Name: Lomo saltado — beef, tomatoes and onions
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 78 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 180 g dry white rice, rinsed and drained; 360 ml water for rice, measured; 500 g potatoes for frying, peeled and cut into 1-cm batons; 90 ml neutral oil for shallow-frying, only approximately 25 ml expected retained in drained potatoes; 600 g boneless beef sirloin steak, cut across the grain into thick strips; 300 g red onion, cut into thick wedges; 300 g ripe firm tomatoes, cut into thick wedges; 25 g ají amarillo, deseeded and sliced; 15 g garlic, finely chopped; 45 ml soy sauce (sillao), regular strength; 30 ml red wine vinegar, measured; 15 ml neutral oil for stir-frying, measured; 4 g fine salt, for beef and potatoes; 2 g ground black pepper, measured; 10 g flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Lomo saltado with high-heat beef, onions, tomatoes, rice and potatoes

Yield 4 portions

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 50 minutes

Passive 3 minutes

Total 78 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Lomo saltado with high-heat beef, onions, tomatoes, rice and potatoes

Lomo saltado belongs to the Lima repertoire shaped in part by Chinese-Peruvian cooking. Its characteristic plate is not merely beef in a dark sauce: it is a short, hot sauté of beef, onion and tomato, with vinegar and sillao (soy sauce), accompanied by fried potatoes and plain rice. The different textures matter. The vegetables retain definition while the beef takes on a browned surface.

A home frying pan holds less food than a restaurant wok, so crowding is the chief technical problem. Brown the beef in two rounds and move it to a warm plate while the vegetables receive a brief, separate sauté. Put the potatoes on first and keep the rice simple. Soy sauce supplies much of the salt, so the small measured quantity of added salt needs to be considered together with it rather than layered blindly.

The steak pieces are substantial strips rather than tiny diced mince. Because individual pans and strip thickness vary, temperature is a more reliable safety check than a promise of a fixed searing time: for an intact cut, verify at least 63 °C and observe a three-minute rest. Bring the pan sauce together at the end without stewing the tomato to collapse. The resulting dish should be served immediately while the potatoes remain crisp.

Ingredients

Rice and potatoes

180 g dry white rice, rinsed and drained
360 ml water for rice, measured
500 g potatoes for frying, peeled and cut into 1-cm batons
90 ml neutral oil for shallow-frying, only approximately 25 ml expected retained in drained potatoes

Stir-fry

600 g boneless beef sirloin steak, cut across the grain into thick strips
300 g red onion, cut into thick wedges
300 g ripe firm tomatoes, cut into thick wedges
25 g ají amarillo, deseeded and sliced
15 g garlic, finely chopped
45 ml soy sauce (sillao), regular strength
30 ml red wine vinegar, measured
15 ml neutral oil for stir-frying, measured
4 g fine salt, for beef and potatoes
2 g ground black pepper, measured
10 g flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method

Cook the plain rice.Put the 180 g rinsed rice and 360 ml water in a lidded saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce to low and cook for 16 minutes; leave it covered off heat while preparing the final stir-fry. Rice should have absorbed the water and separate when fluffed. Refrigerate any unused rice promptly; do not leave cooked rice on the worktop.
Prepare the potatoes.Pat dry the 500 g potato batons. Heat the 90 ml shallow-frying oil in a broad pan and fry in two uncrowded batches, about 10 minutes per batch; drain on a rack. The potatoes should be tender inside and crisp on their outer edges. Keep the hot oil away from water and use a stable pan.
Season and portion the steak.Toss the 600 g beef with the 4 g salt and 2 g black pepper; prepare the onion, tomato, ají and garlic separately so they can enter the pan quickly. Beef strips should be evenly seasoned and the vegetable wedges substantial.
Sear in two batches.Heat 15 ml stir-frying oil in a heavy frying pan, then brown the beef in two batches, turning until the centre of the thickest strip reaches 63 °C. Transfer to a clean plate. A savoury brown crust should develop on the beef without liquid pooling in the pan. Check the thickest pieces with a thermometer; give the steak at least 3 minutes of rest before eating.
Rest the meat.Leave the cooked beef on its clean plate for 3 minutes while the pan heats for the vegetables. Do not mix it with raw beef or its juices. Juices should settle on the clean plate rather than spreading into the raw-preparation area. For intact beef steak, retain the 63 °C endpoint and 3-minute rest.
Flash-sauté the vegetables.In the hot beef pan, stir-fry the 300 g onion and 25 g ají for 2 minutes; add 15 g garlic and 300 g tomato for another 1 minute. The onion should have browned edges but still offer a little resistance when bitten.
Finish with sillao and vinegar.Pour in the 45 ml soy sauce and 30 ml vinegar, let them sizzle for 1 minute, then fold in the rested beef and 10 g parsley. Serve beside the rice and drained potatoes. The sauce should coat the ingredients lightly, while tomato wedges retain their shape. Do not add raw-meat marinade or raw beef juices after the final cooking step.

Practical

Practical guidance

Start with a wide, properly heated pan and dry beef. If the pan cannot hold half the meat without steaming, divide it into three rounds and allow additional cook time. Keep the tomato for the last minute to preserve its shape. The fries are most appealing served on the side, although some diners combine them with the sauce at the table. Chill rice and other leftovers within two hours in shallow containers; refrigerate at 4 °C or below for 3–4 days and reheat leftovers thoroughly to 74 °C, without repeated warming. The 90 ml cooking oil is a supply amount; the estimated nutrition counts only the fraction taken up by the drained potatoes.

Control points

Texture and handlingIf the beef releases liquid instead of browning, the pan was crowded; dry the remaining strips and use smaller batches.
Finish and recoveryIf the tomato dissolves and the sauce turns soupy, the pan was too cool or the vegetables cooked too long; use firm wedges and finish quickly.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size1 of 4 main-course portions
Calories675 kcal
Carbohydrate70.1 g
Protein40.1 g
Fat25.0 g
Fibre6.0 g
Sodium1150 mg

Allergens and food safety

Soy sauce contains soy and often wheat; read its label. For intact beef steak, verify 63 °C and a 3-minute rest. Do not place cooked beef back on surfaces used for raw meat. Fry carefully and chill cooked rice promptly.

Closing

On the plate: Peruvian Chinese-influenced stir-fried beef with onions and tomatoes, soy and vinegar, accompanied by fries and rice.
Control that matters: Includes the recognizable fried-potato and rice components; this is a practical home-pan expression rather than a claim to one original formula.