Lomo Saltado – Recreating the flavors of Peru at home

In many of our articles we talk about the sensory link between food and travel. To experience a sense of place and the history and culture of a region, food is one of the first things we look to. The aromas, the textures, the spices, and flavors all speak about a place almost as much as the local people, the architecture, the music, and the surroundings. Great food also tantalizes all of the senses; sight, smell, sound, feel, and taste.

For many years on this site we have shared our travel experiences through food; often times we’ve shared recipes in our articles that were inspired by our travels or those created by chefs we’ve interviewed. Other times we’ve highlighted special dining experiences and mentioned particular dishes that were worth the trip, no matter how far from home we traveled to try them.

When we were asked by Trip Advisor to partner with them to talk about finding the best dining experiences when traveling and to post a recipe that was inspired by our travels, it was the perfect fit. With our focus on culinary travel, we frequently use Trip Advisor as a reference guide for finding the best hotels and restaurants when planning our travels. We will also refer to the Trip Advisor app on my iPhone when we’re looking for a restaurant while walking around a new and unfamiliar city or driving through a place we’ve never been before. In particular, I search out the Travelers’ Choice award winners and the places that have received a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor.

Years ago there were several reliable sources I referred to when planning a trip or dining out. You can probably guess a few of them (guide books or online sites such as Fodor’s, Lonely Planet, Eyewitness, and several luxury hotel sites), but times have certainly changed.

Now there are new online options for seeking out the best in places to stay, dine, and visit and there are reviews for everything (including historic attractions and tours) as all travelers have places to voice their opinions. It’s not just trained independent reviewers and critics who are writing reviews; guests and diners who are visiting the hotels, restaurants, and attractions are sharing their honest opinions about their overall experience, the food, the atmosphere, and the service. Many of them are seasoned travelers. This is why Trip Advisor has become so popular; it’s a source of trusted reviews that are current.

Many hotels and restaurants now proudly display Trip Advisor’s Certificate of Excellence and Travelers’ Choice awards status just as they would recognition from Forbes Travel Guide, Condé Nast Traveler, or AAA Four or Five Diamond Award plaques.

One of the many Certificate of Excellence restaurants where we have dined is La Mar by Gastón Acurio at Mandarin Oriental, Miami and their executive chef, Diego Oka, is one of the most talented young chefs we’ve met. You can read more about Chef Oka in this article. His exciting flavors are inspired by his Japanese heritage and Peruvian roots and both he and La Mar have received impressive accolades, press, and awards in addition to the outstanding reviews on Trip Advisor.

We’ve been fortunate to experience Chef Oka’s flavors on two other occasions in different settings and he has inspired us to learn more about Peruvian cuisine. In fact, we recently received a copy of Peru, by Gastón Acurio, and have been looking forward to working through the book. So, when we were contacted a couple of weeks ago with an invitation to cook with Chef Oka via a virtual cooking demonstration, Taste of Peru Live, I of course, said yes. It was a great opportunity to learn cooking tips, watch and listen, cook along with Chef Oka, and create his memorable dishes in our own home, while experiencing the flavors and dishes from our travels.

This recipe for Lomo Saltado, one of the dishes we prepared on the virtual cooking demonstration, is a classic Peruvian stir fry made with beef, tomatoes, and onions, and is served with rice mixed with Choclo (Peruvian corn) and homemade fried potato wedges. Chef Oka uses sliced tenderloin for the meat.  Unlike some other recipes I have seen for this dish, he uses a combination of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and vinegar for the sauce.  Many recipes I viewed online for Lomo Saltado call for just soy sauce or soy sauce and vinegar, but the oyster sauce adds in another layer of intensity and gives, what Chef Oka says, is more authentic flavor to the dish.

It’s exciting to be inspired by travel and extraordinary dining experiences. Taking those dishes and bringing them home to your own kitchen reinforces the aromas and flavors that take you back to a special place and time. I was familiar with some Peruvian recipes and ingredients from working on Southern Heat, our cookbook with Chef Anthony Lamas, but have added to my Latin repertoire through our travels and working with Chef Oka.

We encourage everyone who enjoys great food and drink to seek out the best restaurants you can find (and that doesn’t always mean the most expensive), no matter if you’re at home, on the road, or in faraway places. Create food memories and travel back to some of your favorite destinations by preparing these memorable dishes at home in your own kitchen.

* Note – These images and the top photograph of Lomo Saltado are courtesy of Mandarin Oriental, Miami.

Disclosure – We were offered a payment for this collaborative effort with Trip Advisor and will be donating that amount to Open Hands Atlanta.  We partnered with Trip Advisor because it is a site that we use often when planning our travels.

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