Lomo Saltado

If there is a classic of Peruvian food, it is “Lomo Saltado”. Born from the cultural mix between Peruvians and Chinese migrants, it is a dish worthy of the gods. And yes, like many Peruvian dishes, it has double carbohydrates (rice and potatoes) that fight among themselves for which one is the richest with the juguito de lomo.

The “Lomo Saltado” has always been prepared in my house and I can feel the smell clearly if I close my eyes. I also get that smell of rice with a hint of garlic that is ready to serve. My mom sometimes served a little bit of the rice on a plate and ate it with a little butter, but don't tell her I told you.

Many times we believe that a good lomo saltado cannot be made at home, but that is not true. What happens is that we cannot do it in the same way that it is done in a restaurant with intense fires. You have to have a little more patience and know the fire that we have in the kitchen so that the meat is browned and medium-rare with all its intense flavors.

In addition to the ingredients that you see in the photo, we usually also put yellow chili in strips, but as you will understand, I do not live in Peru and it is not always easy to get it. But I also use this as a little encouragement to those who see me and read abroad: the yellow chili gives it a spectacular touch but if they can't find it, they don't have to stop making lomo saltado 🙂

Ingredients

For rice

• vegetable oil

• 1 cups pre-grained white rice

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 1/4 cups cold water

• 1½ tsp salt

• For the fries

• 900g potatoes

• 500ml vegetable oil

• Salt

For Lomo Saltado

• 1 kg thin beef tenderloin, cleaned without membranes or large pieces of fat, and cut into medium pieces.

• 100 ml white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

• 200 ml soy sauce

• 100 ml Peruvian pisco

• 2 tomatoes without seeds and in strips

• 1 large red onion in strips

• chives / Chinese onion to decorate or cilantro/coriander or parsley

• vegetable oil for cooking

Step-by-step preparation

For the rice

1. Grate, grind or finely chop the garlic and fry it at medium-low temperature with a little vegetable oil.

2. Add the rice and heat in the oil while you move it for a couple of minutes.

3. Add the water and wait for it to boil.

4. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes on low heat or until dry. Move with a fork to grain it and reserve.

For double-fried potatoes

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them to a similar size for even cooking.

2. Let soak in water with 3 tablespoons of salt for at least 30 minutes so that they release liquid.

3. Remove from the water and dry very well with kitchen paper.

4. Heat the oil over medium-low heat and cook half the potatoes. You should only see a few bubbles. Take them out when they are cooked (try with a knife or toothpick) and put them on kitchen paper to continue with the other half of the potatoes.

5. Once the potatoes are out of the oil, raise the temperature to medium-high and wait for it to heat up. Fry the potatoes in two batches again, leaving them on kitchen paper to absorb excess fat again.

6. Sprinkle with salt and put in a preheated oven at 100C while they make the lomo saltado. Remember that they don't stay crisp for long if you leave them lying around in the kitchen waiting.

For Lomo Saltado

1. At a very high temperature, let the pan heat up well.

2. Add a little vegetable oil and put pieces of meat but only fill half the pan, so they can brown. Do not move them for a minute and then turn them so that they brown on all sides. If you keep moving them a lot, they will not brown. It is important that the pieces are not small to help them cook medium.

3. Once browned, add 4 tablespoons of the soy sauce and vinegar mixture and a tablespoon of Pisco. Let it evaporate halfway or flambé. To flambé, you can use a piece of kitchen paper rolled up and lit or a long match.

4. Remove the meat and continue with the following batches until you finish with all the meat. The weaker your fire, the less meat you should put in at a time.

5. Repeat the same procedure with the tomato and onion.

If you feel that it got cold in this process you can return everything to the pan for a minute to reheat. No longer than that because the meat can be overcooked.

Tip:

* Keep liquids away when you fry like this (for example, don't stand on the pot with a glass of water) because if it spills it can cause an accident. It is also better that there are no children around.