It's a traditional thick soup from the Peruvian Amazon, traditionally made with Amazonian turtle (charapa or motelo), thickened with grated green plantain, and flavored with sacha culantro. This recipe is a sustainable chicken adaptation.

Peruvian Zarapatera - Recetas123

Name: Amazonian Zarapatera — Sustainable Chicken Version
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Peruvian
Ingredients: 200 g chicken; 2 liters water; 3 tablespoons oil; 5 garlic cloves; 1 medium onion; Palillo (Amazonian turmeric) or achiote, to taste; Salt and black pepper, to taste; 3 medium green plantains; 5 sacha culantro leaves (or culantro); Roasted or boiled green plantain, to taste

Amazonian Zarapatera — Sustainable Chicken Version. Zarapatera, also called sarapatera, is a traditional thick soup from the Peruvian Amazon. In its traditional form it is made with the meat and organs of Amazonian turtles, such as charapa or motelo, often cooked in the animal’s own shell, thickened with grated green plantain, and flavored with sacha culantro.

Recetas123 does not promote eating Amazonian turtles. This recipe is therefore a home adaptation with chicken that keeps the dish’s defining features: the garlic and onion aderezo, the grated green plantain that thickens the soup, and the aroma of sacha culantro. It is not the original ancestral recipe, but a sustainable version to cook at home.

Preparation

Cook the chicken, cut it into medium pieces, place it in a pot with the water, and cook over high heat for about 25 minutes, until tender and fully cooked, with no pink parts.
Make the aderezo and grate the plantain, meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet, fry the chopped garlic and then the chopped onion, and season with salt, pepper, and palillo or achiote. Peel and grate the green plantains. Once the chicken is cooked, add the aderezo to the pot and boil for 2 minutes.
Thicken with the plantain, when it comes back to a boil, add the grated plantain little by little, stirring to prevent lumps, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the soup thickens.
Finish and serve, add the sacha culantro, stir, and let it rest off the heat for about 5 minutes. Serve hot with roasted or boiled green plantain.

Chef’s Tips

Use very green plantains: their starch is what thickens the soup.
Add the grated plantain little by little and keep stirring to avoid lumps.
Add the sacha culantro at the end to keep its aroma; if you can’t find it, use culantro.

Tradition and Sustainable Version

Traditional zarapatera is made with Amazonian turtle meat (charapa, motelo, or other species), often in the turtle’s own shell over a tushpa, a regional wood fire. Chronicles by the Jesuit Franz Xavier Veigl already described this soup in the 18th century. To protect these species, Recetas123 adapts it with chicken and does not publish instructions for cooking wildlife.

How to Serve

Serve hot in a deep bowl, with roasted or boiled green plantain on the side.

Recommended Pairings

Roasted green plantain
Boiled green plantain

Did You Know?

The name zarapatera probably comes from charapa, sarapa, or zarapa, names for the Amazonian turtle. In the Brazilian and Ecuadorian Amazon there are related soups called sarapatel.