Sancocho: Panama’s Most Representative Traditional Dish

There is some debate over what Panama’s most representative traditional dish truly is; however, most would point to the classic sancocho de gallina as the clearest expression of our local flavor—even though it is decidedly not the oldest dish in our culinary history.

The notoriously high cost of obtaining chicken during the early years of the conquest on the Isthmus makes it unlikely that sancocho developed as a popular dish in the first centuries after spanish arrival. In fact, by the late 1500s, the price of a single hen was equivalent to that of a full-grown head of cattle. The earliest written evidence of sancocho in Panama dates to 1853 (Berthold Seeman, Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Herald, 1845). In his journal, Seeman suggested that sancocho was already well established and popular in the Panamanian diet at that time.

Traditional Panamanian sancocho is built around five essential ingredients: water, ñame (yam), hen, salt, and culantro. That said, because sancocho is consumed throughout the entire country, there are regional variations well worth mentioning.

In the Chiriquí Province, we refer to sancocho chiricano as the version that also includes yuca, otoe, and sometimes corn and squash. Additionally, as described by Chef Charlie Collins in his book T’ach, in the twon of Chitré one can find sancocho “de polla,” prepared with a young chicken instead of the traditional tough hen. There are countless recipes that include oregano, and others that rely on a full recao verde as the base of the broth.

In the end, despite these variations, the five essential ingredients mentioned earlier can never be absent if it is to be considered true sancocho.

So, what do you consider to be Panama’s most iconic dish?