Vegan Peruvian Lomo Saltado

More than three years ago, I mentioned that there were some Peruvian recipes in Bryanna Clark Grogan's World Vegan Feast that I wanted to try. Let's just say that life got a little bit hectic between then and now.

In any event, we have some Peruvian friends who work with me at Earlham and we have a night of dinner and games with them. Last month, I told them that I wanted to try cooking a vegan version of a popular dish in Peru called lomo saltado. According to Robertson, this dish is an example of a fusion between Chinese and Peruvian cuisine and has become an incredibly popular dish all over the country. Our friends agreed.

When we first decided to make lomo saltado, I was a bit perplexed by the variety of flavors that I saw in the dish. Traditional to Peruvian cuisine, potatoes play a role, as does steak (for which strips of seitan substitute wonderfully), vinegar, lime juice, oregano, and cumin. Traditional to Chinese cuisine, we have the stir-fry technique, along with soy sauce and rice. I was skeptical until I took my first bite, wherein I discovered what a wonderful and flavorful fusion these two traditions created! Our Peruvian friends thought it was delicious, too! Shana and I decided to have it again this week, which is why I'm sharing it with you.

Vegan Peruvian Lomo Saltado
Slightly adapted from Robertson's recipe on page 138 of World Vegan Feast.

Ingredients
1 lb. yukon gold potatoes (about three large-ish ones)
12 oz. seitan, cut into large match sticks
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1-2 bell peppers, any color, seeded and sliced into strips
3 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. lime juice
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano

Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
1. Cut the potatoes into large match stick pieces.
2. Lay the potatoes on a lightly greased baking sheet or a silicone baking sheet, then spray them lightly with oil.
3. Cook the potatoes in the oven for 10 minutes, then turn them over and cook them for another 10 minutes. When done, remove them from the oven and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, start rice if you plan to eat it and mix the balsamic, soy sauce, lime juice, cumin, and oregano in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, then set aside.
5. Pour a bit of oil into a wok over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the seitan strips and stir fry until brown on a couple of sides. Remove the seitan and set aside.
6. Add the onion to the wok and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
7. Add the pepper strips and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
8. Add the garlic and jalapeno and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
9. Add the potatoes, seitan, and sauce (shake it before you add it!), and stir fry until a little bit of the sauce has boiled off, which should take about a minute.
10. Serve next to rice.

Helpful Hints

• Although the potatoes take a while in the oven, once they are done and everything is cut, this is a pretty quick dinner! Unfortunately, I don't think that the potatoes would keep well, so everything must be done at dinner time. 
• 12 ounces of seitan is usually about 2/5 of the cooked loaf when I make it at home. This leaves enough left of the load for something like stroganoff (which is what we did this week), seitan au jus, Irish stew, or any other number of things. 

The post "Vegan Peruvian Lomo Saltado" originally appeared on Maggie's LesVegan Kitchen.