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1
Cook the rice and potatoes
20 mins
Low heat for the rice; boiling water, 100°C (212°F), for the potatoes
Rinse 180 g rice until the water runs clear, then cook it in 360 ml lightly salted water: bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, then rest off the heat for 5 minutes and fluff with a fork. Meanwhile, boil 360 g potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes until just tender, drain, peel and slice into thick rounds.
Do not lift the rice lid while it simmers — the steam finishes the cooking. Slightly undercook the potatoes; they fry golden afterwards.
Done when: Rice fluffy and separate; potatoes tender but still holding their shape when sliced.
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2
Pound the steaks thin and bread them
10 mins
Room temperature
Lay each thin beef steak between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound it with the flat side of a meat mallet until it is 2–3 mm thick and has spread wide. Season both sides with 10 g crushed garlic, 2 g cumin, salt and 2 g pepper, then dust lightly with 30 g flour, dip in the 2 beaten eggs and press into 60 g breadcrumbs on both sides.
Pound gently from the centre outwards. A torn steak is not ruined — press the edges back together before breading and the crumbs will seal it.
Done when: Steaks thin and wide, evenly coated with crumbs on both sides.
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3
Fry the steaks crisp and the potatoes golden
10 mins
Medium-high heat, oil about 180°C (350°F)
Heat half the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers, about 180°C (350°F). Fry the steaks one at a time for about 2 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp — the beef inside must reach 71°C (160°F). Drain briefly on paper towels. Then fry the potato rounds in the same pan for 2–3 minutes per side until golden.
If the crumbs brown too fast, lower the heat a little; the steak is so thin that it needs only minutes per side.
Done when: Steaks deep golden and crisp with no pink inside; potato rounds golden at the edges.
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4
Fry the eggs and mix the salsa
5 mins
Medium heat, about 170°C (340°F)
In the same pan, fry 4 eggs sunny-side up in the remaining oil for 2–3 minutes, until the whites are fully set but the yolks are still soft. Meanwhile, mix 200 g diced tomato, 100 g diced red onion, 40 g diced locoto and 10 g chopped parsley with a pinch of salt for the fresh salsa.
Cover the pan for the last minute so the tops of the whites set without flipping the eggs.
Done when: Egg whites fully set, yolks still soft and runny; salsa bright and freshly mixed.
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5
Build the sandwich
5 mins
Serve hot
Split each roll and lay it open. On the bottom half, spoon a bed of rice, arrange the fried potato rounds, lay one crisp steak over them, crown it with a fried egg and spoon the fresh salsa over the top. Close the roll, press down gently so the layers settle, and serve at once, while the steak is still crisp.
Build in this order — rice, potato, steak, egg, salsa — so the steak stays crisp on top instead of steaming under the rice, and wrap the sandwich in paper for the first bites.
Done when: A tall, full roll with rice, potato, crisp steak, egg and salsa visible from the side.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the trancapecho hot, wrapped in a square of paper — it holds the tall sandwich together and catches the yolk and salsa. Eat it straight away: a trancapecho waits for no one, and the roll softens fast once the hot fillings settle.
Bolivia
2h 25m
