Bistek is a savory and citrusy dish that uses simple ingredients to make a satisfying dish. Thinly sliced beef and a tasty marinade combine to create a comforting meal in a rich, tangy sauce. Topped with caramelized onions, bistek has loads of flavor and interesting textures to keep your palate happy.
Learn how to cook bistek in your own kitchen with this simple bistek recipe.
What is Bistek?
Bistek is a dish with thin slices of marinated pork or beef braised and topped with ringed onions. While the marinade can vary, it’s traditionally a mixture of soy sauce, citrus juice, black pepper, and garlic.
Bistek roughly translates to “beefsteak.” It originated in the Philippines and remains a common dish in the region today, although bistek has also gained popularity in other parts of the world. For example, bistek encebollado is a variation in Latin America. While variations typically have the same main ingredients — meat and onions — their flavor profiles usually differ through sauces or spice additions.
Some people also make bistek with eggplant or chicken. But to align with traditional bistek — and because we really love steak around here — we’re going to focus this guide on cooking bistek with steak.
What Kind of Beef to Use for Bistek
It’s best to use tender cuts of beef for bistek. While bistek beef does get marinated before cooking, marinating can only help the beef’s tenderness to a point. Choosing a tender cut or beef that tenderizes well is the best way to ensure a good outcome.
A few cuts you can use for bistek include:
- Top round: This lean, budget-friendly cut is commonly used for bistek due to its firm texture and ability to absorb marinades well. When sliced thinly and cooked properly, it becomes tender while maintaining a slightly chewy bite.
- Sirloin: Sirloin is slightly more marbled than top round and offers a good balance of tenderness and flavor. It holds up well with the quick pan-frying that bistek requires and tenderizes more when simmered.
- Ribeye: With its generous marbling, ribeye doesn’t need much work to remain tender during cooking. However, it is more expensive than the other two cuts.
No matter what cut of beef you choose, make sure it’s high-quality meat. Look for USDA Choice or USDA Prime when shopping. All of our steaks available for online ordering are graded with at least USDA Choice.
Cooking Bistek: Tips for Success
It’s almost time to cook bistek using our easy-to-follow recipe. Here are a few tips to help you along the way:
- Use a non-metal bowl: The marinade for bistek includes citrus in the form of calamansi juice, which is acidic. It’s best to use a non-metal bowl, like a glass or plastic mixing bowl, to mix the marinade’s ingredients to avoid a metal-acid reaction that can affect the taste of your marinade.
- Give it some simmering time: Some cuts of steak, like top round, may need a little more time to become tender after searing it. Allow the steak to simmer in the marinade and sauce for several minutes after pan-frying it to help it tenderize.
- Don’t marinate for too long: Marinate the beef for about 30 minutes or, at most, one hour before cooking. Marinating it past this point can actually make it an unpleasant mushy texture.
- Pat the beef dry before searing: To get a nice sear on the beef, pat it dry with paper towels after removing it from the marinade. Reserve the marinade, though, as you’ll use it to create the bistek sauce.
Simple Bistek Recipe
Here’s a classic Filipino-inspired bistek recipe to try.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs sirloin beef, thinly sliced
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced into rings
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup water
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ onion, thinly sliced into rings
Instructions
- Combine the soy sauce, lemon, and pepper in a bowl. Add the beef and marinate for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Remove the beef from the marinade and pat it dry. Reserve the leftover marinade for later.
- Heat a pan over high heat with the cooking oil. Add the beef to the pan and saute for a few minutes until the beef becomes lightly browned. Remove extra cooking liquid when frying to allow the meat to sear; reserve juices for later. Transfer the meat to a clean plate.
- Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 30-60 seconds or until fragrant, stirring frequently.
- Return the beef to the pan. Pour in the marinade, cooking liquid, and water.
- Allow the mixture to come to a boil. Stir, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Place additional onion rings on top of the mixture, and recover the pan. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the onions soften.
- Serve over rice, if desired.
Recipe Variations
Bistek is a highly adaptable dish that can take on many different flavor profiles, depending on the ingredients you use — hence why it often varies between cultures. For example, you can make the meal a little sweeter by adding some brown sugar or honey to the marinade, which balances the acidic citrus. Or, to go more savory, add a small amount of fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce to the marinade.
You can also swap out the beef for a different beef cut. Our recipe uses sirloin, but adding in ribeye can result in even more tender meat while using top round leads to a heartier chew.
Serving Suggestions for Bistek Steak
Bistek can be served on its own with a side of veggies, but it’s often served over rice. But there are several other ways you can go, too.
For a low-carb option, swap the rice for cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower. You can also serve bistek with blanched green beans, roasted asparagus, or sauteed bok choy. Or, go simple with a fresh side salad to bring balance to the hearty dish.
Conclusion: How to Cook Bistek Steak
Bistek is a simple but flavorful dish whose popularity has helped it carve a path into other cultures. Whether served over rice or paired with fresh vegetables, it’s a comforting meal that’s easy to customize. To make it your own, try different cuts of beef, tweak the seasonings, and switch up how you serve it. No matter how you cook it, bistek always delivers.
When you’re ready to try bistek at home, order top sirloin from Chicago Steak Company. We deliver it to your home, flash-frozen and vacuum-sealed to preserve its freshness.
Simple Bistek
Ingredients
- 2 lbs sirloin beef thinly sliced
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 onion thinly sliced into rings
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ onion thinly sliced into rings
Instructions
- Combine the soy sauce, lemon, and pepper in a bowl. Add the beef and marinate for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Remove the beef from the marinade and pat it dry. Reserve the leftover marinade for later.
- Heat a pan over high heat with the cooking oil. Add the beef to the pan and saute for a few minutes until the beef becomes lightly browned. Remove extra cooking liquid when frying to allow the meat to sear; reserve juices for later. Transfer the meat to a clean plate.
- Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 30-60 seconds or until fragrant, stirring frequently.
- Return the beef to the pan. Pour in the marinade, cooking liquid, and water.
- Allow the mixture to come to a boil. Stir, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Place additional onion rings on top of the mixture, and recover the pan. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the onions soften.
- Serve over rice, if desired.