Recipes For Bistek

BISTEK

Steps:

• Prepare the steaks: Trim and discard any excess fat to your liking. Halve each steak horizontally into two thin steaks, then cut each into 5 or 6 pieces. You want the pieces to be nonuniform, roughly chopped rectangles and triangles. The important thing is that they're all an even thickness. Set aside.
• In a large, lidded skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium. Add the bay leaves, pressing to flatten, and cook until toasted at edges, turning halfway through, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer bay leaves to a plate. Add the smashed garlic cloves and sear over medium-high, flipping frequently, until golden on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the bay leaves.
• Add the onion rounds, keeping them intact, season with salt, and cook, undisturbed, just until the onions start just begin to lightly brown underneath, about 2 minutes. Flip rounds, add 2 tablespoons water, cover with lid and quickly steam, 2 minutes. Remove lid and cook until onions are crisp-tender and liquid is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Transfer onions to plate.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet and heat over medium-high until ripping hot. Season beef all over with salt and pepper. Working quickly and in batches to avoid crowding, sear beef until caramelized and golden brown (like mini steaks!) but not fully cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side for medium or medium-rare. Transfer to a platter and repeat with remaining meat. Arrange meat in an even layer on the platter.
• Add the butter to the skillet and cook over medium-high, swirling the pan, until browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, orange juice and soy sauce and cook, stirring frequently, until glossy and slightly looser than maple syrup, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Drizzle pan sauce over steak. Top with onions and garlic and tuck bay leaves into dish. Serve immediately.

BISTEK TAGALOG (FILIPINO BEEF STEAK)

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine beef, lemon juice, soy sauce, sliced onions, garlic, and pepper. Massage marinade into the meat and marinate for about 30 minutes.
• Remove meat, onions, and garlic from marinade, squeezing and reserving excess liquid.
• In a pan over high heat, heat oil. Add beef and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Spoon out and reserve released meat juices during frying. Remove meat.
• In the pan, add onions and garlic, and cook, stirring regularly, until softened. Return browned beef to pan.
• Add reserved marinade and meat juices. Add water and bring to a boil.
• Cover, lower heat, and simmer for about 40 to 50 minutes or until meat is fork-tender and liquid is reduced. Season with salt to taste.
• Turn off heat. Garnish with onion rings, if desired, and cover to allow onions to cook slightly in the steam. Serve hot.

BISTEK TAGALOG

Steps:

• Combine soy sauce, calamansi juice (or lemon and orange juices) and garlic in a medium bowl. Add beef and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onion to a bowl.
• Remove the beef from the marinade (reserve the marinade) and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until no longer red, about 2 minutes. Add the reserved marinade and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking until the liquid has reduced by half, about 20 minutes more. Stir in the cooked onion and season with pepper to taste. Serve hot, over rice if desired.

BISTEK (FILIPINO BEEF STEAK)

Steps:

• Combine soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, sugar, fish sauce, and pepper in a bowl. Taste and adjust to your liking. Add sliced beef, making sure it is coated evenly. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or pan over medium-high heat. Fry potatoes in the hot oil until the edges turn golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Heat remaining oil in the same pan over medium-high heat and fry onions until edges turn brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to the same plate.
• Heat the same pan over medium-high heat. Reserve marinade and fry beef in batches, adding more vegetable oil if necessary, until browned and no longer pink in the centers, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to the plate and continue with remaining beef.
• Pour the reserved marinade into the pan with water to deglaze, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Taste and adjust seasonings. Return beef back to the pan with some onion, leaving remaining onion for garnish; reduce heat and let simmer until sauce has thickened, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Slide beef and sauce onto a serving plate. Garnish with remaining onion. Place potatoes on the side and serve.

FILIPINO BEEF STEAK OR BISTEK

Steps:

• 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.
• Cut up the beef into about 1/4" strips. Pound it with a meat tenderizer (optional).
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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).
• The leftovers freeze well.