Peru’s lomo saltado is fusion cooking at its best and most approachable, a rapid stir-fry of soy-marinated beef, tomatoes and warm peppers that demonstrates the country’s cultural — and culinary —influences, from Incan farmers to Chinese immigrants.
Historic settlers in the Andes Mountains cultivated peppers and potatoes. Spanish colonizers introduced beef and sheep. Centuries later on, an influx of indentured Chinese staff arrived, bringing substances these kinds of as soy sauce and ginger, as properly as stir-frying.
Chinese-Peruvian cuisine became recognized as chifa, and lomo saltado is common on chifa menus (lomo refers to tenderloin, but various cuts of beef are utilized). Potato wedges normally are blended in and french fries arrive on the side.
In the version from our reserve “Milk Road Tuesday Nights,” which restrictions recipes to 45 minutes or much less, we focus on the meat. It is sliced into strips, marinated in soy sauce, then wok-fried around higher heat. We establish taste by mixing floor cumin into the soy sauce marinade. Tenderloin normally is employed listed here, but we choose sirloin strategies (also identified as flap meat) for their meatier taste as nicely as decrease cost. And we sear the meat as a substitute of stir-frying, which browns the meat additional for fuller flavor.
Readily offered jalapeño peppers make a excellent substitute for the traditional yellow aji peppers. Provide it with a scoop of rice to sop up the juices.
Peruvian Steak Stir-Fry with Onions and Tomatoes (Lomo Saltado)
Start out to complete: 35 minutes
Servings: 4
1½ kilos sirloin tips, trimmed, slice into 3-inch parts and sliced towards the grain into ½-inch strips
1½ teaspoons floor cumin
Kosher salt and floor black pepper
5 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
3 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil, divided
1 huge pink onion, halved and minimize into ½-inch half rings
¼ cup purple wine vinegar
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño chili, stemmed and sliced into slim rounds
1½ cups grape tomatoes, halved
In a medium bowl, blend the steak, cumin, 1 teaspoon just about every salt and pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce. Marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes. Pat the meat dry and transfer to a plate.
In a 12-inch skillet around significant, warmth 1 tablespoon of the oil until finally using tobacco. Increase 50 % of the meat in a single layer and prepare dinner, turning when, right up until well browned on each sides, 2 to 3 minutes whole. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil and the remaining meat.
In the same pan about medium-large, warmth the remaining 1 tablespoon oil right up until shimmering. Increase the onion and cook dinner until just starting off to soften, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and remaining soy sauce, scraping the base of the pan to eliminate any browned bits.
Cook dinner for 1 minute right until the sauce thickens a little bit. Stir in the garlic and jalapeño and cook until finally the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Increase the tomatoes, the meat and any amassed juices to the pan. Prepare dinner until finally the meat is just warmed by way of, 30 seconds. Style and season with salt and pepper.
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EDITOR’S Be aware: For extra recipes, go to Christopher Kimball’s Milk Avenue at 177milkstreet.com/ap
