Lomo Saltado is a traditional dish from Peru that’s usually served with French fries.Danielle Matar/The Globe and Mail
A traditional dish from Peru that's usually served with French fries, lomo saltado is part of Chifa cooking, a fusion of Chinese and Peruvian cuisines. The yellow chili paste is used extensively in Peruvian cooking.
Most people buy it in a jar but it is easy to make and keeps for a few weeks refrigerated, although if you can't find spicy peppers feel free to omit. I used serrano pepper instead of the traditional aji amarillo chili in the stir-fry.
Yellow chili paste
4 yellow chili peppers
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Lomo saltado
1 tbsp garlic, chopped
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs (750 g) sirloin steak, trimmed and cut in 1/2-inch strips
2 medium red onions, cut in 8 wedges each
1 aji amarillo or serrano pepper, seeds removed, thinly sliced
3/4 cup beer
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 roma tomatoes, cut in wedges
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp yellow chili paste (optional)
Method
Place yellow chili peppers in a pot of boiling water and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until peppers are very soft.
Peel the skin off the peppers and purée with the oil in a blender or by hand.
Reserve.
Combine garlic and 2 tbsp oil and mash to a puree. Toss steak with garlic puree and let marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in a wok over high heat. Stir-fry meat for 2 minutes, or until browned but still rare inside. Remove from pan.
Add onion and chili pepper to pan and sautée for 1 minute. Add beer, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes or until liquid has reduced by half.
Return meat to pan and add tomatoes, cilantro, parsley and optional yellow chili paste. Simmer together until tomatoes are slightly softened, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Serve over rice, with remaining chili paste on the side.