Filipino Beef Steak or Bistek

JMigs;0)'s Note:

I am posting this here so I don't lose it! This is the first time I got this right - at least the way my MIL and her family makes it. (Note the measurements are still altered by taste: too sour, more soysauce; too salty, more calamansi juice). If you don't have calamansi (a native small lemon that's sweet and sour at the same time), you can try using meyer lemons. Typically my inlaws use london broil, but you can use any cut. One of the methods used to tenderize the tough cut (yet cheap) cut of meat is to pound it. Another hint on handling the meat: Before you slice it, stick it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes so that it is easier to slice thinly.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 lb beef round steak or 1 lb beef sirloin or 1 lb beef tenderloin , sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 8 tablespoons kalamansi juice (native lemon)
• ½ cup dark soy sauce (regular kikkoman's)
• freshly-ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic , minced
• 2 large onions , cut into rings
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• water

Directions:

1. In a nonreactive bowl (non-metal), mix kalamansi juice, soy sauce, and garlic. Taste it, if it's too sour, add soy sauce; if it's too salty, add more juice. Balance out the flavors. Remember you can also adjust near the end of cooking the beef.
2. Cut up the beef into about 1/4" strips. Pound it with a meat tenderizer (optional).
3. Season the meat with gound pepper. Add meat to soy sauce mixture and stir to let it soak up the marinade evenly. Let sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes.
4. Heat a (non-reactive) skillet. Add one tablespoon of oil. Stir fry the onion rings until translucent and a tiny bit brown on the edges but still with a bit of a crunch. Remove from skillet and set aside.
5. In the same pan, heat one tablespoon of oil. Pan-fry the beef working in batches, remove after browning on both sides. When all the beef has been browned, pour the marinade into the skillet and bring to a slow boil and simmer for a few minutes or until cooked through. Adjust the sauce with more soy sauce or juice, or some water, to suit your taste. After adding soy sauce always let it cook a little.
6. Slide the beef slices onto a serving plate, arrange the onion rings on top. Make sure to pour all the rest of the cooking liquid on top (this is great on rice).
7. The leftovers freeze well.

Reviews

[Two of a Kind]

This recipe was a huge hit for a large Filipino gathering. I used lemons since I couldn't find Kalamasi in my area. I also marinated the beef overnight to have one less thing to do on party day. We'll definitely make this recipe again.

[NoviceChefMe]

This recipe was great! I am not Filipino, but my husband is and I try hard to learn as many of the Filipino dishes as I can. I actually had to improvise a lot and use lemon juice, but it still turned out wonderful! We live in a rather small town and finding kalamansi juice proved to be very difficult! It also turned out that pounding the meat wasn't really necessaryif you pick a nice and tender cut of beef. I tried this recipe 2 times so far and it has yet to fail me! We both absolutely love it!