Dukan Pollo Saltado

RECIPE RATING:
HE SAID: Tastes great, but could do without the onions and tomatoes
SHE SAID: One of my favorite dishes, but still can't get it exactly like El Pollo Inka!

Pollo Saltado

A couple of years ago we were in San Francisco and had lunch at Fresca, a Peruvian restaurant (the West Portal location).  The food was great...very tasty, but not as yummy as El Pollo Inka in the Los Angeles area.  One of the dishes we always order at any Peruvian restaurant we try is the Saltado (either pollo - chicken or lomo - beef and we've seen shrimp too).

The dish is usually made with french fries, but subtract the fries and the rice they usually serve it with and you've got a Dukan qualified dish!  We feel the same about Peruvian and Thai food...both cuisines are bursting with flavor.

Today we made some Pollo Saltado with dried aji amarillo peppers (we usually use the frozen ones) but we actually found these dried ones in a local health food store here.  We didn't really care for them...they were ok, but we think the frozen whole ones are better.  We haven't tried the paste form yet.  Don't leave the aji amarillos out, these really make the dish.

RECIPE:
Serves 2-3
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes or less (depends on if you make chicken or beef)

3/4 lb. chicken breast tenderloin (skinless, from Costco), cut into bite size pieces
1/2 red onion, sliced in thin(ish) strips lengthwise
1 small tomato, sliced in thin(ish) strips, remove seeds
2 aji amarillo peppers (1 if you prefer less heat), remove seeds and slice into strips
1-2 T. cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 - 1 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Use a stir fry pan or wok, spray a little olive oil non stick spray and stir fry chicken on high heat.  Do not overcook.  Add onions to pan, stir fry for about one minute, then add the tomatoes, cilantro (reserve some for garnish), aji amarillo, vinegar, cumin and shoyu.  Stir fry until tomatoes start to soften.   Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!