Lomo Saltado
€4.54 │ €1.13 per portion │ Serves 4 │ Under 30mins │ Peru
A deliciously salty, sweet, and slightly spicy stir fry of red onion, tomato, and beef, traditionally served with rice and fries. This is a Peruvian classic for a reason - plus it's easy and fast to cook, making it a great weeknight dish for a meal plan.
This dish can also be made easily plant-based - as we usually do - with a vegetarian product that you can find in major stores across Belgium. More on that below!
What to serve it with?
Peruvian meals like lomo saltado are typically quite hearty - meaning that it's great on its own in generous portions! Especially if you are doing both traditional sides:
In Peru, you serve lomo saltado with both rice and fries. Though at home, you don't always need both. To make them, here's what you do:
- Peruvian-style rice +€0.64
250g short-grain rice, 1 clove garlic, olive oil.
Rinse rice until clear. Fry diced garlic in olive oil in a saucepan until fragrant, then add rice, stirring for 1 minute. Add boiling water to cover, put on the lid, and simmer for 12 minutes or as in packet instructions. Take it off the heat and let steam for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, cover, steam again for another 5 minutes. Flatten rice in a bowl and upturn it for best presentation.
- Fries +€0.90/your local fries price :)
Easy, especially if you're in Belgium like us! Make them from frozen in the oven/air-fryer or just order from your local fries place.
How to use in a meal plan
Good home economics is using ingredients smartly - and that saves money and cuts food waste. A meal plan is a great way to do this.
Lomo saltado is perfect for using up leftover rice or fries from an earlier dish! Or, inversely, great for making fresh rice and fries to use leftover in another dish afterwards.
Plus, if you already have rice and fries on hand, the lomo saltado itself is actually super quick to make!
Don't make your own meal plan? Spoonfeed's meal plans are created for home cooks in Belgium!
Leftovers
Spoonfeed meal plans save you money by using the economy of scale. Making extra from dinner into a leftover lunch avoids spending money and extra time cooking!
Lomo saltado heats up great the next day in the microwave, and it stays as visually stunning and tasty as the day before. When making a portion in a tupperware, try to keep the fries (and rice, if preferred, though less crucial) separate from the juice.
If you use leftover rice in the lomo saltado, you should eat it all the first time as you shouldn't reheat rice twice.
Utensils
- Wok
- Wooden spatula
- Serving spoon
- Saucepan (for rice, if necessary)
- Baking/air-fryer tray (for fries, if necessary)
Ingredients
- 350g Vivera kebab (vegetarian product, meat alternative below)
- 1 medium-large red onion
- 1 spring onion
- 1 large salad tomato/2 medium tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 4 tbsp white wine/sherry vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp ají amarillo paste/powder
- 1/2 stock cube (veggie/beef)
- 1 tsp cumin
- Fresh coriander
We generally go plant-based for affordability and time. Though instead, you can use 500g diced beef.
Ají amarillo
An incredible, fruity chili with a kick from Peru, this pepper is key to the flavour of Peruvian cuisine - a part of the holy trinity with red onion and coriander - and essential to an authentic lomo saltado! Find the paste or powder from a Latin American store. Note: the powder will last longer in your pantry.
Method
- If you are doing rice and/or fries, start off preparing this and let them cook as you prepare the stir fry itself. The stir fry should be cooked quickly and served as soon as possible, so it's best to have the rice/fries ready.
- Cut red onion and tomato into wide, thumbnail-thick slices. Dice garlic and spring onion, separating the white and green parts.
- Mix the soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl.
- In a wok on medium-high heat, add some olive oil and sear the meat for a 3-5 minutes until browned, then set aside.
- Make sure the wok is still nicely coated in olive oil, turn the heat up high, and add the red onion. Keep moving and cook it for 1 minute, then add the tomato, half the soy sauce/vinegar mix, and around 75ml of hot broth from stock cube. Cook for 2-3 minutes, as you keep stirring.
- Before your onions soften too much, add garlic and whites of the spring onion, and stir for 30 seconds. Now add back in the meat, the rest of the liquid mix, and the ají amarillo. Mix well and keep cooking for 1 minute.
- Add half the greens of the spring onion and half the reserved coriander, mix for another 30 seconds and serve alongside your chosen sides.
- Top with the remaining spring onion greens and coriander.
- Enjoy!