PANAMA; ROPA VIEJA SHREDDED BEEF, AJI PICANTE CHILLI SALSA, COCONUT PIGEON PEA RICE and MANGO SALAD

May 08, 2026

PANAMA; ROPA VIEJA SHREDDED BEEF, AJI PICANTE CHILLI SALSA, COCONUT PIGEON PEA RICE and MANGO SALAD

Panama is a lush and tropical narrow isthmus of land that connects North and South America to each other. Long before the Panama Canal was cut across its narrowest point joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (and revolutionising global trade routes when it was opened in 1914), Panama was a land bridge supporting vital trade routes between the Americas. In fact, Panama’s land bridge had been supporting Indigenous trade and cultural exchange for more than 13 thousand years before Europeans ‘discovered’ Panama in 1501.

Before European contact Indigenous Panamanians enjoyed a communal food culture based on sharing the collected bounties of land, river and sea and the cultivation of maize, yuca, and plantains that were cherished ingredients. When Spanish colonists arrived in the 16^th century they introducing new culinary techniques (such as slow cooking to build flavour with a fragrant base of onion and garlic), and new ingredients such as rice, beef and the herb cilantro to the pot. These innovations reshaped local food practices and values but they never fully replacing the importance of beloved local ingredients.

Then, 300 years later at the close of the 19^th century the cuisine of Panama suddenly began evolving rapidly again due to new waves of people from across the globe arriving to help construct the Panama Canal. Many of these workers were Afro-Caribbean labourers who brought with them a love for cooking with coconut milk, spices, and a deeper, more aromatic sensibility towards cooking. These influences remain especially vivid along Panama’s Caribbean side while the Pacific Ocean side leans toward lighter Euro-influenced rice-based dishes.

The defining characteristics of modern-day Panamanian cuisine that links its food story across different regions seems to be its authenticity. Introduced culinary influences of the past have not overwritten tradition. Instead they have been absorbed into family cookbooks and kitchens. The result is food that feels grounded, practical, and deeply tied to everyday life, yet quietly complex.

our

PANAMANIAN

Menu included

ROPA VIEJA SHREDDED BEEF STEW

with

AJI PICANTE CHILLI SALSA

COCONUT PIGEON PEA RICE

and

MANGO SALAD

ROPA VIEJA PANAMEÑA (SHREDDED BEEF STEW)

Serves 4–6

INGREDIENTS

· 1.2 kg beef chuck roast cut in 2 x 4 cm thick steaks

· 2 tbs achiote oil (see notes)

· 1 large onion, peeled, halved and sliced thinly

· 3 large cloves garlic, crushed

· 2 bell peppers (1 x red and 1x green), de-cored and cut into strips

· 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into strips

· 400 g canned diced tomatoes

· 2 tbs tomato paste

· 2 tsp brown sugar

· 2 tsp smoked paprika

· 2 tsp cumin seeds

· 1 tsp black pepper

· 1½ tsp salt

· 250 ml beef stock

· 4 x 10cm stems fresh oregano

· 3 bay leaves

· 2 tbs capers

· 1/2 cup pitted green olives, sliced in half longways

· 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro/coriander, washed and chopped roughly

· 1–2 sprigs fresh cilantro/coriander for garnish

· some rozella flowers and pigeon pea flowers for garnish - optional

NOTES:

Achiote oil is widely used in Panamanian cooking for both its colour and subtle flavour. It is a vividly red coloured, mildly earthy oil made by gently infusing annatto seeds in a neutral cooking oil (such as soybean oil or corn oil). You can substitute it by gently warming 2 tbs of vegetable oil with 1/2 tsp of sweet paprika and a pinch of turmeric over low heat until it turns a deep red colour

METHOD

1. Season the beef on both sides with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and cumin seeds then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours

2. When you are getting ready to cook turn the oven on to 180 degrees Celsius

3. Take a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, add the achiote oil (or begin by making its replacement) and heat on medium on the stove top

4. Now brown the beef in the hot oil, searing the meat on both sides until golden. You may need to flip the meat over and turn it around a few times to ensure all the outside is seared. This will take about 10 minutes

TIP: Both pieces of beef will fit in a large oval shaped Dutch oven side by side. If your dish is smaller it might be easier to sear the two pieces of beef separately which would mean doubling the time it takes for this step

5. Once the beef is golden brown all round set it aside on a plate for later

6. In the same pot, add the sliced onions to the fat that has been left in the pan and sauté on low/medium heat for around 3 minutes until onion is soft and translucent. If the bottom of the pot begins to look a bit scorched deglaze the pan immediately with a splash of beef stock and use a wooden spoon to clear the bottom of the pan of any food particles leaning towards burning as the annatto seeds in the Achiote oil can turn bitter if the temp gets too high

7. Now add the crushed garlic and sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant

8. Add the strips of peppers and carrot and sauté 3–4 minutes

9. Stir in the tomato paste and brown sugar and cook 1–2 minutes stirring with the wooden spoon all the time to combine and caramelize slightly

10. Add diced tomatoes and stir well whilst bringing to the boil then add in the stock and bring to the boil again, then turn the heat back to a simmer

11. Once the sauce is simmering return the seared beef back into the pot along with any juices that might have leaked out whilst it was resting

12. Nestle the beef into the vegetables and sauce so it is surrounded and make sure to spoon some sauce over so it is slightly blanketed in sauce

