The Peruvian Meal I Can’t Stop Eating

This lomo saltado is a Peruvian classic of marinated pan seared beef going with peppers, herbs, onions in a soy beef umami sauce served up with rice and fries. Yeah, it's dang tasty and we're gonna make it. Sound good? Let's cook. We are going to add two cups minus two tablespoons of water to a two quart size pot. We're gonna turn the heat up to high and bring it to a boil. In the meantime, in a separate two quart pot, I'm adding in one cup of long grain rice jasmine works perfectly here turning the heat up to low we are going to toast this rice which is going to take in between five or six minutes or however long it takes for the water in the other pot to boil toasting the rice adds flavor reduces cooking time and prevents clumping the rice should look milky white like this on the right is uncooked rice and on the left is that toasted up milky colored cooked rice just as soon as that water is boiling we are going to add it right to that pot and stir everything together while giving it a gentle season of coarse salt once combined add on a lid turn the heat down to low and we're going to cook it for in between 12 and 15 minutes after that amount of time let's remove the lid and using a fork we're going to fluff up the rice and ensure nothing is clumped and it's not it looks amazing perfection we're going to add back on the lid turn the heat off slide it to the other side of our cooktop and and this can remain warm for up to 45 minutes. Next up, we're gonna get started on our fries. So in a five-quart pot, I'm filling it to the halfway mark with a neutral flavored oil. I'm using avocado oil. We're gonna turn the heat up to medium and get the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In the meantime, though, we can prep up our potatoes. I have a total of three pounds of russet potatoes here. These are very large. There's obviously only three of them. What we're going to do is peel them. Then we wanna cut them in a very large batonnet or maybe as you know it, a French fry cut. It should be in between three and six inches in length and about a half inch by a half inch thick. We're gonna transfer those over to a sheet tray line with parchment paper, then taking them back over to the cooktop and ensuring our oil is right around that 350 degrees Fahrenheit mark. We're gonna add in our French fries. It's okay to do this in batches. You don't wanna overcrowd your pot. One, you don't want the oil to spill over, but also you want the fries to be able to cook on all sides. We are just going to blanch these for a total of two minutes. I come back every 15 to 20 seconds and move the fries around to ensure nothing is sticking. This is just a few steps in the overall procedure known as the Belgian process. This blanching period will make our fries so much crispier. It will also help prevent them from turning brown. After that two-minute cooking process, using a slotted spoon, remove the fries, and just set them to the side on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. And when I was in the restaurant industry, we would hold fries like this for up to three hours. It's incredible how long these will stay like this. And because we've got a little bit of prep and we're not gonna finish cooking these fries for a bit, we're just gonna turn the heat down low. And now let's break out the beef. I'm going to be using one and a half pounds of beef tenderloin or filet mignon. Now there are many classical cuts of beef you could also use like skirt steak, which runs in between 12 and $15 a pound, highly economical and has wonderful intramuscular fat. However, it needs to be quickly cooked. The other one being top sirloin, around the same price point, it's incredibly lean, low intramuscular fat, but it has wonderful beefy flavors. Whether you're using a beef tenderloin or some of those other cuts, I'll show you how to prepare both. for me i personally like beef tenderloin for this recipe what i want to do is to cut this down into one to one and a half inch cubes you're paying a premium price for beef tenderloin so for me i want a good internal temperature around medium rare this will ensure our beef remains extremely flavorful juicy and tender now if you're using skirt steak you want thin little slices but you you want to cut against the grain. So depending on how long that skirt steak is, I usually cut it into four to five sections. Then taking one of those cuts, I slice it as thin as I possibly can on a bias. This will ensure the beef cooks quickly and remain extremely tender, even though it will be medium well to well done. Now for the beef top sirloin, I usually like to trim the fat or cut around any fat that's running through the center of it into small one-inch thin slices, very similar to the skirt steak. Now, whatever beef you decide to use, you're going to add it to a large bowl. Next, we're going to pour in two tablespoons of neutral flavored oil. You got some really strong flavors in the sauce. You want to make sure this oil remains a neutral flavor. Next, we're gonna season it with some coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper and mix it until it's combined. Now, a great variation for this is to add a little bit of cumin. It is optional, but I highly recommend it. You can use ground cumin or to make it a little bit more aromatic, I'm going to add a half teaspoon of cumin seeds right to a medium-sized saute pan and over low to medium heat, I'm just going to toast them up for three to four minutes. It will become very fragrant. Honestly, smell it yourself. It's easy to see. At this stage, I'm just gonna add it to a mortar, then using a pestle, I'm going to ground it down until it is finely ground. Then add it right to that seasoned, oiled-up steak and mix it together until it is combined. Then we're just gonna set this to the side at room temperature, help take the chill off, and let those flavors marry a little bit. But let's be good stewards of our time and knock out some prep, beginning with a large, half-peeled red onion. I'm just going to cut these up into wedges and set it to the side. Now, the classic pepper to use here is known as an aji amarillo. However, this is going to be very hard to come by in the United States. The next best substitute is going to be a combination of a sweet yellow bell pepper and a jalapeno or a serrano chile. For the yellow pepper, I'm going to seed it and thinly julienne it. If you like a lot of spice, I recommend leaving the pith, which is where all that heat is, along with some of the seeds. Totally up to you. Let's add both of those to a bowl. Then I'm going to smash and finely mince two whole garlic cloves. And next on our mise en place list are tomatoes. And I have three Roma tomatoes, which I want to seed. So slice down, going in about a quarter of an inch, and then just roll the tomatoes with your knife at about a 20 degree angle until that filet of tomato comes right off. Then