We recently did an online cooking class via Cuiline. Our kitchen (and several others) were all on a Zoom call with a chef from Peru. Together we cooked Lomo Saltado with Fried Potatoes, and Arroz Con Leche. The meal turned out fantastic and I thought I would share it here. This recipe is for the Lomo Saltado.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Beef Top Sirloin (cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 2 tbsp Canola Oil
- 1 Red Onion (cut into thick slices)
- 1 Yellow Chili Pepper (or other sweet pepper, sliced finely)
- 1 Tomatoes (medium sized, cut into 8 wedges)
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp White Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 2 tbsp Cilantro (diced)
- 1 bunch Scallions (separated – the white half cut into large chunks. The green half diced for garnish.)
- 2 Yukon Gold Potatoes (or Huayro potatoes if available)
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter – Unsalted
- 1 cup Long Grain Rice
- 1 and 1/2 cups Water
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Boil the Potatoes
Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water up to a quarter to halfway (use a steamer if available). Cover and boil/steam on low to medium-low until partially cooked (about 30 to 40 minutes). Work on other steps while the potatoes are cooking. Remove the potatoes to dry when done. Slice them into large wedges.
Step 2: Mise en place
Prepare the vegetables and beef, then set aside. Measure out the soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, and 1 tbsp of butter, and have them ready near the stove.
Step 3: Prepare the Rice
Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. In a small pot over high heat, bring the rice and water to a boil. Cover and turn down the heat to a simmer. Cook until water is absorbed (about 18 minutes) while working on other steps. Fluff rice with a fork when done and set aside.
Step 4: Fry the Potatoes
In a heavy bottom skillet, heat 1/4 cup of Olive Oil and 1 tbsp of butter. Fry the wedges until crispy and brown on all sides. Place on a plate covered with paper towel when done.
Step 5: Cook the Lomo Saltado
When you take out the skillet to heat for the potatoes take out a second big, heavy bottomed skillet or Wok and begin heating it under high heat. In our class the chef had us put this skillet on high heat for almost 30 minutes before we did anything with it. That is fine if you have a cast iron skillet, but non-stick pans can be damaged from over-heating. Make sure you know heating limitations for your cookware. The goal is to have the pan heated to about 400 to 450 degrees before the oil goes in. Once your pan is hot add 2 tbsp of canola oil. Heat the oil until it just begins to smoke. Sear the beef in batches by placing about half in the pan and searing for 15 to 20 seconds. Flip the meat over and sear the other side. At this point our chef picked up the pan and used the technique to flip the meat and oil causing it to flame up and sear all sides of the meat. I don’t recommend that unless you know what you are doing. If you like just roll the cubes over quickly to get a sear on each side. Remove the beef and set aside. Repeat the searing process with the second half of the beef. (Working in batches prevents too much liquid from forming.). The goal for cooking the meat should be to sear the outside but leave the inside medium-rare.
Step 6:
In the same hot skillet or Wok (without cleaning it), fry the onions, scallion chunks, and peppers quickly until cooked but still crunchy. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, and tomatoes and stir. Cook a few minutes to reduce sauce.
Step 7:
Return the seared beef to the pan with the vegetables. Stir and top with scallion garnish and cilantro. Serve with the rice and a side of fried potatoes.
Step 8: Notes
The key to this recipe is to manage the cooking of the rice, potatoes, meat and vegetables so that everything is done at about the same time. This can be hard for one person to manage so cooking with a partner or the whole family really helps and can be a lot of fun. This is especially true if you are going to make the Arroz Con Leche at the same time. Give some thought as to who is going to manage which “station” and when they are going to need to do their steps. Alternatively, you could boil the potatoes in advance and have them sliced and ready to fry. You could also use a rice cooker to simplify that aspect.
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