Last Night's Dinner #52: Bistek (Steak with Onions)

The only time it's acceptable to cook steak to its death is when you're cooking Bistec. This filipino dish is a lot like Bistec Encebollada (I'm not sure where it originates from but almost every region in Latin America claims it as their own). Bistec is a simple dish with minimal ingredients and effort required.

I've come up with my own version, a fusion of the Filipino version that I grew up on with a little bit of zest from the Latinos.



Bistek (Steak with Onions)
Prep: 10 mins
Total: 25 mins
Difficulty: Easy

You'll need:
1 lb bottom round london broil, cut into thin strips
1 tbs soy sauce
juice of 1 large lemon (about 3-4 tbs)
1 large onion, sliced into 1/4" thin slices
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2 tbs canola or vegetable oil

Like a true Filipino-cook, I used the "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" method. So you may want to adjust according to taste!

dry rub:
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt or more depending on your taste
1/4 tsp coarse black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne or more depending on your tolerance for heat
1/4 tsp lemon pepper (optional)



step 1. Cut meat into thin strips and tenderize meat by pounding it with a mallet. I dont have one, so I just placed some freezer paper over the meat and pounded it with a jar of capers. Set aside.
step 2. Mix dry rub ingredients and 1/2 of the minced garlic in a small bowl and rub into the strips of beef. Add 2 tbs of the lemon juice (save remaining juice for later) and 1 tbs of soy sauce and thoroughly mix and rub into the beef. Let stand for 30 mins.
step 3. Heat up 1 tbs of the oil in a skillet. Add sliced onions and cook for 5 minutes or less. You don't want to cook the onions all the way, just to the point before it starts to turn translucent. Remove and place them on a few paper towels to dry.
step 4. Add another tbsp (again, you can use less or more, depends on the width of your pan) or so of oil and heat up again at medium heat. Add steak (reserve marinade for later - although there really shouldn't be all that much juice left) and make sure each piece has room to breathe - see pic. Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until you see that most of the juice has evaporated leaving just the oil. At the very end, you want to turn up the heat to high. Toss and turn to get a last minute "tan" on both sides. At this point, you want to drizzle in the remaining lemon juice. You want the steak to brown a bit, a little bit of caramelization is a good thing!
step 5. Add whatever marinade you have left and cook for a minute or so until it "boils". Remove from heat.
step 6. Place strips of beef on a plate and top with cooked onions. Pour any liquid you have left in the pan (there shouldn't be that much) over the onions.

Serve over rice.