The Happy Home Cook: Two Bistek Recipes
/The Happy Home Cook features cherished recipes of Filipino dishes from well-known foodies and contributors. If you have a recipe that you are proud of and would like to share, please send it along with a photo of the dish, your two-sentence bio and your picture to submissions@positivelyfilipino.com.
Bistek Tagalog
Beef Steak with Onions
From Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine, 2nd edition.
Bistek Tagalog
This sounds like pidgin for “beef steak”; in fact, it is nothing more than the Filipino spelling of the Spanish word “bistec,” similar to the Italian “bistecca” which preceded it as adaptations from English. Bistek Tagalog is one of the favorite Filipino ways to cook beef, combining two flavors that Filipinos love – salty soy sauce and sour calamansi juice.
Ingredients
Serves 4
500 g beef tenderloin (lomo) or sirloin (tagiliran)
3 or 240 g white onions
1 tsp or 3 g black peppercorns
1/2 cup or 120 ml soy sauce
2 tbsp or 30 ml juice of calamansi, lemon or lime
3 tbsp or 45 ml oil
1 tbsp flour
Preparation
Cut beef into 8 x 5 x ½ cm or 3 x 2 x ¼-inch thick steaks.
2. Peel and cut the onions into ½-cm or ¼-inch thick rings.
Crack the black peppercorns.
4. In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, pepper and calamansi juice.
Cooking
Heat pan and add oil.
Saute onions until translucent. Set aside.
Dust each piece of meat lightly with the flour.
Sear each steak over high heat on both sides according to desired doneness. Set aside.
Just when ready to serve
Heat the same pan. Return the meat and onions.
Immediately pour the marinade. Bring to a boil and remove right away from the heat. Plate immediately and serve hot.
Serving Suggestion
Serve the beef in its sauce with the onion rings arranged on top.
Tips
One way to make this dish really delicious is to lessen the soy sauce by one tablespoon and replace with a tablespoon of salt.
The onion slices are a key element of this dish. White onions are best, as they are milder. Cook the onions just until they start to turn translucent to retain their crunch and release their sweetness.
The meat is sometimes marinated which could make it tough. Beef should be cooked in small portions in a hot pan to avoid releasing liquid which makes the meat tough.
The traditional cut for bistek is the tapa (cured beef) cut. The tapa cut is usually tough, non-prime meat, and requires pounding and long simmering. Even selections like top and bottom round, though less tough, might also be pounded with a wooden mallet with diamond teeth, or by having a butcher pass the meat through a meat tenderizer machine.
The choice cut for bistek is sirloin. For luxurious marbling, choose rib-eye.
Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine, expanded 2nd edition. Michaela Fenix, ed. (Manila: Anvil Publishing Inc. 2013)
Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine
Vegan Bistek
By Richgail Enriquez
Reposted from: Astig Vegan: http://www.astigvegan.com/vegan-bistek-recipe/
Vegan Bistek (Photo by Richgail Enriquez)
Bistek is a savory Filipino dish usually with beef, soy sauce, citrus, pepper, and onion. I veganized it by using portobello mushrooms, tofu, and potatoes. Bistek is similar to a Filipino Adobo, except Bistek has fewer seasoning. No fuss, just a simple, satisfying dish for any time of day.
My version has no meat and no animal products. It’s best enjoyed with a side of rice, but you may also eat it with bread, tortilla, pita bread. Whatever carbs or gluten-free option you prefer.
Ingredients
frying oil (I suggest mixture of Canola and Olive oil)
1/2 bowl of sliced potatoes (sliced like potato crisps)
8 pieces of portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/2 bowl of onion rings (I’m describing how it should be sliced, and not referring to the fried appetizer!)
3-4 teaspoons of soy sauce (adjust to taste)
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste (I suggest apply liberally)
Procedure
Add oil to skillet and fry the potatoes until crisp
Remove the potatoes and season them with salt and pepper and lemon
Add the mushroom to the skillet, when tender, add salt, pepper and lemon to taste
Add the onions
When onions and mushrooms are tender, put back the potatoes
Add the soy sauce
Mix the ingredients until flavors blend , adjust the seasoning accordingly
YOU’RE DONE!
*It’s better to season the potatoes and mushrooms separately before combining them so the flavors are more apparent.
More Pinoy Vegan recipes on astigvegan.com
