Peruvian Lomo Saltado – Stir-Fried Beef with Tomatoes, Peppers and French Fries

About This Recipe

Lomo saltado is Peru's national dish and one of the most vivid examples of chifa — the fusion of Peruvian and Chinese cooking that emerged in Lima in the late 19th century when tens of thousands of Chinese immigrants arrived in Peru. The dish takes Chinese wok technique (high heat, fast stir-frying, soy sauce) and applies it to Peruvian ingredients (ají amarillo chilli, pisco, local beef) to create something that belongs to neither tradition but transcends both. The result is a stir-fry of remarkable intensity: tender strips of beef seared at extreme heat in a blazing wok, tossed with onion wedges and tomatoes, deglazed with soy sauce and pisco (Peruvian brandy), and served over a double carbohydrate base of both french fries and white rice. The fries are tossed into the stir-fry itself at the last moment, absorbing the sauce and developing a unique soft-outside-slightly-crispy-inside texture. Lomo saltado requires high heat — restaurant versions are cooked in Chinese steel woks over flames so powerful they reach up the sides of the pan. At home, the hottest possible heat and cooking in small batches replicates the effect reasonably well.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 600 gbeef sirloin(cut into thick strips)
• 2red onions(cut into wedges)
• 2tomatoes(cut into wedges)
• 2ají amarillo or yellow chillies(sliced)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 3 tbspsoy sauce
• 2 tbsppisco or white wine
• 1 tbspoyster sauce
• 1 tbspwhite wine vinegar
• 1 tspcumin
• 400 gpotatoes(cut into chips and fried)
• 1 bunchfresh coriander(chopped)
• steamed white rice(to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Fry the chips

   Cut potatoes into thick chips. Fry in hot oil until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

2. 2

   Sear the beef

   Season beef. Heat a wok or heavy pan until smoking hot. Sear beef strips in batches at maximum heat — 1–2 minutes per batch, just until browned outside. Remove.

   Small batches and maximum heat are critical. Crowding the pan steams rather than sears the beef.

3. 3

   Stir-fry aromatics

   In the same screaming-hot pan, add garlic and chillies. Stir 30 seconds. Add onion wedges and toss 1–2 minutes until slightly softened but still with bite.

4. 4

   Add tomatoes and deglaze

   Add tomatoes. Toss 30 seconds. Add soy sauce, pisco, oyster sauce and vinegar. The liquid will steam and sizzle violently — toss everything quickly.

5. 5

   Combine and finish

   Return beef to the pan. Add chips and toss everything together briefly — the chips should absorb some sauce. Add coriander. Serve immediately over white rice.

Variations

• •

  Lomo saltado de pollo: replace beef with chicken thighs for a lighter version.

• •

  Vegetarian version: use portobello mushrooms or firm tofu with the same sauce.

Storage

Best eaten immediately — the chips lose their texture quickly. Leftover beef and sauce keep 3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions