What is Lomo Saltado?

Beef flash-fried in a smoking wok with soy, vinegar, tomatoes, and fries — Lima's Chinese-Peruvian icon.

Where does Lomo Saltado come from?

Lomo Saltado is a Peruvian (Chifa) dish from Lima, Peru.

Can Lomo Saltado be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Lomo Saltado recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Lomo Saltado take to make?

About 35 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 3.

Recipe

Name: Lomo Saltado
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Peruvian (Chifa)
Ingredients: 1 lb beef sirloin, cut in thick strips; 1 red onion, thick wedges; 3 roma tomatoes, wedges; 1 (or 1 tbsp) ají amarillo, sliced (or yellow chili paste); 3 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 3 cups thick-cut fries, hot; 1 handful cilantro, chopped; 3 cups cooked white rice

South America → 🇵🇪 Peru → Lima

Lomo Saltado

Peruvian (Chifa) · easy · serves 3

prep 20 min · cook 15 min

~1103 cal · 57g protein · 172g carbs · 17g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Wok-seared beef with tomatoes, onions, and fries over rice

🇵🇪 Lima

When Cantonese immigrants opened Lima's first chifa restaurants in the late 1800s, wok fire met the Andean pantry and lomo saltado was born. It is Peru on one plate: stir-fry technique, criollo beef, ají chilies, and the audacity of putting french fries in the stir-fry.

Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 3 —

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1 lb beef sirloin, cut in thick strips

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1 red onion, thick wedges

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3 roma tomatoes, wedges

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1 (or 1 tbsp) ají amarillo, sliced (or yellow chili paste)

•

3 tbsp soy sauce

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2 tbsp red wine vinegar

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3 cloves garlic, minced

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3 cups thick-cut fries, hot

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1 handful cilantro, chopped

•

3 cups cooked white rice

Instructions

Get your fries hot and ready first — oven fries work fine.

Heat a wok until smoking. Sear the beef (or portobellos) in batches, 1–2 minutes, so it chars instead of steams. Remove.

Stir-fry the onion 1 minute, then garlic and ají. Return the beef with the tomatoes.

Splash the soy and vinegar down the hot sides of the wok so they sizzle and smoke. Toss 30 seconds — tomatoes should stay intact.

Fold in the fries and cilantro. Serve immediately with rice, the way every chifa in Lima does.

Lima chifa tradition.

Ratings & reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.

🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Lima. The capital where Andean and Asian cooking fused into something new.

🗺️

Peru. Coast, mountain, and jungle — plus a wave of Japanese and Chinese influence.

🌍

South America. Andes, Amazon, and Atlantic all on one plate.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →