Bistek Tagalog

Recipe from anakha. Wikified by Kenning.

Just wanted to toss into this thread arguably my favorite comfort food back home - Bistek Tagalog, which is basically beef steak, Filipino style.

The recipe for bistek below is taken from the book Philippine Cuisine - Home-cooked Recipes Wherever You May Be, which is probably the most dogeared book in my aunt's kitchen in Houston. Since the dish is served in a sauce made primarily from soy sauce, the flavor profile is similar to that of adobo.

Bistek Tagalog - Beef Steak With Onions

Ingredients:
1 kg or 2.2 lbs lean beef, tenderloin (lomo), sirloin (tagiliran) or round (kabilugan), butterfly-cut into 4 x 4 x 1/2 inch thick steaks
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp black peppercorns, cracked
Juice from 2 lemons or limes or 10 pcs calamansi
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rings

Instructions:
1. Lightly pound beef slices to flatten meat. Marinate steaks in soy sauce, garlic, pepper and juice from lemon or lime or calamansi for at least 10 minutes.
2. In a preheated pan with oil, sear each steak over medium heat on both sides according to desired doneness. Set aside on a serving platter and keep warm.
3. Reduce heat and pour the marinade into the same pan. Add the onion rings and toss the mixture until the onions are translucent.
4. Pour the cooked marinade and onions over the beef. Serve warm.

You can also substitute thin-sliced porkchops for the beef.

Served with the sauce poured over piping-hot white rice, this is probably the first meal I'm going to ask for once I fly home for Christmas.