Sancocho panameño (Panamanian hen stew)
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I
Origin
Panama — Colombian and Caribbean influence; pan-Latin American sancocho tradition with Panamanian specifications
II
Description
Sancocho panameño is Panama's national soup and one of the essential dishes of all Latin America — an old hen (gallina) or chicken slow-cooked with yuca (cassava), ñame (Caribbean yam), corn on cob, and culantro (broadleaf cilantro), seasoned simply with salt, garlic, and culantro. The long simmer of an old hen produces an extraordinary gelatinous, rich broth impossible to replicate with a young chicken. Considered Panama's restorative and celebratory soup — eaten at weddings, funerals, and after long nights.
III
The Thread
—Colombian sancocho (very close — same dish family)
—Puerto Rican sancocho
—Dominican sancocho de siete carnes
IV
Flavour Context
Rich, gelatinous broth, herb-forward from culantro, starchy from yuca — restorative and deeply satisfying
Pillars V — VII
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