pinoy bistek recipe

One of my favorite(st) home cooked meals is Pinoy Bistek, the Filipino version of a beef steak dish. Thing is, Pinoys love sabaw (soup/runny generous sauce) so Bistek gives a nod to that penchant by allowing cooks to add a li’l bit of it in a beef steak dish.

The Bistek I love best is the one prepared by my BFF’s brother-in-law Kiko. It’s got that right balance of saltiness and tang that makes drenching hot steamy rice in Bistek sauce the best gustatory delight ever.

I’ve probably tried about 20 times to replicate Kiko’s recipe (which he’s been meaning to share but couldn’t get ‘round to it). After the nth try, I think I’ve got it.

Bistek is ordinarily prepared with calamondin (kalamansi), a much more acidic citrus that’s native to the Philippines, but this recipe calls for lemon juice. The resulting Bistek approximates that of the one you’d have if you prepared it with kalamansi...but not quite. Still, it’s got the taste that I like so I’m happy. (And I've served this in no less than two parties and the dish received a rousing welcome—both from American and Pinoy audiences—so I think others liked it, too!)

Pinoy Bistek Recipe

2.5 lbs chuck roast beef, sliced thinly

2/3 c dark soy sauce

Juice of 4 lemons

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 T vegetable oil

1 t ground pepper

2 t sugar

2 T vegetable oil

1 large onion, sliced into rings

2 large onions, halved and sliced thickly

• Prepare the beef by washing it thoroughly, then drying it just as well with paper towels. Once dry, slice the chuck roast into thin, steak slices.
• Mix the soy sauce, lemon juice, minced garlic, vegetable oil, ground pepper and sugar in a bowl. Marinade the beef, then cover the bowl with cling wrap. Let it sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

• Once the beef is ready, heat a skillet with the remaining vegetable oil and fry the beef slices until brown, about 4 minutes each side. Remove the cooked beef from the skillet and place in another bowl.
• When all the beef slices have been fried, sautee the onion rings in the same oil for about a minute or until half cooked. Transfer to a bowl. You’ll use this to top the beef steak, for presentation purposes.
• Sautee the other set of sliced onions. Once the onions are ready (it becomes transparent), pour the marinade onto the skillet and let boil. 
• Return the beef to the skillet and adjust the taste according to your preferences. You can add water, more soy sauce or more lemon juice to suit your palate. Simmer for 5 minutes or so.
• Immediately serve with hot, steaming rice. Yum!

Cook’s Notes:

The many trials and errors that I went through getting the Bistek taste that I want led to the discovery that it’s all in the soy sauce-lemon juice balance. Elementary, right? Well, in the kitchen, I’m not really a savvy cook, more like a science student—happily mixing stuff, heh.

But I digress.

So, how’d you know if you’ve achieved the right combination of lemon juice and soy sauce? Taste it after you’ve mixed it, of course (sans beef yet, heh). The mixture usually approximates the taste of the final cooked sauce. (For me, the ratio is 1/3 cup soy sauce to the juice of 2 pieces lemon.)

If you’re as adventurous as I am, you can also replace the beef with pork. The pictures you’re seeing in this post use pork as base and it’s as yummy as the original Bistek.

I’ve also discovered that Bistek tastes better when served with fresh garden salad topped with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Yummylicious!