we're going to thickly julienne this about a half inch thick. Then for some fresh herbs, I'm going to finely mince up some fresh cilantro. We're looking for about three tablespoons. I, of course, use the stems. There's lots of great lemon lime flavor in those. Then, last but not least, I have three green onions, which I'm going to cut into one-inch sections. Now, to finish off our prep, we wanna make that umami sauce, which is so good. I have three tablespoons of soy sauce. Next, I'm going to add in one tablespoon of white distilled vinegar. You could also use apple cider or red wine vinegar. Then a half cup of good beef stock. I've got a great homemade recipe if you wanna check that out. And then last but not least, we're gonna add in one tablespoon of oyster sauce. And at this point, you may be wondering, are you sure you're cooking Latin American food? Yes. In the 18th and 19th century, Peru had a huge influx of Chinese and Japanese immigrants, which greatly influenced the culture and especially cuisine. This sauce is so good, just gonna give it a quick try. Oh yeah, salts, vinegars, that's gonna be super good to season up the veg and even the beef. It's just really important to taste things throughout the entire process so that you know where things should be at every stage. All right, the prep is completely done. This is gonna move really quickly, so watch carefully. We are gonna turn our French fry oil back up to medium, get it to that 350 degree mark. Then we're gonna add in our blanched French fries We're gonna cook them for about four to five minutes or until they start to turn golden brown like this. Once they are cooked, we're gonna transfer them over to a large bowl. Then we're gonna immediately toss them in a little bit of table salt. Table is better for French fries. Be sure to try them out. Yes, they are so crispy on the outside and incredibly fluffy and tender on the inside. They're awesome. Now we wanna keep these warm, so I'm gonna add them to a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and place them on a middle rack the oven at 225 degrees fahrenheit these will easily hold up to 20 minutes and in case you're wondering if you can use that oil yes turn off the heat and completely cool that oil to room temperature then you can strain it through a chinois or even better yet a coffee filter and for me i'm going to use both here then we're just going to label it date it and put it in a container and in a cool dark place this will hold up to six weeks you can absolutely reuse this and And since you only cook potatoes, the flavor of the oil isn't really influenced in any way and still remains very neutral. And now back over to the cooktop where I have a large 12-inch carbon steel skillet. Cast iron, non-stick, or even a wok will work. We are gonna crank the heat on to high and let it sit for exactly two minutes. After all, lomo saltado translates to beef stir fry, and that's exactly what we're going to do. Then I'm adding in two tablespoons of avocado oil. This has a nice high smoke point, around 520 degrees. You need this. We're going to immediately add in the beef since everything is smoking and spread it out across the pan as best you can to get a nice, beautiful sear on this. We're gonna let it sit for exactly 90 seconds without moving it. We want as much maillard on this as possible, what's gonna help bring about a lot of flavor to this dish. Then we're gonna come back and stir fry this for 30 seconds. So with a wooden spoon or a spatula in one hand, right in the center of the pan and your other hand on the handle. We're gonna rock this back and forth to help make sure nothing is sticking and to help cook those additional sides. If you're nervous about these flames shooting up, just remove the pan from the burner and they will immediately subside. Now remember, we're cooking beef tenderloin, so I'm gonna remove it from the pan. Once it reaches about 110 degrees Fahrenheit internally, there will be some carryover cooking, so these will be perfect when it comes time to serve it up. Now, if you're using sirloin or skirt steak, you still want a very hot pan with the same amount of oil. When it's smoking, you add the beef in there and spread it across the pan as best you can, just like the beef tenderloin. You wanna sear it, you do not wanna steam it. We're gonna cook it for 60 seconds, then we're gonna come back and stir fry for 30 seconds. At this point, it will render a medium well to well internal temperature, but remember, it's thinly sliced, so it's still going to be incredibly tender. and just like that tenderloin, we set it to the side. Then pan back on the burner, and over medium heat, we're gonna add in one more tablespoon of avocado oil. Then what we wanna do is pour in our onions, and we wanna stir fry these for two minutes. I wanna get a little caramelization on these. It's just gonna help bring about more flavor. Once you start to see those edges turn brown like this, this is perfect. At this stage, let's add in our yellow bell pepper and our jalapeno, and we're gonna stir fry this for only 30 seconds. The goal for the vegetables in this dish is that they should still be crispy. To finish these off, we're gonna stir in the garlic and cook it just until fragrant, which really only takes 15 to 20 seconds. That is when you know the garlic is done. Let's set this to the side, right on that platter with the beef. Don't worry, we're not going far. We're gonna return it to the heat, add in that delicious soy beef stock sauce. We're gonna crank the heat up to high and let it cook for just 90 seconds to two minutes. I just wanna concentrate those flavors a little bit more and make the viscosity of the sauce just a little bit thicker in this amount of time. We'll get you there. Let's add back in the seared beef and stir-fried veggies. And now we're gonna finish it off with the thickly sliced Roma tomatoes, the green onions. This is optional, but one teaspoon of dry oregano. Come on, let's get some of those Latin flavors in there. And last but not least, the cilantro. We're just gonna fold all of these ingredients together until they are combined. Of course, taste it, see if it needs anything else like salt or pepper. For me, this is good to plate up. Whether you're on a platter, a large plate, you wanna serve this up with a big helping of that perfectly cooked rice, then our crispy brown French fries, and plenty of our lomo saltado. And for a nice little finish, How about a little bit more finely minced cilantro or coriander as it's better known around the world. This looks and smells incredible. This is just a fantastic weeknight meal loaded with flavor. And these simple techniques put into practice will definitely make you the best cook on the block and probably the best chef in your family. And if you love big flavor food like this, hit up my Peruvian chicken. That thing is ridiculous. I've got a great recipe video. I'll see you on there.