Bistek - Filipino Beef Steak

Bistek is a Philippine dish typically made with onions and strips of sirloin beef slowly cooked in soy sauce, and calamansi juice. It is best prepared by marinating the meat first in the mixture of soy sauce or calamansi juice. The meat is then browned in vegetable oil (usually coconut oil) and the marinade added back in when the meat has seared. Onion rings are optionally added near the end as a garnish. The word "bistek" is the assimilated form of the word "beef steak."

Yield:

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1. 3/4 lb tenderized beef cube steak
2. juice of 1/2 lemon
3. 1 yellow onion, sliced to look like onion rings
4. 2 tbsp soy sauce
5. ground pepper
6. 1/2 tsp cornstarch (or flour) dissolved in 1/2 cup water
7. 1 yellow onion (or half if you’re skipping the optional sprouts)
8. 1 tbsp olive oil, for frying
9. 2 handfuls of bean sprouts (optional)

Directions

1. In medium heat, sauté the onion slices in a tablespoon of oil until it becomes translucent but still holds its shape. Remove them from the pan into a separate bowl.
2. Cook the beef in the remaining oil. Drizzle lemon juice on top. Add pepper and kosher salt. This takes about 5-7 minutes depending on the cut and thickness of the meat you have.
3. Allow the meat to cook for 2 minutes with the soy sauce added.
4. Pour the cornstarch dissolved in water and wait for it to simmer and thicken. [Note: The cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce. You can skip it if you prefer.]
5. Toss a third of the onions fried earlier (or ½ if you skip the optional step #7) and mix with the meat for another couple of minutes before turning off the heat.
6. Plate in a dish with top with remaining fried onion rings for garnish.
7. In the same pan, add 1/3 of the onion slices and sauté with the bean sprouts for 5 minutes. You can add salt and pepper if you like, but I find that the remaining flavors in the pan is just right.

Notes

Another variation are the fried potatoes cut like thick chips or in chunks, and use that to top the dish (or mix with it).