Bistek Tagalog

Bistek Tagalog is a Philippine dish typically made with onions and strips of sirloin beef slowly cooked in soy sauce, and calamansi juice.  Bistek is considered one of the Philippines’ “national” foods. This is a nice, hearty dish for beef lovers that goes very well with boiled or steamed white rice. Great for a sit-down meal with friends and family.

(Source:  Wikipedia)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pound of thinly cut steaks
  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced into rings (preferred)
  • ¼ cup soy sauce (Philippine brand preferred)
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a skillet, cook the steaks over medium-high heat. If you’re using thinner steaks, this should only take a few minutes. After the steaks are cooked, remove from skillet and set aside.
  2. Add the yellow onion slices to the pan and cook until golden brown.
  3. Add the soy sauce to the skillet with the onions; reduce heat to medium-low and saute for about a minute to make a sauce. If the sauce is too strong, add a little vinegar/or water to dilute it.  When the sauce is ready, top it with the steaks.  Saute for about one minute; add the lemon juice.  Cook for another minute.
  4. Serve with steamed rice.

Variations:

You can add thinly sliced potatoes (before step 2 above); saute potatoes until cooked/golden brown;  If you are a garlic lover, you can add about 2 cloves, sliced garlic, along with the onions and continue with step #2 above.