to spread them thin. Cook about 3 minutes a side, slide out, cool and cut into squares.
- In the same pan over medium-high heat, cook the chicken 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until golden brown and 165°F inside.
- Heat the 1/3 cup oil in a large pot or wok over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and the reserved garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until soft.
- Add the rice and the remaining 3 tbsp soy sauce and stir 3 to 4 minutes, until every grain is coated and hot.
- Add the chicken, ham, omelet squares and green onions and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes more, until the rice is steaming hot (165°F). Taste for soy sauce and serve with lime and ají.
Adapted from Layla Pujol, "Arroz Chaufa: Peruvian Fried Rice", Laylita's Recipes (4 servings; posted June 25, 2025, updated July 30, 2026). We follow its amounts (1 1/2 cups long-grain rice, 4 to 6 garlic cloves, a 1-inch piece of ginger, 1 small onion, 500 g chicken breast, 100 g ham, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup green onions, 1/3 cup oil, 4 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp each salt and sugar), its marinade and its omelet cooked about 3 minutes a side. The page gives no times for the chicken, onion or rice; those times and the 165°F checks are ours. laylita.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (4)
Tips
- Laylita says freshly cooked rice holds too much moisture; if you are short on time, spread it on a sheet pan and refrigerate it about an hour.
- Swap shrimp for the chicken, or use mushrooms and vegetables for a meatless version, as Laylita suggests.
- Ají amarillo or rocoto paste adds heat.
- Wikipedia says dark soy sauce is preferred in Peru (a line the article marks as needing a citation).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- When chaufa began. Disputed: Andina, reporting The New York Times, says the mid-19th century; La República and Wikipedia say the end of the 19th century.
- The word chaufa comes from chǎofàn. Documented: Wikipedia; La República; Laylita.
- Where the word chifa comes from. Disputed in its details: Andina gives the Cantonese for "eat" and "rice"; La República traces it from "sec fan", "come eat rice", through "shic fan" to "chi fan".
- Chaufa must use day-old rice. Disputed: Laylita and most Peruvian recipes say yes; see Thai Crab Fried Rice for the other side.
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