13. Put a lid on the pot and pop it into the middle shelf of the pre-heated oven and cook for 2½ hours or until beef is extremely tender, taking the dish out of the oven every 45 mins to give all the ingredients a gentle push with a wooden spoon to stop the meat from sticking/burning to the bottom of the pot and scooping some sauce over the meat to baste it. If the pot ever seems too dry add a little water or stock and stir that into the sauce

14. When the beef if extremely tender remove the pot from the oven and let the pot rest a bit on top of the stove with the lid off to cool slightly

15. Then use two forks to simultaneously hold and pull all the beef in to shreds then stir the shredded beef evenly through the sauce

16. Stir in the olives, capers and chopped cilantro

17. At this point you can either serve the beef or put the lid back on the pot and keep in warm in a low oven until the time is ready to serve the meal

AJI PICANTE CHILLI SALSA

INGREDIENTS:

· 2 or 3 fresh Scotch Bonnet Chilli Peppers, ideally with stems on (see Notes)

· 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

· 1/2 large white onion, peeled and very finely diced

· 100 ml white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

· 1 tsp salt

· 4 tbs fresh lime juice

· 2 tsp brown sugar

· 2 tbs finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems

NOTES on CHILLI:

· This recipe can be as hot as you like it; use more/less chilli to suit your taste

· The Scotch Bonnet can be replaced with Habanero or 8 fresh birds eye chilli

· The woody stems of chilli are not spicy so the stems provide a safe ‘handle’ to hold whilst chopping the hot chilli rather than touching the chilli itself

· If you can only access stemless chilli handle those hot peppers cautiously and as briefly as possible, and wash your hands afterwards to reduce the chance of you getting an unexpected chilli burn later on in your eye or similar

METHOD:

1. Start by finely chopping the chilli and discarding the woody stems

2. Now mix all the ingredients together in a ceramic/glass bowl or jar

3. Let the Salsa sit for at least half an hour before serving to allow time for the onion and garlic to tenderize and all the ingredients to mingle flavours

4. Before serving give the salsa a good stir up with a spoon

COCONUT PIGEON PEA RICE

INGREDIENTS:

· 2 cup ‘Indica’ style long grain rice; or replace with any long grain rice

· 1 cup shelled fresh Pigeon Peas (see Notes)

· 4 cups coconut milk

· 1 tsp salt

· 2 large cloves fresh garlic, crushed

· 1/2 tbs olive oil

· NOTES on Pigeon Peas:

· To get a cup of fresh Pigeon Pea you will need to harvest a large bag of pods from the Pea Bush and dedicate time to shelling them but it’s worth it

· If using fresh pigeon peas my experience is that this requires time. I am a novice so preparing a cup of peas from a bag of freshly cut branches takes me about an hour (not including going to the garden to harvest the pods).

· To begin harvesting your peas you need to start by pulling the pods off the branches you have cut from the shrub. Then use a small knife to half cut off the stalk at both ends and pull out the ‘strings’ on both sides of each pea-pod to open them (similar to preparing snow peas but much tougher). Finally use your fingers to prize open the pea pods and extract the peas

· If you don’t have access to a Pigeon Pea shrub or you don’t have the time to shell peas your best replacement is tinned Pigeon Peas then it is tinned black beans, black-eye beans, or red kidney beans

· If you are using tinned peas/beans drain them and stir in at step 5

METHOD:

1. Take a medium size pot with a tight-fitting lid

2. Add the oil to the pot, heat to medium/low and add garlic and fresh Pigeon peas sauté briefly without browning or burning for a few minutes

3. Add rice and use wooden spoon to stir and coat rice with oil

4. Add coconut milk and salt and bring to the boil using the wooden spoon to stir the rice and scrap the bottom of the pot to stop the rice sticking

5. Once the rice is boiling give the pot a final really good stir and scrape across the bottom to make sure nothing is sticking then turn the heat back to low

6. Put the lid on and cook for 10 minutes (from this point don’t take the lid off until ready to serve)

7. After 10 mins turn the heat off and let the pot sit on the cooling element for at least 10 mins with the lid untouched so the rice can steam

8. When ready to serve lift off the lid and use a wooden spoon to fluff and stir all the rice and ingredients together

MANGO SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

· 1 large red bell pepper/capsicum, de-cored and sliced thinly

· 1 large yellow bell pepper/capsicum, de-cored and sliced thinly

· 1 medium cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thinly

· 1 carrot, peeled and shredded in long thin strips lengthwise (see TIP)

· 1 ripe mango, peeled and sliced or 1 can mango cheeks, drained

· 2 tbs freshly chopped cilantro/coriander

· 2 tbs freshly squeezed lime juice, or replace with apple cider vinegar

· 2 tbs olive oil

· Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

TIP on CARROT SHREDDING:

After you have peeled the carrot and discarded the skin, you can use the peeler to shred long strips off the carrot that look really stylish in the salad

METHOD:

1. Take a medium-large bowl and add in the sliced bell peppers, shredded carrot, sliced cucumber, mango and chopped cilantro and gently fold it all together with salad spoons or similar

2. Drizzle the lime juice and olive oil over the top and gently fold that through with the same salad spoons

3. Now add the salt and pepper and fold through again and salad is ready to go. Due to the robust nature of the ingredients it can be prepared ahead

These are all Q-ZINE original recipes informed by multiple sources including but not limited to the following links that will help you get a better idea of the evolution and depth of Panamanian cuisine if you are interested to go deeper: