Dispatches from Maido Restaurante, Lima, Peru

When I realized I was going to be able to spend a few days in the food mecca that is Lima, Peru the first reservation I tried to snag was at Maido in the Miraflores neighborhood. Central Restaurante gets much of the acclaim (see the Netflix documentary series 'Chef's Table') for pushing Lima to the forefront of the global food conversation, but Maido is perhaps a better representation of the culinary melting pot that is Peruvian cooking. Technically a Nikkei restaurant, Chef Mitsuharu blends the best of Peru, potatoes, seafood, corn, beef...  into a multicultural menu that I couldn't get enough of (believe me I tried, we were the last to leave and shut the restaurant down during our visit). The most memorable of the 10-15 dishes we sampled was the '50-hour braised beef'. My seven-year-old ate most of it, so I did a little recreating to come up with their process. It's not as long and is still a work in progress, but it's a start. Enjoy!

Recipe Card for Item: Chile-Glazed Beef Shortribs

Quantity Produced:  Serves 8 as an entree

Ingredients:

Boneless Beef Shortribs, Trimmed   5+ #
Flour 2 Cups (for dusting)
Soy Sauce 1 Cup
Beer 1 Cup
Water 1 Cup

Baby Bok Choy, cut in ½ lengthwise 8

Sweet Chile Sauce 2 Cup (See Recipe)
Braising Liquid As Needed

Crisp Pan Fried Noodles See Recipe
Scallions, Julienned 2 ea.

Preparation Procedure:  Preheat Oven to 375˚.
In large dutch oven, brown dusted beef in hot oil 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from pot and set aside on sheet pan. Brown remaining beef. Return beef to pot and add braising sauce, bring to a boil. When boiling, turn off heat, making sure beef is nearly immersed in liquid. Cover and bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours, checking periodically to baste with braising liquid. When finished cooking, carefully remove beef from pot onto a sheetpan, it will be very tender. Strain braising liquid and set aside. Drizzle Sweet Chile Sauce over each short rib and place in the oven. Bake until chile sauce glazed the beef, about 10 minutes. While beef is back in the oven, heat a large skillet, sauté bok choy in a small amount of oil. Transfer to platter and top with glazed beef. As needed add additional chile sauce (thinned with braising liquid) to the sheet pan on which the beef was glazed. Serve with crispy pan fried noodles. Garnish with sliced scallions.




Recipe Card for Item: Sweet Chile Sauce

Quantity Produced:  Makes 2 Cups

Chile Paste/Sambal Oelek 3 Tablespoons
Garlic, Minced 3 Large Cloves
Rice Wine Vinegar ½ Cup
Water 1/3 Cup
Sugar 2/3 Cup
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Cornstarch 1 Tablespoon dissolved in 1/3 cup water
Lime Juice 1 Lime
Cilantro, Stemmed/Chopped 4 Tablespoons

Preparation Procedure-

Combine everything, except cilantro, in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thickens. Cool completely and add cilantro. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.