Aji amarillo is an orange-colored pepper from Peru. I haven’t been able to find it in the US in pepper-form, but you can find a paste made from pureed aji peppers in some foreign food markets. Aji amarillo rates between 35,000 and 50,000 on the Scoville scale, meaning it’s about as hot as Tabasco sauce. It has a nice fruity flavor that reminds me a bit of habanero, but without the scorching heat. I encountered aji amarillo often in dishes throughout Peru when I lived there long, long ago.
Aji pepper flavor
Since I love chicken wings, I decided to cook up a batch and instead of saucing them with just a traditional Buffalo sauce, I made a variation that adds aji amarillo paste. The end result was just a bit spicy, with a fantastic fruity pepper flavor.
Kick it up!
These were fantastic wings, and definitely a nice twist on the usual. If you like your wings to be a bit spicier, just add more of the aji amarillo paste. Since it’s not overwhelmingly hot you don’t have to worry about a-little-goes-a-long-ways: you can add quite a bit and still get great flavor without burning the roof of your mouth.
Also try my adobo Buffalo wings!
Check out my always-growing list of over 100 homemade wing recipes, including sauces and seasonings!
Aji Amarillo Wings
Ingredients
For the wings
- 3-4 pounds chicken wings flats and drumettes separated, tips saved to make stock
For the sauce
- 2 cups your favorite hot sauce
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
- 3 tablespoons aji amarillo paste or more, to taste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Instructions
For the wings
- Toss wings in sauce before serving. Click here for our guide on how to sauce your wings.
For the sauce
- Whisk all ingredients.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate and will not include any store-bought wing sauce or seasoning nutritional values.
