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Soup season · Lima, Peru
The best bowl in Lima: Hen soup
A big bowl of hen broth with noodles, potato, a boiled egg and a piece of the hen, with lime and hot pepper on the side.
Caldo de gallina is what Lima eats at 3am after a night out and at 7am before work. A place called Seven Soups, open around the clock, is where locals go.
Siete Sopas
Av. Angamos Este 609, Surquillo, Lima
Get: The caldo de gallina, with a squeeze of lime and the ají on the side
Un caldo de gallina, por favor, con huevo y bastante limón.A hen soup, please, with egg and plenty of lime.
A different soup each day of the week, and the hen soup every day. Open 24 hours, with families at lunch and the late crowd after midnight.
Any hour; it's open around the clock.
Make it at home
Caldo de gallina (Peruvian hen soup with noodles)
The point is the broth, so use a stewing hen if you can find one (a Latin or Asian market will have it), or the bonier parts of two chickens. Each bowl gets a piece of meat, a potato, an egg and a nest of noodles.
You need
- 1 stewing hen (about 4 lb / 1.8 kg), cut in 6 pieces, or 4 lb (1.8 kg) chicken legs and backs
- 4 quarts (3.8 l) cold water
- 1 large onion, halved
- 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
- 2-inch (5 cm) piece fresh ginger, sliced
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 tbsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 small yellow potatoes (papa amarilla or Yukon Gold), peeled
- 8 oz (225 g) thick spaghetti or tallarín
- 6 eggs
- To serve: 3 limes in wedges, sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, ají amarillo paste or a sliced hot red pepper
How to make it
- Put the hen pieces in a big pot with the cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off all the foam for the first 10 minutes.
- Add the onion, garlic, ginger, celery and salt. Lower the heat so the broth barely shivers and simmer, uncovered, 2 hours for a hen (1 1/4 hours for chicken), until the meat is tender.
- Meanwhile, boil the eggs 9 minutes, cool them in cold water and peel.
- Lift out the hen and strain the broth through a sieve into a clean pot. Discard the vegetables. Skim some fat off the top, leaving a golden layer.
- Bring the broth back to a simmer, add the potatoes and cook 15 minutes. Add the noodles and cook until tender, 10-12 minutes. Taste for salt; it should be well seasoned.
- Warm the hen pieces in the broth for the last 3 minutes.
- Into each deep bowl put a piece of hen, a potato, a halved egg and a tangle of noodles. Ladle the broth over and top with scallions and cilantro. Pass the limes and ají at the table.
Pans and tools
- 10-quart stockpot
- fine sieve
- small saucepan for the eggs
Chef's tips
- Keep the broth at a lazy simmer: a hard boil makes it cloudy.
- Cook the noodles in a little of the broth separately if you'll have leftovers, so they don't soak up the pot overnight.
- Lime is not optional. A good squeeze in each bowl is how Lima eats it.
Four more bowls in Lima
Sopa criolla
Beef and angel-hair noodles in a broth with ají panca and milk, a fried egg dropped in at the end.
Panchita · Av. 2 de Mayo 298, Miraflores 15074, Lima
Get: Sopa criolla, then anticuchos from the grill
Una sopa criolla, por favor.A sopa criolla, please.
Gastón Acurio's criolla dining room, named for home cooking, where Lima families go for the old dishes.
Make it at home: Sopa criolla
Lima's comfort soup, ready in under an hour. Ají panca paste is the backbone; look for it in Latin markets.
You need
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1/2 lb (225 g) beef sirloin, in thin strips
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp ají panca paste
- 1 tomato, grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 5 cups (1.2 l) beef broth
- 3 oz (85 g) angel-hair pasta (cabello de ángel)
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) evaporated milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- Toasted bread, to serve
How to make it
- Sear the beef in the oil 2 minutes and lift it out.
- In the same pot cook the onion, garlic and ají panca 6 minutes, then the tomato and oregano 3 minutes.
- Add the broth, bring to a boil, add the pasta and cook 4 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and beef, season, and lower to a bare simmer.
- Crack the eggs in one at a time and poach 3 minutes. Serve with toasted bread.
Chef's tips
- Fry the eggs separately and slide them on top if you prefer.
Prawn chowder
River prawns, potatoes, corn, rice and fresh cheese in a broth enriched with milk and finished with a poached egg.
