Hispanic Heritage · Bolivia

Santa Cruz y el Oriente

Santa Cruz de la Sierra · Montero · Warnes · La Guardia · Cotoca · Porongo

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Majao de charque

Majadito with fried egg and plantain. Presentation may differ from this recipe. Akizia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized source thumbnail; display may crop to fit.

Descubre

Bolivia’s eastern lowlands introduce majao de charque, rice cooked with dried beef and colorful seasoning. Fried plantain and egg bring sweetness and richness to the finished plate.

La Gente

Prepare the charque according to the soaking and cooking directions before adding more salt. Its flavor seasons the rice as they cook together. Finish the accompaniments close to serving for the best contrast in texture.

Sabor

The east cooks in gold. Urucú for color, cumin and garlic underneath, salt from the charque, sweetness from a plantain fried dark, and the richness of an egg yolk over all of it. Heat is a small hot pepper on the side if anyone wants it.

Spice DNA · Sweet medium · Smoke medium · Herb low · Heat low · Acid low

Seasonings to explore

Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In the sofrito. Adds a savory garlic base.
Sazón with Coriander and Annatto. The closest jar to urucú, the annatto of the east. This is the gold.
Cumin, ground. In the sofrito.
Black Pepper, ground. In the pot.
Onion Powder. With the fresh onion.
Paprika. A little more color and warmth beside the annatto.
Oregano, whole. A pinch. Some cruceñas do.

Medium-grain rice, tomatoes, onion, ripe plantains, eggs, and yuca. Badia does not sell the charque.

Cocina

Majao de charque

Rice cooked gold in the charque's own water, with the beef pounded into it, under an egg and a plantain. The Sunday plate of the cambas.

Serves 6

1 lb charque, or 1 lb flank steak
8 cups water
3 tbsp oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 5 garlic cloves minced
½ tsp Badia Onion Powder
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1½ tsp Badia Sazón with Coriander and Annatto
1 tsp Badia Cumin, ground
½ tsp Badia Paprika
½ tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground
Pinch of Badia Oregano, whole
2 cups medium-grain rice
Salt
3 ripe plantains, halved lengthwise
6 eggs
1 lb yuca, boiled, to serve

The charque. If using charque, rinse it and boil it in the water 30 minutes to soften and desalt it, then pound it in a mortar or with a rolling pin until it shreds. If using flank, boil it 1 hour with a little salt until a fork shreds it, then pull it apart. Either way, keep 6 cups of the cooking water.
The sofrito. Warm the oil in a wide pot. Cook the onion with the garlic and onion powder until soft. Add the tomatoes, sazón, cumin, paprika, pepper, and oregano and cook until the tomatoes collapse and the oil turns orange.
Beef in. Add the shredded beef and turn it in the sofrito 5 minutes.
Rice. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add 6 cups of the reserved water. Taste it now for salt; charque brings its own. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on low 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and gold and the beef has vanished into it. Stir once at the end. It should be moist, not dry, and not soupy.
The top. Fry the plantains in oil until dark gold. Fry the eggs sunny side up.
Rice on the plate. Plantain beside. Egg on top. Yuca on the side. A camba eats it at noon and then does very little for the rest of the afternoon, which is the correct response.

Pueblos del Oriente

Santa Cruz de la Sierra · Montero · Warnes · La Guardia · Cotoca · Porongo · Samaipata · Vallegrande · Camiri · San Ignacio de Velasco · San José de Chiquitos · Concepción · Trinidad · Riberalta · Guayaramerín · Cobija