Lomo Saltado is an Iconic Peruvian dish that combines Chinese and Peruvian ingredients. It includes thin cuts of tender steak, onions, tomatoes, and french fries. All of which are stir-fried in a savory and sour sauce for an absolutely delicious meal.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Prep all of the ingredients beforehand: Just like with any stir fry you should always prep all of your ingredients beforehand. Because once you start cooking it’s all going to come together quickly.
- Best cuts of steak to use: While you can use pretty much any cut of beef to make this dish, my two personal favorites are flank and sirloin. They both tend to have a great balance between tenderness and flavor. Just keep in mind that you will want to cut them thin and against the grain to ensure that they aren’t chewy.
- Disclosure of some unique additions: I have decided to include two unique ingredients in today’s lomo saltado recipe. I’ve really never seen them in any of the lomo saltados I’ve had over the years except for one. Which if I’m being honest was THE BEST DAMN LOMO SALTADO I’ve ever eaten in my life! And they are 1.Ginger & 2.Pisco. Both of which really takes the dish to the next level. The addition of ginger brings an amazingly fresh and spicy flavor to help balance out the savoriness of the dish. While the pisco helps to lighten it up and gives it a slight floral aroma. And the reason I’m disclosing this is if you want your lomo to taste like you usually have it then leave these two ingredients out. But trust me if you’re willing to give something new a try these two additions make a fantastic lomo saltado!
- Substitute for Pisco: If you’re having trouble finding pisco then you can easily swap it out with either brandy or sake. Both of which will give you a fairly similar taste. Or if you want to leave alcohol out of it entirely just use water instead.
- Aji amarillo: Another very common ingredient in authentic lomo saltado is aji amarillo. Which if you’ve never heard of before is a small to medium sized orange chili pepper native to Peru. However, unless you live in Peru this can be a rather difficult ingredient to get your hands on. And many people tend to use something called aji amarillo paste as a substitute. But in my opinion, they’re really not the same despite using the same ingredients. Which is why I personally don’t use aji amarillo paste in my own lomo saltado. That being said if you do want to try out the paste I’ll leave an affiliated link down below where you can purchase it from amazon. And just add roughly 1 tablespoon of it to the sauce.
- Papas Fritas: Probably the most unique or jarring ingredient in lomo saltado is the addition of french fries. And when it comes to preparing your papas for this dish I recommend that you keep it simple and use a bag of frozen fries. However, if you want to go the extra mile feel free to make your french fries from scratch. I’ll leave that decision up to you.
- How to serve your fries: Now this one really comes down to your personal preference. First, you can do as I have instructed in the recipe below and toss the fries with the rest of the stir fry at the end of the dish. I like this method because it allows the fries to soak up the sauce and become super flavorful. But, this will make them a bit soggy, which understandably a lot of people don’t care for. And if you’re one of those people, no worries. You can always just place the fries on a plate, then pour the stir fry over top. Or simply leave the fries on the side and combine them bite by bite.
Variations
- Make this into a sandwich: Get yourself a hoagie roll, or really any type of roll, to turn this into a lomo saltado sandwich. However, keep in mind that often the french fries aren’t cooked with the stir fry in this manner. Instead, they are served on the side.
- Pollo saltado: Not a fan of beef? Well, you can easily swap out the beef with thinly sliced chicken breast for what’s known as pollo saltado. It’s just as delicious as the original.
Other Great Peruvian Recipes
Lomo Saltado Recipe
Prep time: 15 mintues
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: 2 to 3
Ingredients
1Lb of steak, cut into thin strips against the grain
¼ Teaspoon of salt
¼ Teaspoon of black pepper
1 Medium red onion, sliced into strips
2 Roma tomatoes, cut into ⅙th
2 to 3 Cloves of garlic, minced
1-inch piece of ginger, minced (optional)
½Lb of frozen french fries
3 Tablespoons of oil
For the sauce:
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
2 Tablespoons of white vinegar
2 Tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon of Pisco, or water
Garnish:
¼ Cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cook the french fries: Preheat your oven per the package instructions. Once hot arrange the frozen french fries evenly on a baking sheet. Then bake them for the amount of time indicated on the package instructions, or until golden brown and crispy. Set the cooked french fries aside till later
- Prep remaining ingredients: While the fries are baking let’s prep all of the ingredients for the stir fry. Slice the beef into thin strips against the grain. Add it to a bowl, sprinkle on the salt & black pepper, and mix to combine. Slice up the onion, and tomatoes and set aside on a plate. Mince the garlic, & ginger and set them aside on another plate. Stir together the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl or cup. And finally, roughly chop the cilantro and set it aside in a small bowl.
- Cook the steak: Get out a wok or large walled pan. Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into it and place it over high heat. Once the oil is hot and smoking toss in the sliced steak and stir-fry it for a couple of minutes or until it is mostly browned up.
Transfer the cooked steak to a plate or bowl and set it aside.
- Finish the dish: Pour another tablespoon of oil into your wok/pan and keep it over high heat. Toss in the minced garlic & ginger and saute these for 30 seconds making sure that you don’t burn them. Then add the sliced onion and stir fry it for a minute or two.
Next, add the tomatoes and stir fry for another minute. Follow this up by adding back the beef along with the prepared sauce.
Stir fry for another minute or two so that the sauce reduces, and the onion & tomatoes become soft but not mushy. Finally, add the cooked french fries and give everything a good mix.
- Serve the lomo saltado on a plate with a side of rice and garnished with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
Lomo Saltado Recipe
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 Lb of steak cut into thin strips against the grain
- ¼ Teaspoon of salt
- ¼ Teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 Medium red onion sliced into strips
- 2 Roma tomatoes cut into ⅙th
- 2 to 3 Cloves of garlic minced
- 1- inch piece of ginger minced (optional)
- ½ Lb of frozen french fries
- 3 Tablespoons of oil
For the sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons of oyster sauce
- 1 Tablespoon of Pisco or water
Garnish:
- ¼ Cup of cilantro roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cook the french fries: Preheat your oven per the package instructions. Once hot arrange the frozen french fries evenly on a baking sheet. Then bake them for the amount of time indicated on the package instructions, or until golden brown and crispy. Set the cooked french fries aside till later
- Prep remaining ingredients: While the fries are baking let’s prep all of the ingredients for the stir fry. Slice the beef into thin strips against the grain. Add it to a bowl, sprinkle on the salt & black pepper, and mix to combine. Slice up the onion, and tomatoes and set aside on a plate. Mince the garlic, & ginger and set them aside on another plate. Stir together the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl or cup. And finally, roughly chop the cilantro and set it aside in a small bowl.
- Cook the steak: Get out a wok or large walled pan. Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into it and place it over high heat. Once the oil is hot and smoking toss in the sliced steak and stir-fry it for a couple of minutes or until it is mostly browned up. Transfer the cooked steak to a plate or bowl and set it aside.
- Finish the dish: Pour another tablespoon of oil into your wok/pan and keep it over high heat. Toss in the minced garlic & ginger and saute these for 30 seconds making sure that you don’t burn them. Then add the sliced onion and stir fry it for a minute or two. Next, add the tomatoes and stir fry for another minute. Follow this up by adding back the beef along with the prepared sauce. Stir fry for another minute or two so that the sauce reduces, and the onion & tomatoes become soft but not mushy. Finally, add the cooked french fries and give everything a good mix.
- Serve the lomo saltado on a plate with a side of rice and garnished with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
