Here’s another recipe straight from my mama’s brain. It was one of my favorites growing up. There’s French fries, strips of tender sirloin all tossed together with a spicy, rich flavored sauce. It’s a stir-fry, essentially; a latin stir-fry!
That’s kinda weird and unexpected, right? A lot of people are surprised to learn that Peru has a large Asian community. This Asian presence–over generations and generations–has had a huge influence on “traditional” Peruvian cuisine, basically making it into what it is today. This particular dish was derived from a Chinese stir-fry. The potatoes make it unique to Peru, along with the spices and thick sauce.
Get into it!
I’ve wanted to share this recipe for long time but not gonna lie, there are a few steps. The most annoying? Frying French fries.
Pro-tip: My parents never fry up French fries. They go to McDonald’s (YES YOU HEARD ME!) and pick up a few batches of French fries to toss them in at the last second. I’m not beneath this either, though today I totally fried up some French fries. I did a double-fry. It’s all about the double-fry. There’s no other way.
Again, if you want, just do the short cut. Whatevs.
Once you get over that little hurdle, the dish is pretty simple. Brown the strips of sirloin. Remove. Then cook the onions and tomatoes for a bit.
Then add the serrano peppers (since aji amarillos are hard to fine), garlic, tomato paste, soy sauce, spices….
And beer! Adding a bit of beer gives the sauce an awesome flavor. If you don’t want to use it, feel free to use beef broth. No bigs!
After that, add the French fries and strips of beef and toss. That’s it!
This dish is awesome served on a bed of hot, steamy rice. I like basmati. And I always drink it with either an inca kola or a super cold beer.
Lomo Saltado
Vegetable oil
2 russett potato, cut into matchsticks (or purchased fries)
Salt and Pepper
1 pound of sirloin, sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
Salt and Pepper
1 red onion, sliced (white or yellow work just fine, too)
2 roma tomatoes, sliced
2 serrano pepper, de-seeded and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup beer (an ale) or beef broth
Handful of Italian parsley leaves, minced
1. I always do a double-fry. To start, add the matchstick potatoes to a bowl of water and soak for 10 minutes. This will release some of the starch. Drain and dry the potatoes thoroughly. In a cast iron skillet (or heavy-bottom skillet) add 2 inches of vegetable oil and heat until it reaches 325 degrees F.
2. Gently add the potatoes, and fry in batches, being sure to not overcrowd the pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the potatoes are a pale and slightly soft. Remove and drain on paper towels or brown paper. Increase the oil to 375 degrees F. Return the potatoes to the oil and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until crispy and golden brown. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and set aside.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. While the oil is heating up, sprinkle a liberal amount of salt and pepper over the strips of meat. Add the meat to the oil and cook on first side for 1-2 minutes, until slightly browned. Flip and cook on opposite side for an additional 30 seconds. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
4. Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and toss in the onions and tomatoes. Cook until slightly translucent, 2-3 minutes. Throw in the diced pepper, garlic, cumin, tomato paste and soy sauce. Pour in the beer and deglaze the pan, using a spoon. Cook mixture for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the alcohol is cooked out of the beer. Salt to taste.
5. Add in the cooked beef strips and French fries, and toss together. Serve atop steamed rice and garnish with minced Italian parsley.
44 Comments
Wow, this is an amazing dish, I love the fusion history. I’d totally go for the McDonald’s fries, even Julia Child agreed they are the best. Great recipe!
I can get behind any dish that add FRENCH FRIES! 😉
The beef and the sauce that it makes sounds wonderful in and of itself, but I love that you add the fries to the dish. I love the idea of adding McD’s fries to this – or Wendy’s new fries would be super yummy!
This looks fantastic. I can only imagine how good the sauce is- and how the fries take the sauce. Yum!
Whoa. This sounded all tasty and delicious already and then YOU PUT FRIES IN IT. And then I died of happiness. Must make this immediately.
This looks great! I lived in Peru for a year and a half and this was one of our favorite dishes. Another drink idea to serve it with is fresh papaya juice. 🙂
I ate this a LOT when I was in Peru and am pretty excited to see an at-home recipe for it! I loved how often french fries seemed to be thrown in a dish in South America. Winner.
This looks awesome!! I will make it next week (or this week if I decide to change my menu plans and head to the store, which I just might 🙂
Whoa this looks delish!
yum, this is one of my favorite meals! going to have to try this at home.
Our family loves Lomo Saltado and we are very fortunate to have two Peruvian restaurants in town. I tried to duplicate the restaurant we go to, by marinating the meat in grapefruit juice and garlic! It’s rocks! I will be excited to try this spin on it as well! (I bake up frozen french fries to make it an easy weeknight favorite 🙂
Never tried this one…but it certainly does looks delicious! Definitely gonna give it a try
My boyfriend would absolutely love this and so will I of course! I love the fries in it!
