Quinoa Fried Rice (Chaufa de Quinua)
Peru's beloved Chifa-style fried rice made with quinoa instead of rice: golden egg, crisp vegetables, ginger and garlic, finished with soy sauce sizzled against the hot wok. A smoky, savoury bowl that comes together in minutes once the quinoa is ready.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Rinse and cook the quinoa
Rinse the quinoa under cold water until the water runs clear, which removes its natural bitter coating. Put it in a medium pot with the water and salt, cover, and simmer on low heat for 15-18 minutes.
- 300 g quinoa
- 600 ml water
- 1/2 tsp salt
✅ Done when: grains look translucent, the little white germ pops out, and all the water is absorbed
Cool and dry it out
Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork and spread it in a thin layer on a wide tray. Leave it uncovered to cool and dry for at least 20 minutes, or chill it loosely covered; just like day-old rice for , this stops it from steaming and clumping when fried.
- all the cooked quinoa cooked quinoa from step 1
✅ Done when: quinoa feels dry and cool to the touch and grains separate easily
Scramble the eggs
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Fry the aromatics and vegetables
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Add the quinoa
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Season at the edge
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Toss and serve
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Rinse and cook the quinoa
Rinse the quinoa under cold water until the water runs clear, which removes its natural bitter coating. Put it in a medium pot with the water and salt, cover, and simmer on low heat for 15-18 minutes.
- 300 g quinoa
- 600 ml water
- 1/2 tsp salt
✅ Done when: grains look translucent, the little white germ pops out, and all the water is absorbed
Cool and dry it out
Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork and spread it in a thin layer on a wide tray. Leave it uncovered to cool and dry for at least 20 minutes, or chill it loosely covered; just like day-old rice for , this stops it from steaming and clumping when fried.
- all the cooked quinoa cooked quinoa from step 1
✅ Done when: quinoa feels dry and cool to the touch and grains separate easily
Scramble the eggs
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Fry the aromatics and vegetables
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Add the quinoa
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Season at the edge
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Toss and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Chaufa rice was born in Lima's Chinatown, created by Cantonese immigrants who arrived in Peru from the mid-1800s onward to work on plantations and railways. They adapted their home-style fried rice, chao fan, to local ingredients, giving rise to Chifa, Peru's distinctive Chinese-Peruvian cuisine.
Quinoa chaufa is a newer, proudly Andean twist: Peruvian cooks swap the rice for quinoa, the ancient highland grain, keeping the same wok technique, soy sauce and ginger that define Chifa, but turning it into a dish that bridges the Andes and the coast.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It captures Peru's culinary fusion in one bowl: Chinese technique, coastal soy and ginger, and a native Andean superfood, eaten everywhere from family kitchens to the simplest neighbourhood chifa.
💡 Fun Fact
The word "chaufa" comes directly from the Cantonese chao fan, meaning simply "fried rice."
Lima's Barrio Chino, Peru
-12.06°S, -77.03°W
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