Pisco-Flambéed Tenderloin Lomo Saltado with Double-Fried Potatoes
Lima-restaurant style: tenderloin seared hard in a smoking wok, flamed with pisco, glazed with stock and oyster sauce, with double-fried potatoes that stay crisp.
Method
Cut the tenderloin against the grain into strips 1.5 cm thick and 6 cm long, season with salt, pepper and cumin, and leave out of the fridge for 20 minutes (if the center is fridge-cold, the outside burns before the inside warms). Mince the garlic, grate the ginger and cut the scallions into 4 cm lengths. Cut the onion and tomatoes into 8 wedges and seed the tomatoes. Mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar and stock in a small bowl. Cut the potatoes into 1 cm sticks, soak in cold water for 10 minutes to rinse off starch and dry them perfectly.
Add in this stepBeef tenderloin (or sirloin) 360 gSalt (for the beef) 3 pinchFreshly ground black pepper 2 pinchGround cumin ½ tspSoy sauce 1½ tbspOyster sauce 1 tspRed wine vinegar 1 tbspBeef stock 50 ml
First fry: heat the oil in a deep 24 cm pot over medium heat for to 140 °C. Fry the potatoes in 1 batch(es), per batch, until soft enough for a knife to slide in but with no color. Lift onto a rack.
Add in this stepOil for deep-frying 1 LWaxy yellow potatoes 440 g
medium heatSecond fry: raise the heat to high heat and bring the oil to 185 °C over . Fry the potatoes again in the same batches, per batch, until deep golden and crisp. Drain and sprinkle with flaky salt at once.
Add in this stepFlaky salt 2 pinch
high heatHeat 1 tbsp peanut oil in a wok over high heat until it is clearly smoking. Lay the beef in a single layer and sear in 1 batch(es), per batch: leave it untouched for the first minute to build a dark crust, then flip briefly. Take it out medium-rare.
Add in this stepPeanut oil for stir-frying 1½ tbsp
high heatAdd the rest of the oil and, over high heat, stir-fry the garlic, ginger and ají amarillo for 10 seconds. Add the onion and stir-fry for until the edges char. Add the tomatoes and the white parts of the scallions and stir-fry for only .
Add in this stepPeanut oil for stir-frying 1 tbspGarlic cloves 2Fresh ginger, grated 1 tspAjí amarillo paste 1½ tspRed onion 150 gFirm tomatoes 1½Scallions 1
high heatReturn the beef and its juices, take the wok off the heat and pour in the pisco. Put the wok back over high heat and tilt it slightly so the flame catches (on an electric hob, light it with a long lighter). Shake for until the flames die out on their own, then pour the sauce around the edge and toss for until glossy and slightly reduced. Turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro and scallion greens.
Add in this stepPisco (Peruvian grape brandy; or brandy) 2 tbspCilantro, chopped 2 tbspScallions 1
high heatMold the rice in a ring or cup, spoon the lomo saltado and sauce beside it, and stack the double-fried potatoes separately so the sauce does not touch them. Dip them into the sauce as you eat so they stay crisp to the last bite.
Add in this stepFreshly cooked white rice 300 g
Cook's tip
Double frying is the restaurant method: the first fry cooks the inside, the second makes the crust. You can freeze the potatoes after the first fry and do the second fry straight from frozen the next day. If flambéing makes you nervous, add the pisco and simply boil it for 30 seconds without lighting it; the flavor is almost the same.
Cooking it at camp
Skip both deep-frying and flambéing at a campsite. Do the first fry at home, freeze the potatoes, and crisp them in plenty of oil in a cast-iron skillet. Add the pisco after the beef goes back in and just let it bubble for 30 seconds unlit. A strong burner and a cast-iron wok still give plenty of smoky flavor.