El Bolivariano · Pasaje Santa Rosa 291, Pueblo Libre 15084, Lima
Get: Chupe de camarones, and a pisco sour
Un chupe de camarones, por favor.A prawn chowder, please.
A criolla institution in an old republican house, away from the Miraflores crowds; Lima guides name it first for chupe.
River prawns are out of season in the summer months (January to March); then it's made with sea prawns or not at all.
Make it at home: Chupe de camarones
Arequipa's great soup. The shells make the broth, so buy prawns whole.
You need
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) whole large prawns or crayfish
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp ají panca paste and 1 tbsp ají amarillo paste
- 1 tomato, grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/3 cup (65 g) long-grain rice
- 4 small yellow potatoes, halved
- 1 ear of corn, in rounds
- 1/2 cup (70 g) peas
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) evaporated milk
- 4 oz (115 g) queso fresco, cubed
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp salt, chopped huacatay or mint
How to make it
- Peel the prawns, leaving 4 whole. Fry the shells and heads in 1 tbsp oil 3 minutes, add 6 cups (1.4 l) water, simmer 20 minutes and strain.
- In the rest of the oil cook the onion, garlic and both ají pastes 8 minutes, then the tomato and oregano 3 minutes.
- Add the prawn stock, rice, potatoes and corn and simmer 15 minutes.
- Add the peas and all the prawns and cook 3 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and cheese, keep below a boil, and crack in the eggs to poach 3 minutes. Season and finish with huacatay or mint.
Chef's tips
- Never boil after the milk goes in or it splits.
Seafood soup
A thick, spicy red soup of fish, shellfish and squid, with ají panca and a splash of chicha de jora.
Punto Azul · Calle San Martín 595, Miraflores 15074, Lima
Get: Parihuela, plus a ceviche to start
Una parihuela, por favor.A seafood soup, please.
A lunchtime cevichería Limeños queue for; no reservations, so go before 1pm.
Lunch only.
Make it at home: Parihuela
Peru's answer to bouillabaisse, said to wake the dead. Use a mix of firm fish and whatever shellfish looks best.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) firm white fish (corvina, sea bass), in large pieces
- 1/2 lb (225 g) shrimp, shell on
- 1 lb (450 g) mussels or clams, scrubbed
- 1/2 lb (225 g) squid, in rings
- 2 crabs, halved (optional)
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp ají panca paste, 1 tbsp ají amarillo paste
- 2 tomatoes, grated
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) chicha de jora or dry white wine
- 6 cups (1.4 l) fish stock
- 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 1/2 tsp salt
- Cilantro and lime, to serve
How to make it
- In the oil cook the onion, garlic and ají pastes 8 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the tomatoes and oregano and cook 5 minutes, then the chicha or wine and boil 2 minutes.
- Add the stock and crabs and simmer 15 minutes.
- Add the fish and shrimp and simmer 4 minutes, then the mussels and squid, covered, 3 minutes, until the shells open.
- Season and serve with cilantro and lime.
Chef's tips
- Don't stir once the fish is in; shake the pot.
Crab soup
A deep crab broth with egg, milk and ají, eaten with your hands as much as a spoon.
Isolina Taberna Peruana · Av. San Martín 101, Barranco 15063, Lima
Get: Ask for the soup of the day (crab when they have it) and share the huge plates
¿Qué sopa tienen hoy?What soup do you have today?
José del Castillo's Barranco taberna cooks old Lima home dishes in family-sized portions and sits on Latin America's 50 Best list.
Soups change by the day; ask.
Make it at home: Crab soup with ají and egg
Lima's hangover cure. Blue crabs or any small hard crabs; the shells give the broth its color.
You need
- 3 lb (1.4 kg) small live or frozen hard crabs, cleaned and halved
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp ají panca paste and 1 tbsp ají amarillo paste
- 1 tomato, grated
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- 6 cups (1.4 l) fish stock or water
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) evaporated milk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp salt
- Cilantro and lime, to serve
How to make it
- Fry the crabs in the oil 4 minutes, until red, and lift them out.
- Cook the onion, garlic and ají pastes 8 minutes, then the tomato 3 minutes and the wine 2 minutes.
- Return the crabs, add the stock and simmer 25 minutes.
- Take off the heat, stir in the milk, then pour in the eggs in a thin stream, stirring, so they set in threads.
- Season and serve with cilantro and lime, crabs in the bowl.
Chef's tips
- Crack the claws before cooking so the meat flavors the broth.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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