Ají panca — the dark, burgundy-red dried chilli of the Peruvian coast — provides the smoky, slightly fruity, low-heat flavour dimension that underlies marinades, stews, and anticuchos throughout Peruvian coastal cooking. Unlike ají amarillo's fresh, fruity heat, ají panca's flavour is developed during sun-drying: the drying concentrates sugars and develops complex phenolic compounds that produce the characteristic smoke-adjacent depth.
- **Heat level:** Very low — 500–1,000 SHU. Used for flavour and colour, not heat. - **Paste preparation:** Rehydrated in warm water (20–30 minutes), destemmed, blended smooth with a small amount of the soaking water. - **Applications:** Anticuchos marinade, adobos (meat marinades), stews, and as the colour base for braises. - **The colour:** Deep burgundy-red, verging on black — the same deep colour range as ancho or mulato chilli in Mexican cooking (to which it is closely related in function).
Peru