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Latin American

Sancocho panameño (Panamanian hen stew)

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.

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ServesFour portions
Total3 hours
Sourced0of 8 in BC
Cook
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I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

1.5–2 kg
old hen (gallina)
cut into pieces; available at Latin or Asian butcher counters
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
500 g
yuca (cassava)
peeled, cut into large chunks
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 g
ñame (white Caribbean yam)
peeled, cut into large chunks; do not substitute regular yam
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2
corn cobs
cut into 5 cm sections
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
6–8 leaves
culantro (Eryngium foetidum)
whole or roughly torn; not regular cilantro
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 cloves
garlic
crushed
Your own market
2 litres
water
or enough to cover
Your own market
2 tsp
fine salt
to taste
Your own market
II

The Method

1
Place the hen pieces in a large, heavy pot. Add the water, garlic, and half the culantro. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, skimming off any foam that rises in the first 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. The surface should tremble, not boil — high heat produces a cloudy, heavy broth. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour. The hen will begin to yield but the meat will still resist.
2
Add the yuca and ñame. Continue simmering on low heat for 30 minutes. This is where the dish lives or dies: the yuca must become fully tender — a skewer must pass through without resistance and the cut surface should look slightly translucent — because under-cooked yuca carries a fibrous, unpleasant texture that cannot be corrected at table.
3
Add the corn cob sections and the remaining culantro. Simmer for a further 20–30 minutes, until the kernels yield when pressed and the broth has taken on a deep golden colour and a faintly viscous quality. Season with salt.
4
Remove a ladleful of broth and let it cool briefly. It should coat the back of the spoon with a light, gelatinous film — the mark of the old hen's collagen. Taste and adjust salt. Serve in deep bowls with broth, hen pieces, roots, and corn together.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — A true old hen (gallina) aged 18 months or more, sourced from a specialist Latin butcher; culantro grown fresh; white Caribbean ñame from a market with high turnover.
02
Estate — Old hen from a Latin or Asian grocery butcher counter; culantro from a Caribbean or Latin market; fresh yuca and ñame purchased the same day.
03
Market — Free-range mature chicken (not a young broiler); culantro from a Latin market; yuca and ñame from a well-stocked supermarket.
04
House — Whole free-range chicken (young); regular cilantro in larger quantity; yuca from frozen if fresh is unavailable. Broth will be thinner and the flavour less intense, but the structure of the dish is preserved.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. Broth is clear and golden, not cloudy — maintained throughout by a low, trembling simmer, never a rolling boil.
◇Touch. A skewer passes through the yuca without resistance and the surface looks slightly translucent.
◇Touch. The broth coats the back of a spoon with a faint gelatinous film when a ladleful is briefly cooled — the signal of sufficient collagen from the old hen.
◇Touch. Corn kernels yield under gentle thumb pressure without being mushy.
◇Where it lives or dies. The yuca must become completely tender before the corn is added — raw or fibrous yuca cannot be rescued, and a thin, non-gelatinous broth signals that a young chicken was used instead of the old hen the dish requires.
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VI

What to Pour

The rich, gelatinous, herb-forward broth calls for no wine. Traditionally served as a full meal in itself, accompanied by white rice and patacones (fried green plantain). If a drink is required, a cold, light lager — the kind common throughout Latin America — cuts the starch and does not compete with the culantro.

The whole pairing
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