LOVED this dish when I tried it at a Peruvian restaurant (chicken version). Totally thought the fries would be weird, but they add such a nice salty, textural contrast. So happy you posted this! 🙂
What a gorgeous stir fry! I had not known about this dish before and am very keen to try your recipe!
Gosh, french fries in a stir fry?! Sign me up!!
I’m so excited to try this. I’ve tried another Lomo Saltado recipe and it was a big fat fail (the key is that delicious sauce the fries soak up). Yours seems true to what I’ve had at restaurants. The big question is, how do you make that creamy spicy green sauce they serve with it?? I want to marry that stuff.
This looks delish! Kinda reminds me of a variation of a Greek tapas I had that was over french fries. And yes, the double fry is the way to go! I love that your parents went out to get fries at McDonalds…too funny 🙂
This has to be the absolutely most unusual recipe I’ve seen in a long! And it looks very tasty indeed!
I’ve never had this dish, and funny, when I first saw the picture I thought they were sweet potatoes! Think I may try it that way, along with subbing seitan for the beef to make it veggie. Maybe not too authentic, but it looks too good to not try.
It looks amazing. I might not add the french fries since potatoes do bad things to me, but the rest of it sounds like it would be fantastic.
This is one of my favorite dishes! Ive been loving all the stuff you’ve been making lately, keep it coming! My favorite Ecuadorean/Peruvian place makes this and they add a bit of balsamic in theirs and I love it!
i love lomo saltado! but I’d def pick up fries from McD’s 🙂
I went to dinner at my bosses (they were from Peru) place back in 1993 and his wife made this, I LOVED IT and wanted the recipe, but he never did give it to me. I’m making this ASAP!
YES to french fries in stir fry and DOUBLE YES to the Inca Kola!
I love lomo and I do make it all even the frying of the fries but instead of aji amarillo I use aji colorado and whit wine for my sauce, and like you I go back to my roots when I’m home sick. tomorrow is tallarin verde.
Wow! This looks absolutely delicious and the fries r a killer!
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhh that loooks delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Looks great! My dad is Bolivian but lived in Peru a number of years. When he met my mom here in the states, she learned how to make a few of his favorites. This dish was one of them. I grew up eating this, and your recipe has a few things different. I am anxious to make for my parents to see what they think!
Oh I’m interested to hear how this compares!
[…] adapted from A Cozy Kitchen […]
Im a Peruvian Chef and I just got to tell you that I loved to see one of our culture recipes in your blog!! You just made my day!!!!
Peruvian food is my favorite South American cuisine, by far! So glad you like!
I studied in Peru and never tried this dish. Every since then people have asked me if I tried it while I was there and I’ve been dying to give it a try. Made it tonight and LOVED it! Thanks so much for posting!
That’s so awesome! High five.
[…] As much as I would like to take credit for this gem, it’s actually a riff on Adrianna’s Lomo Saltdado over at A Cozy Kitchen. Her version is a Peruvian stir fry with sirloin and double-fried french […]
My boyfriend is peruvian and his grandmother has taught me many dishes this being one. However, the fact that you mentioned Inca Kola makes you a rock star in my book!
I love that you shared lomo saltado on your blog! I’ve never seen anything Peruvian on food blogs other than alfajores, which still isn’t strictly Peruvian. My boyfriend’s family is Peruvian Japanese and own a restaurant in LA. He is also a chef so naturally I get to eat this often 🙂
What restaurant in LA? I want to go to it!
I discovered your blog a few days ago via the Berry, and I fell in love. This one intrigued me the most, though I’ve bookmarked about a million, and I finally got a chance to make it tonight.Great success! Boyfriend and little human both loved it. Thanks so much for what you do.
Nicest comment ever! AWESOME!So glad your little human loved it, too! Love that!
The other night I was going to make your Peruvian Seco, but ran out of time. Then as I was scrolling through the recipe I saw the link to this one, I was really excited to see it and to see how quick and easy it was to make. We order this dish from a local Peruvian restaurant frequently, but now that I have found your great recipe I can make it any time we have a craving! Thanks for such a great recipe!!!
My mother was raised in Peru and whenever we could find a Peruvian restaurant when I was younger I would ALWAYS get Lomo Saltado. When I finally got to go to Peru I still (for the most part) stuck with Lomo Saltado! Does the chili make it spicy? I’ve never had a Lomo Saltado dish that tasted even remotely spicy(and I’m a wimp when it comes to spicy/hot food). I love the idea of buying fries from a fast food joint since frying things terrify me and I’m currently without an oven! Definitely looking forward to trying your recipe, I’ve been dying for that taste I only found when I was actually in Peru!
[…] been dying to make this Lomo Saltdado (Peruvian Stir Fry) at A Cozy Kitchen for a very long time. If you follow Adrianna, you can […]