How the Ecuadorian Quechua Make Chicha: A Traditional Homemade Drink

Chicha is a homemade drink, traditional in certain regions of Central and South America. It is prepared in many ways, and it varies as much as the geographic regions of those who make it. It can be fermented or unfermented, and it can take the place of a meal in extreme cases when food sources are low, because there is always chicha.

This particular recipe was demonstrated for a group of us who visited a Quechua village in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In this region, chicha is yucca-based, as opposed to maize-based like its counterpart in neighboring Peru and elsewhere.

Ingredients:

Yucca roots (yucca is harvested every 6-8 months)

Sweet potatoes

Water

How to Make Chicha:

1. Cook the yucca (boil it in water)

2. Mash it up

3. Grate sweet potato and add it to water

4. Add water mixture to mashed up yucca

5. Keep mashing and adding the water mixture until it’s the right consistency

Drink it fresh, or, let it sit for a week and ferment, which makes it beer-like (the kids don’t drink fermented chicha).

Upishu! (Cheers!)