Peru's most beloved dish — a stir-fry of beef tenderloin with tomatoes, red onion, and yellow chilli, finished with soy sauce. A living example of chifa (Chinese-Peruvian) cooking.
Serves 4 peoplePrep 20 minCook 15 min
What you'll need
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Equipment
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Ingredients & method
Ingredients
- 500 g beef tenderloin (lomo), cut into 1.5 cm strips
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large red onion, cut into wedges
- 3 plum tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 2 ají amarillo chillies (or 1 tbsp ají amarillo paste)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- Fresh coriander to serve
- Chips (French fries) and steamed white rice to serve
Method
- 1Marinate the beef strips in half the soy sauce, the vinegar, and cumin for 10 minutes.
- 2Heat a wok or large frying pan over the highest heat until smoking. Add 2 tbsp oil and sear the beef in a single layer for 90 seconds — do not stir. Toss once and cook 30 more seconds. Remove.
- 3Add remaining oil to the wok. Stir-fry garlic and ají amarillo for 30 seconds. Add onion wedges and toss over high heat for 2 minutes until slightly softened but still with bite.
- 4Add tomatoes and the remaining soy sauce. Toss 1 minute. Return the beef, toss everything together, and cook 30 seconds more.
- 5Serve immediately over hot chips and white rice, scattered with coriander. The chips go under the stir-fry — not on the side.
Chef's tip
The signature flavour comes from cooking over extremely high heat so the ingredients char slightly — a domestic burner struggles, so heat the pan for a full 3 minutes before adding anything.