Fusion Vibes: Lomo Saltado
This is a classic Peruvian dish that has savory fusion elements: stir fried beef that is accented by vegetables, soy sauce and aji amarillo, a fiery yellow pepper paste. There is room to substitute on this recipe: if you don’t eat beef, you could do it with chicken(I know…sacriledge), if you want to “lighten” it up instead of frozen fries, use potatoes that have been boiled and crisp them in the oven. The success of this recipe is having everything ready before you cook - it comes together in about ten minutes, so if you are pairing this with rice, make sure that is already cooking away before you start this.
This dish reminds me of going to El Chalan when I used to work in Farragut West, sneaking away for a delicious break, usually paired with a pisco sour and loads of office gossip. Memories!
Ingredients - makes 2 dinner servings
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
250 grams/9 oz of beef (or chicken) sliced into thumb sized pieces (flank steak, filet, whatever you have)
pinch of garlic powder + salt and pepper
half a medium onion(around 1/2 cup) cut into thin slices (red or yellow onion works)
160 grams/1 cup chopped tomatoes (I used cherry but one big tomato also works)
75 grams/ 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
260 grams/ 2 cups of french fries or oven fries already cooked potatoes(its better to start with warm potatoes)
For the sauce
One tablespoon aji amarillo paste (this has no substitute - and don’t use rocoto, its pure fire!)
One tablespoon dark soy sauce
one teaspoon rice wine/white vinegar(not balsamic)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
parsely to garnish(optional)
Directions
Start with the sauce: put the paste, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar in a bowl and set aside. Season the beef with the garlic powder, salt and pepper and set aside. Prep the vegetables. Once everything is prepared, the recipe goes fast. Place one tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet and brown the beef, around 2 min on each side and remove the beef from the pan. Leave the remaining oil and add another tablespoon of the oil and cook the onions on medium heat and let them sweat covered for 2 minutes. When the onions are clear, add in the chopped tomatoes and let the juices reduce a bit, another 2-3 minutes. Then add the potatoes, peas and beef and toss together for a minute. Add the sauce and let it coat the mix. Serve immediately with rice. Yum!