Peruvian stir-fry has style and substance
Peruvian food is a magnificent melange of Indigenous, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese ingredients and techniques, and I love how this is illustrated in the dish of lomo saltado.
This recipe, from the Embassy of Peru, is true to the dish’s style and substance. It’s a classic example of Peruvian Chifa cuisine, a blend of Chinese technique and ingredients from Spain, as well as those native to the Peruvian mountains.
Classic lomo saltado is a literal translation of its Spanish name: A beef stir-fry. Beef, which came from Spain in the 1600s, sears nicely in a hot wok. But so do the other ingredients; it’s the saltado part that’s most important.
As Ricardo Zarate writes in his “The Fire of Peru,” sometimes lomo saltado can have a bad reputation. “There are a lot of bad versions out there. It’s hard not to be disappointed when a saltado has steamed instead of seared ingredients. That’s a stew, not a stir-fry. The key is to fry everything at very high heat so you get a good sear on the ingredients, but you don’t cook out all of their freshness.”
True stir-frying is indeed critical to a successful saltado, but if you don’t have a wok, you can absolutely still make this recipe in a heavy-bottomed skillet. To ensure you get a good sear on the food, be sure to crank the heat up until the pan starts to let off wisps of smoke before you add any food. Then, don’t crowd the pan – fry everything in batches if necessary.
Zarate recounts a memory of watching a lomo saltado competition on television. The fastest competitor finished cooking the dish in just 90 seconds. Zarate advises that “you should never spend more than two minutes from the time your beef hits the pan to when ... your garnishes are ready to scatter on top of the finished dishes.”
Keep that in mind whether you plan to make lomo saltado or a vegetarian variation. This recipe works very well with mushrooms or firm tofu in place of the meat.