Strips of tenderloin stir-fried in a wok, flambéed swiftly, then tossed with sautéed aji amarillo chiles, tomatoes, garlic and onion paste, soy sauce, cilantro and rice — yes, lomo saltado is what Peruvians miss most when not in Peru.
That’s understandable. This smoky-flavored dish presents the perfect combination of colors and flavors, a little kick from the yellow aji chiles balanced out by the sweetness and acidity from tomatoes. And, like nearly every dish in Peru, it always comes with French fries — sometimes an architectural stack of fries carefully placed one by one.
Lomo saltado can be tricky to make, according to Virgilio Martinez, the visionary behind restaurants Senzo (right) in Cusco and Lima in London, along with Central, one of Lima’s top tables. “You need quality meat, high heat, the right quantity of soy sauce and cilantro, the best fresh ingredients, the right smokiness and vegetables not overcooked,” says Martinez. “If you’re not focused, you can ruin the dish.”
The name of the dish means “jumping beef” because the meat literally jumps while being stir-fried. But the origins of lomo saltado are not so clear. Immigrants from Japan, Spain, Africa and China have left their influences on Peruvian cooking, but the Chinese who came to Peru as indentured servants in the mid-19th century are generally given credit for the dish. Yet Professor Rodolfo Tafur — a trained chef, gastronomic historian and chair of gastronomy at two universities in Peru — disagrees. “These stories are urban legends. I like to think that lomo saltado resulted from the imagination of a Peruvian who realized that using high heat for sautéing seasoned meat strips awoke indescribable aroma.”
Peruvian gastronomy is like a balancing act, adds Tafur. “In the Incan Empire, duality was a constant…male and female were complementary. So to this day, all Peruvian dishes contain something that grows above ground (male) and something that grows underground (female)… [so] lomo saltado has potatoes and aji.”
I tried lomo saltado for the first time recently while living in Cusco. I’m not a big meat eater, but I even signed up for a cooking demonstration at Senzo (Plaza Nazarenas 144) in the heart of Cusco’s UNESCO World Heritage Site district. The restaurant sits inside the walls of Orient-Express’ Palacio Nazarenas hotel, a former 16th-century Carmelite convent.
There I learned how this comfort food comes together. With the ingredients already prepped, Mendez heated up the oil, dropped in the meat, which he stir-fried and flambéed, before removing it from the wok. He then sautéed red onions until the edges soften, then added the soy sauce, vinegar, aji amarillo, tomatoes and cilantro. After stirring in the meat, it was ready to be plated.
Lomo saltado is all over Cusco, but it’s not always on the menu; just ask. Here are some of my favorites:
Inside the courtyard of a Colonial home, Pachapapa (Plaza San Blas 120) specializes in traditional Peruvian dishes including a great lomo saltado ($15). It’s made with beef, tomatoes and onions from the owner’s farm in the Sacred Valley, and one non-traditional ingredient, peppermint leaves, often served in a cobbled courtyard.
Built on an old Incan site, Casa Cartagena Hotel (Pumacurco 336) has a lovely small restaurant, La Bodega de la Chola, that was a favored hangout for artistic types, including poet Pablo Neruda. This romantic bistro is a lovely spot for a candlelight dinner of lomo saltado ($17.50) with a twist (the addition of vanilla and smoked chili lime).
Two blocks from Cusco’s Plaza de Armas, Chicha (Plaza Regocijo 261, second floor) reinvents lomo saltado ($18), adding rocoto pepper to the stir fry and two sunny-side-up eggs on top — exactly what you’d expect from Peru’s most innovative chef (and national hero), Gastón Acurio.
Facing the 16th century Basilica and Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Tupananchis (Portal Mantas 180) is known for great lomo saltado ($13). The dish is not on the menu, so ask, and is flavored with Cusqueña beer and fries dusted with dried oregano.
Aranwa Hotel Cusco (San Juan de Dios 255), in a 16th-century Colonial mansion not far from Plaza de Armas, calls its restaurant Mishti (“mixed race”). The art, antiques and menu are a nod to both the Incas and Peru’s melting pot of other cultures. Dine on lomo saltado made with tenderloin or alpaca ($18) flavored by pisco, in the courtyard or dining room.
WHERE TO SLEEP
- Casa Cartagena has restored Incan walls and remnants of Colonial frescoes, 16 suites with Italian furnishings (from $337, casacartagena.com).
- Palacio Nazarenas has 55 suites, the Hypnôze Spa, and Senzo restaurant (from $885, orient-express.com).
- The year-old JW Marriott Cusco is a 153-room hotel sporting a Peruvian resto (lomo saltado, $18), bar and spa (from $265, jwmarriottcusco.com)