I love ceviche, but when I traveled to Lima I realized that its gastronomy is much more than that raw fish seasoned with chili pepper and lime.
I fell in love with picanterías and also with Creole cuisine, with Nikkei and with chifa.
I was won over by the tamales from Panchita, the ceviche with black shells from La Mar, the sea urchins from Don Fernando, the bread with chicharrón from Isolina or the breakfasts at Pan de la Chola.
How good and how varied is eaten in Lima!
That said, I admit that one of the dishes that has conquered me the most over the years has been the lomo saltado. An express stir fry that is made in a very hot wok or skillet, and is usually served with long cooked white rice. In Peru the portions are ingently large, as can be seen in authentic places - and very much like being at home - such as Pollo y Carbón, but more delicate and gastronomic dishes can also be made in reasonable portions. A sautéed tenderloin to try is the one they make in Paschi, now made with sirloin -like the one we present here-, but in season it can also be made with game meats.
The secret of the lomo saltado is only to have a good quality meat that has flavor and is also tender -that is why I recommend the sirloin, and then season the dish very well (it has to be juicy, with a sauce).
If you see that it evaporates and you fall short, you can add a few drops of water or meat broth, to make it more humid;
We want a sauce, not a broth that soaks everything, be careful.
The French fries are essential, the Peruvian part of this chifa recipe - a mixture of Chinese and Peruvian - that can be added in the mixture or only at the end, on top, so that they are more crunchy.
To the taste of each one!
Difficulty
You can do it even if you weren't born in Cuzco.
Ingredients
For 4 people
450 g of beef tenderloin
2 large potatoes
16 cherry tomatoes
Fresh coriander, to taste
2 red onions
Ají limo (or some hot chili), to taste
3 garlic cloves
1 1 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
Chinese chives or garlic, 4 pc
Salt
Ground black pepper
4 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese dark vinegar or, failing that, balsamic
Mild olive oil for frying
Preparation
Peel the potatoes and cut them into sticks.
Put in a frying pan with plenty of oil from cold, when it boils raise the heat to medium temperature -that it bubbles but not much- and confit the potatoes little by little until they are tender.
When the potatoes are tender when pierced, remove from the pan to a strainer with a slotted spoon and leave the oil in the pan.
Cut the sirloin into cubes and season.
Cut the cherry tomato in half;
peel the red onion and chop very finely.
Also chop the Chinese chives.
Chop the small garlic the same as the ginger, and also the pepper or the hot pepper that is used.
In a very, very hot wok or pan, add a little oil and sauté the sirloin over the heat, making quick movements so that it browns on the outside.
Remove.
Add a little more oil and lightly brown the garlic and ginger, quickly adding the onion and cherry tomatoes.
With the oil very hot this time, fry the potatoes so that they brown.
Remove them when they begin to be golden to a plate with kitchen paper, so that it absorbs the excess oil.
Add the sauces to the wok, keeping the heat high, and finally add the sirloin, giving a strong fire to everything together.
Serve at the moment with the fries on top or integrated and fresh coriander.
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