Sancocho is a common Colombian dish that you can make with fish, beef, chicken or pork. Sancocho de gallina is originally from the Colombian Region El Valle. Traditionally this soup is made with hens, but you can use chicken too. I have a lot of good memories associated with this meal. One memory is of my grandmother cooking a big pot of sancocho and having all of her nine children with their families for lunch on Sundays. I would wait all week for that day to come to see all of my cousins and let me tell you, that was a party. In Colombia when we get together it is always a reason to dance and drink, no matter what time of the day. Another great memory I have associated with this dish is going with my friends from high school on a weekend to a farm or country house and cooking this soup outside on the fire. The smoky flavor from cooking over an open fire is amazing and this is a popular way to cook beans and sancocho in Colombia. Serve with avocado, white rice and ají on the side.
INGREDIENTS
(6-8 SERVINGS)
3 ears fresh corn, cuted into 3 pieces
12 cups of water
½ cup aliños
1 big whole chicken
1 teaspoon salt
2 green plantains, peeled and cut crosswise into 2 inch pieces
2 chicken bouillon cubes
6 medium white potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1 pound frozen yuca cut into big pieces
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large pot, place the chicken, corn, aliños, chicken bouillon, salt and green plantain. Add the water and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium and cook for about 30 to 35 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes, yuca and pepper and continue cooking for 30 more minutes or until the yuca and potatoes are fork tender. Stir in the cilantro.
3. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve in large soup bowls, dividing the chicken and vegetables evenly.
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Gera @ SweetsFoods
on Apr 22nd, 2009
@ 12:54 PM:
A very tempting comfort dish ideal to re-power oneself with a lot of energy.
I bet with aji (hot hot) and avocado must be good companions
Cheers!
Gera
Joan Nova
on Apr 23rd, 2009
@ 3:56 PM:
I’m more familiar with the Dominican version but this looks delicious too.
Sapuche
on Apr 23rd, 2009
@ 8:50 PM:
You obviously have great memories attached to this dish, which I’m sure heightens your pleasure whenever you make this. It looks incredible to me, and I can almost imagine the flavors through your photo. Sancocho de gallina may prove difficult for me to make, but I’m definitely going to try. Thanks for this!
Chow and Chatter
on Apr 25th, 2009
@ 10:20 AM:
yummy love your blog
Sapuche
on Apr 25th, 2009
@ 1:02 PM:
I gave this a try last night and it was GREAT! Easy to make, too, once I had all the ingredients, and so flavorful. I loved the tenderness of the chicken after the long, slow cooking. Thanks again!
Erica
on Apr 25th, 2009
@ 11:14 PM:
Thanks for all the comments!
Hi Sapuche,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad you like the flavors.
Carlos
on Jun 6th, 2009
@ 3:08 PM:
Wow…i love your website! Specially my wife…she’s not much of a cook, but i love to get my hands dirty in the kitchen, when i tried making some of your dishes for her, it brought back soooooo many memories of her childhood. She stated that she felt like she was back home.
I have a question…for the fish sancocho, how different is that dish (ingredients) from the chicken sancocho?
Erica
on Jun 8th, 2009
@ 1:19 PM:
Hi Carlos,
Thank you for the nice comment! I am glad you like the site.
We have different recipes for fish sancocho. You can use the same ingredients I used in this recipe, but use white fish cut into steaks. I will post some recipes for fish sancocho soon….In Colombia every region has a different sancocho recipe, in the coast of the country some people make the fish sancocho in coconut milk and it is delicious!
Angie's Recipes
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 1:04 PM:
This is my cup of soup….with some steamed rice.
Angie’s Recipes
Dennise
on Nov 5th, 2009
@ 4:02 PM:
I made this dish today and it tastes wonderful!! I am also from Medellin and I miss my traditional food. Erica, Thank you for taking the time to write this fabulous blog. I get great dinner ideas from it.
Erica
on Nov 5th, 2009
@ 4:27 PM:
Dennise-Thank you for your feedback!
Caroline
on Dec 19th, 2009
@ 12:30 PM:
I made this last night and used fish instead of chicken. It was delicious…perfect comfort food for the cold rainy weather we’ve had lately. We ate it with aji that was left over from when I made empanadas a few days ago.
Diana
on Jan 7th, 2010
@ 6:37 PM:
WoW Awesome… Thank you for the great recipes !!! =]
ewroten’s blog » Blog Archive
on Feb 16th, 2010
@ 9:26 AM:
[...] houses were their chefs made us the most amazing meals like a traditional Colombian soup known as Sancocho, a chicken soup that is typically eaten with rice and fried plantains. The reason my family and I [...]
Anonymous
on Jun 3rd, 2010
@ 4:08 PM:
This sancocho tasted like my mom’s….Thank you so much for teaching us how to cook these wonderful Colombian dishes. This recipe was very easy to follow.
Andrea
on Jun 4th, 2010
@ 5:17 PM:
Erica, this sancocho was delicious.I made it yesterday and we ate it today again. I was fantastic.
Heather
on Jul 4th, 2010
@ 5:22 PM:
I made this for my Colombian husband the other day and he loved it! He said it tasted just like at home!
Thank you for helping me bring smiles to my house!
Mark Woodhull
on Aug 4th, 2010
@ 12:48 PM:
Colombian Sancocho….food of the gods…
HERMIN
on Sep 1st, 2010
@ 4:50 PM:
My family has been in the sancocho business for over 60 years, basically most of the sancochos that I have tried are very watery and not much seasoning. I invite all sancocho lover to check out El Portal de Pance were you can find the best sancocho in the world, yes I the best.
Cali Colombia via la Voragine Pance.