A family favorite, Bistek Tagalog is a Filipino dish made with steak and onions. I prefer using sirloin steak as the meat comes out very tender. If I’ve got extra time, I’ll add on fried potatoes.
To prepare this dish, I marinate thin slices of sirloin steak in soy sauce, lemon (I prefer fresh calamansi if available), garlic, and black pepper for at least an hour.
I also add fried potatoes, not typical in Bistek Tagalog. This is how my mother-in-law prepares it, and it’s a hit with my husband and daughter.
This dish takes about 30 minutes to cook (plus a minimum of 1 hour for marination). In a large pan, I first fry some thin slices of potatoes. Set aside. Then fry rings of yellow onion. Set aside. Then pan fry the steak in batches for a couple minutes on each side. Set aside. Then simmer the marinade. Put them all together and there you have it – Bistek.
What cut of beef should you use?
I tested this recipe with both flank steak and sirloin steak. I also asked my readers which they prefer, 40% said flank while 60% said sirloin. It’s a tough call. Our household was divided. I actually prefer sirloin. You can’t go wrong with either. Just slice the meat properly so it’s tender.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs of sirloin steak (flank steak also works well)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce. I prefer Silver Swan soy sauce.
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 8 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 small onions, sliced
- 2 small potatoes, peeled and sliced
- vegetable oil
- ground pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup water
Directions
- In a bowl, combine soy sauce, lemon, ground pepper, and garlic cloves.
- Slice the steak into 1 – 1.5 inch strips against the grain.
- Add the steak strips to the marinade. Mix so each piece is coated. Cover and marinate for at least 1 hour. If over an hour, place the bowl in the refrigerator.
- When ready to cook, slice onions and potatoes.
- In a large skillet, heat approximately 3 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook about 2 minutes per side. Drain over paper towels.
- Next sauté onions in the pan. Add extra oil if needed, or remove some if there is too much oil.
- Sauté the onions for about 2 minutes, until slightly caramelized and place into a bowl.
- Add more oil, if needed. Add the steak in batches. Be sure not to overcrowd.
- Cook about 1-2 minutes on each side until browned. Set aside into a bowl.
- Repeat until all steak is cooked.
- Next add the marinade to the pan. Add 1/2 cup of water and scrape brown bits.
- Add steak and onions back to the pan. Toss to coat.
- Place onto a serving bowl. Garnish with potatoes.
- Serve immediately with rice. Enjoy.
So there you have it. Give it a try and let me know how yours comes out.
