bistek (filipino beef steak)

Bistek (pronounced bee-stick) is pretty easy and quick to make. Our family likes to top it off with fresh slices of tomatoes to give it a balanced taste. My mother was having a feast with some family on her trip recently and they had some bistek. It’s been too long since I have eaten some myself so I had to make it!

BISTEK

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 lb eye of round steak sliced

3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

1 white onion sliced in circles

1-2 potatoes peeled and sliced into thin circles

1 tomato sliced

2-4 green onion chopped

Combine lemon juice, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and water in a mixing bowl. Place the sliced eye of round steak in the mixture and let it marinade for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok or skillet at mid-high temperature. Cook the sliced potatoes and onion in the oil until translucent or the potatoes are soft. Be sure to stir constantly.

Once the potatoes and onions are cooked, add in JUST the meat. Keep the marinade sauce in the bowl. Mix and stir everything until the meat is cooked. Place bistek in a large serving bowl while keeping the wok or skillet warm. Boil the marinade for a few minutes and pour over bistek in the serving bowl.

Top it off with sliced tomatoes and green onions and serve with rice.

Here’s a couple more pictures. I prefer using the soy sauce below. It always gets the taste in my dishes just right and plus it’s from the Philippines x3

filipino torta

This particular torta always calls for a huge plate to rest it on. Whether you want to eat it all out of that plate is up to you, I know a couple of my friends can! My mother always showed off as my sister and I grew up by flipping the whole torta in one piece from skillet to plate successfully. Me? I’ll leave it to your imagination when I tried to do the deadly flip being the clumsy person I am. Nah, I play it safe and simply place the meat filling on the plate first then the omelette. One day though, one day.

FILIPINO TORTA

1 lb ground beef (nowadays I like to use turkey :3)

1 large potato, peeled and diced in small cubes

1/2 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tomatoes, diced or a can of diced tomatoes

1 tbsp patis (fish sauce)

1/2 tbsp soy sauce

ketchup

pepper

3 eggs, beaten

Heat the skillet to mid high and brown the meat. While it’s browning (draining grease as you go), combine potato and onion. Cook until potato is soft and onion translucent. Add garlic and tomato. Mix together and stir while cooking for 3-5 minutes. Stir in patis and soy sauce. Cook for a minute. Now give the mixture a good, generous squirt of ketchup. Mix well while adding a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook for another minute and pour the mixture on a big serving plate, patting it down flat.

Place the skillet back on the burner and lower the heat to low. Pour the beaten eggs in the skillet, making a circle. Once the omelette soaks the flavors from the skillet and is cooked all the way, place it carefully on top of the meat filling.

Slice like a pizza and serve over rice. Squirt some more ketchup on your serving if you want to (^-^)

More torta photos taken with my phone: