Lomo Saltado: Authentic Peruvian Recipe (With Video)

A properly made lomo saltado has 8 ingredients and cooks in under 8 minutes. The key isn't the recipe — it's the technique. Hot wok, thin meat strips, don't overcook anything. This is the classic version as it's made in Lima.

Ingredients (for 2 plates)

• 400g sirloin steak (skirt steak or top sirloin) — cut in strips ~1cm × 5cm
• 1 medium red onion — cut in thick wedges (not julienne)
• 2 firm Roma tomatoes — thick wedges, seeds removed
• 1 fresh ají amarillo (or 1 tsp paste) — thin strips
• 2 garlic cloves — roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (sillao)
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Homemade French fries — yellow potato cut in batons, fried in 2 stages
• Fresh cilantro at the end
• White rice on the side

Technique — the 8 critical minutes

1. Season the meat with salt and pepper. DO NOT marinate in soy sauce — it boils the meat instead of searing it.
2. Wok on max heat for 2 minutes. A drop of oil should smoke on contact. If your stove doesn't get that hot, use a heavy iron skillet.
3. Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil. When it smokes again, drop the meat in a single layer. DO NOT move it for 30 seconds — it needs to sear.
4. Flip, 15 more seconds, remove to a plate. Should be golden outside, pink inside.
5. Same wok: add onion and ají amarillo. 45 seconds max — onion should stay firm, not droopy.
6. Add garlic, tomato. 30 seconds. Tomato should barely soften.
7. Return the meat. Pour soy sauce + vinegar from the wok's edge (vaporizes instantly = aroma). Toss 15 seconds.
8. Turn off heat. Add hot French fries and toss fast. DO NOT leave them in the wok more than 10 seconds or they go soft.
9. Serve immediately. Cilantro on top. White rice on the side, NOT mixed in.

Common mistakes that ruin the dish

• Wok not hot enough. If it doesn't smoke, the meat steams in its own juice. Result: gray, flavorless meat.
• Meat strips too thick. They cook outside while staying raw inside. 1cm max.
• Overloading the wok. Dumping everything in drops the temperature. Cooking for 4? Do it in 2 batches.
• Onion cut in julienne. Burns. Thick wedges hold heat without disappearing.
• Fries in the wok too long. They absorb sauce and go soft. Saltado by definition is texture contrast.
• Mixing rice with the saltado. That's chaufa, a different dish. Lomo saltado serves rice on the side.

Variations

• Chicken lomo saltado — use chicken breast strips. Similar technique, 15 seconds less.
• Tallarín saltado — replace fries with cooked noodles. Same principle, same hot wok.
• Chifa-style lomo saltado — add green pepper and a touch of sesame oil at the end.

If you don't want to cook

The best lomo saltado in LA is at Mario's Peruvian (Hollywood), El Rocoto (Gardena), and Peru's Taste (Northridge). For more options, see the full directory.