Philippine Beef Steak {Bistek}

Philippine Cuisine mainly consists of fish, vegetables, chicken and pork. So for special occasions, beef is what's for dinner! Special occasion or not, this Philippine Beef Steak recipe only uses four other ingredients, OK, maybe five being olive oil (affiliate link) as the fifth ingredient. And I bet you already have the other four.... {soy sauce (affiliate link), lemon, onions, potatoes} in your pantry.

This Beef Steak recipe is very quick and easy to make on any given night. And is cooked in less than an hour. Tempted yet?

The Beef Steak marinate is what makes this meal shine!

Jump to:

• 📔 THE STORY: Why is it called Bistek?
• ⏲️ COOKING TIME
• 🥘 INGREDIENTS
• 🔪 INSTRUCTIONS
• 💭 TOP TIPS
• 📖 VARIATIONS
• 👪 SERVING SIZE
• 🍽 EQUIPMENT
• 🎥 HOW-TO VIDEO
• 🥗 SIDE DISHES
• 🥩 OTHER DISHES YOU MAY ENJOY
• 📋RECIPE

📔 THE STORY: Why is it called Bistek?

Philippine cuisine is influenced by many of the countries that inhabited the Philippines through the centuries. The Spaniards were among one of them.

Thinly cuts of filets of steak means Bistec in Spanish. But since there's no "C" in the Philippine alphabet this dish has been called Bistek in Tagalog.

So let's get started....

 

⏲️ COOKING TIME

Actual cooking time to make this Philippine Beef Steak is only 20 minutes. Note that marinating time can be anywhere from 30 minutes or longer depending on how much time you want to allow for all the flavors to blend together.

🥘 INGREDIENTS

You'll need:

• *2 lbs. Rib Eye {cut into ½" strips}
• Soy sauce (affiliate link) or Coconut Aminos (affiliate link) (which is what I use and it's gluten free)
• Lemon - juice of one
• Onions - at least two and sliced into rings
• Potatoes - 4 medium sized and cut into wedges

🔪 INSTRUCTIONS

1. With the meat, mix together the Soy sauce (affiliate link) or Coconut Aminos (affiliate link) and juice of one lemon in a bowl or Ziploc bag. If time allows, marinate the meat for an hour. Keep in the fridge until ready to cook. See notes below!
2. When ready to cook, add 1T of olive oil (affiliate link) in a hot skillet, over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, sear meat for 2 minutes each side in a single layer. Don't overcrowd the meat! Set aside.
3. Sear potatoes, 3 minutes each side. Set aside.
4. Caramelize onions 3 - 5 minutes. Add the meat and potatoes back in the skillet.
5. Add 2T each of coconut aminos (affiliate link) and lemon juice. Let simmer for 1 minute. Done.

💭 TOP TIPS

➡️ A quick note on marinating meat: Longer doesn't always mean better. Since we're using lemon and soy sauce (affiliate link) / coconut aminos (affiliate link), four hours is ideal however, I would not recommend going over 24 hours if using a less tender cut of meat. If using a more tender cut, as little as 30 minutes will do!

➡️ The secret to a very tender meat is to ALWAYS bring the steak to room temperature for at least an hour before cooking. Actually, this goes to all types of meat products.

📖 VARIATIONS

As one of my favorite chefs, Wolfgang Puck, have said - "Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors - it's how you combine them that sets you apart." And so therefore, be creative and use this recipe as a guideline and combine other proteins and vegetables you wish. You'll be amazed at the variable flavor profiles that emerge! And I can't wait for you to tell me how much you've enjoyed it!!

"Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors - it's how you combine them that sets you apart."

➡️ If you have time to marinate the meat, then for this Beef Steak recipe you can use a less tender cut of meat like flank or skirt steak. I prefer a more marbled cut of steak so I specifically used Rib-Eye for this recipe.

I mean, who does not like to bite into a beautifully cut of beef that just soaks in the flavor of the marinate. And that melt in your mouth feeling is OUT. OF. THIS. WORLD! #Phenomenal!!!

➡️ And for our non-red meat eaters, you can switch out the meat for chicken, pork, seafood, or vegetables.

➡️ If you want to add vegetables to this dish, I made Beef Steak with Broccoli but you can add other of your favorite vegetables too if you wish, like Mushrooms, Bokchoy, Bell peppers, Green Beans, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Carrots, Peas, Parsnips, Chayote, Eggplant, Zucchini and anything else your heart desires!

👪 SERVING SIZE

This serves 4 people, but if going for a larger number of servings, you can scale up the ingredients. Be sure to check the recipe card below.

🍽 EQUIPMENT

I love my Le Creuset equipments and you can use either the Le Creuset Skillet (affiliate link) or the Le Creuset Cast Iron Bistro Grill (affiliate link) or Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Round Grill (affiliate link) to make this dish. It's durable, easy to wash and keeps the food warm after cooking on it. And it's so beautiful that you can serve and looks great on the table! Just be sure to use a trivet as it gets pretty hot.

🎥 HOW-TO VIDEO

Watch this short video of how-to cook this dish.

Philippine Beef Steak! It's what's for dinner! Here's how the finished product looks! Enjoy!

🥗 SIDE DISHES

This beefsteak recipe is good served on its own, well, maybe steamed rice. Anything is good served with steamed rice. I'll post a how-to for the always perfect steamed rice recipe soon! So stay tuned. In any event, a nice crisp Chili Cucumber Salad will go really well with this dish.

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