Building the best fried chicken sandwich starts with using the right chicken. Both chicken breasts and thighs will work, and beyond that juicy chicken, toppings make all the difference. According to Bobby Flay, who admittedly turned heads when he revealed he washes his chicken before cooking it, there is one ideal way to upgrade the typical fried chicken sandwich: add aji amarillo peppers.
The aji amarillo is a pepper grown throughout Peru; it’s a type of yellow chili pepper that’s commonly used in the country’s local cuisine, but it definitely has a kick to it — it registers somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 on the Scoville scale (for reference, a jalapeño maxes out around 8,000). Surprisingly, this pepper gives off a hint of sweet with its heat, which has been described as a blend of mango and passionfruit, plus a smell that resembles raisins.
“It’s hard to get them fresh, but they sell it in a jar that’s completely pureed,” Flay told Mashed in 2024. “So you just scoop it out and add it to mayonnaise … I have this spicy aji amarillo mayonnaise. So, so good.”
How to incorporate the pepper into your fried chicken sandwich
Bobby Flay’s way of adding aji amarillo to the mayonnaise is a great idea, especially if you’re not one who loves a ton of spice. Plus, the fatty, rich mayo will help offset that spice a little bit, so it’s a great pairing for other spicy ingredients, too. But if you purchase the peppers puréed, you can spread the puree directly onto the chicken sandwich buns and forego the mayonnaise for greater heat.
The pepper is also commonly used in a Peruvian green sauce called aji verde. It’s easy to make at home and creates the perfect spicy bite that can be added to all kinds of dishes, even fried chicken. It incorporates the pepper, plus jalapeños, cotija cheese, and lots of cilantro.
If you can manage to get your hands on fresh peppers, you can also roast them up, chop them, and spread them onto the chicken sandwich. Be careful when handling the fresh peppers, though, because they can irritate your skin and eyes if they make direct contact; it’s best to wear gloves.
Static Media owns and operates Chowhound and Mashed.
