The loco is a typical Argentine dish that today we enjoy especially on national dates, such as May 25. There is a wide variety of recipes, although they all start from the same base: cereals, legumes, vegetables and cuts of meat that are usually hard, but that with the long cooking time of this dish are delicious.
On this occasion, we share the traditional recipe for loco de Choco, a dish full of flavor and texture that will surprise all your guests. Learn how to make it and create your own version with ingredients to your liking.
Ingredients to make Loco de Choco:
- 250 grams of white corn (Choco)
- 150 grams of carrot
- 150 grams of onion
- 30 grams of green or red chili (bell pepper)
- 1 clove garlic
- 500 grams of pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 30 grams of smoked bacon
- 200 grams of pork or beef
How to make Loco de Choco:
- To start preparing the loco de Choco, rinse the corn until the water is clear instead of cloudy as you see in the image.
- Once the water is clear, let it soak for 12 hours in the fridge.
- Tip: do not leave it soaking at room temperature because bacteria can reproduce and could make you sick.
- Once that time has passed, boil the corn in plenty of water for approximately 20 minutes or until it is tender. Then you will cook it with the preparation, so be careful not to overcook it at this point or it will disarm too much in the stew.
- While the corn is cooking, peel, chop and brown the onion in a large saucepan or saucepan with 1 teaspoon of oil. Preferably, cook the onion over high heat.
- Once it is transparent, add the chopped bell pepper and the minced garlic clove. Reduce heat to medium and sauté until browned.
- Once the vegetables are browned, turn up the heat and spread them around the edges of the pan. Add the chopped carrot and the meat cut into cubes in the center. Brown the cubes of meat on all sides and also bring them to the edges of the pan. Repeat the same procedure with the bacon to continue with the preparation of the corn loco.
- While the previous ingredients are cooking, boil the previously punctured chorizo in a separate saucepan for 5 minutes. In this way, the loco de Choco will not be so greasy. Cut it into slices and add it to the stir fry.
- Tip: if you prefer, you can make your corn loco without meat. In such a case, omit those ingredients completely and continue with the procedure.
- Also add the corn that you have previously cooked the condiments and the pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes.
- Lower the heat to a minimum and cover your loco de Choco with boiling water, approximately 1 liter. Cover it and let it cook for 1 hour, stirring every now and then to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom or run out of liquid. If this happens, add more, always hot so as not to cut the cooking.
- Once ready, you can serve it and enjoy it right away or chill it in less than 2 hours and store it in the fridge for the next day. You could also fractionate it and freeze it, since the corn loco will last 3 months frozen.
Other versions of loco de Choco and accompaniments
Now that you know how to make loco de Choco, you should know that there are many loco recipes, all of them valid and delicious. For example, some add white lima beans, red chorizo, and curio and pork breast. The important thing is that you modify and adapt the recipe to your liking in order to enjoy it.
