Mar 26, 20213 min read

Bistek Tagalog

In this recipe, thin slices of beef are marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, calamansi juice, minced garlic, and cracked pepper, then pan seared in batches. Slices of white onion, the other key ingredient, are sautéed just until they begin to turn translucent so that the texture remains tender-crisp once the entire dish comes together. (Though, you could cook them a few minutes longer if you prefer softer onions.)

Calamansi can be challenging to find, depending on your location, so lemon juice would be a good substitute (and less time consuming to juice). For the beef, sirloin is the most common cut here, but sometimes I like to use rib eye for the marbling. Sometimes, I use both! As for the onion, I prefer to use white in this recipe because it’s on the milder side, but if you prefer yellow, do it!

Cooking the beef in small portions reduces the amount of liquid that is released from the meat, which would make it tough (you don't want that). The sauce is made by cooking the marinade with some extra liquid until it has reduced a bit. The meat and onions are then added back to the pan and quickly tossed together before serving. It’s not meant to be a thick sauce, but you could always opt to thicken it up with a cornstarch slurry before adding the meat and onions back in.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 lb beef (sirloin or ribeye), in 1/4-inch slices*

1/4 cup calamansi (or lemon) juice

1/2 cup soy sauce

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

2 white onions, peeled and sliced into rings

3 Tbsp canola oil, divided

3/4 cup water

Salt and pepper, to taste

*For the beef slices, freezing the sirloin or ribeye steaks for 15 to 20 minutes makes slicing them thin much easier. Or, you could slice them a bit thicker and pound each slice thin with a meat mallet.

Directions

Make the marinade: combine the calamansi (or lemon) juice, soy sauce, garlic, and black pepper. Place the meat in a gallon-sized resealable bag and pour the marinade in. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Separate the layers of onion rings and add them to the pan. Sauté just until they start to become translucent. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside. (Note: This is based on my preference of the onions being tender-crisp. If you’d like them more soft, cook them a few minutes longer either in this step once you add them back into the pan sauce.)

In the same skillet, heat an additional tablespoon of oil. Working in batches, sear 3 or 4 pieces of beef at a time, about 1 minute per side. Transfer each batch to a plate, and wait for the pan to reheat before adding the next batch.

Once all of the meat has been seared, pour the remaining marinade into the pan along with the water. Simmer until reduced to almost half, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the onions and beef, along with any juices, back to the pan and stir to combine. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 3 more minutes. Serve over rice, spooning some of the pan sauce over top.

Visuals

Here, I used a combination of petite sirloin and ribeye. My local Costco actually sells ribeye sliced thinly as pictured below!

The pre-sliced ribeye from Costco is a bit thinner than I would have wanted. All good though!

If you are using whole steaks, like the sirloin I've used here, slice them thin (about 1/4-inch thin).

Prepare the marinade. It will take about a 1/2 lb of calamansi fruit to make 1/4 cup of juice. Calamansi are a small citrus with large seeds. It's worth it if you can get your hands on that many! Otherwise, using fresh lemon juice is A-OK.

Mix the calamansi (or lemon) juice , soy sauce, minced garlic, and cracked black pepper together.

Combine the meat and the marinade together in a gallon-sized resealable bag. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Slice the onions, and separate the rings.

Sauté the onion in 2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet until they just turn translucent. You'll be cooking them a little further in the pan sauce towards the end. If you want them a bit more softened, cook them a few minutes longer.