Mama's Lumpia Bistek
Bistek Tagalog is a Filipino dish made of slices of beef usually cooked with soy sauce, calamansi juice, and onions. It's actually a modified version of the Spanish dish bistec encebollado, a remnant of Spanish colonization and its influence on the local cuisine in the Philippines.
You'll notice that the recipe below has the option to use either calamansi or lemon. If you've never had calamansi, it's a sour citrus fruit that looks like a lime, but has a flavor similar to the cross between a lemon and orange. It's a well known flavor and ingredient in Filipino cuisine, commonly used for marinades, condiments, and beverages. Calamansi is also found in Indonesian, Malaysian, and other Southeast Asian and East Asian cuisines.
In Mama's Lumpia family, Mama makes bistek for the family as comfort food. It's simple but effective when they want a taste of home!
Ingredients:
- 8 oz beef, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1-2 calamansi or 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp pepper
- 1 whole onion
- sugar, as needed
- 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1-2 tbsp flour
Directions:
1. Marinate thinly sliced beef in calamansi juice (or lemon juice), soy sauce, & pepper.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a pan and sprinkle some flour on it (to avoid oil splatter), then fry the marinated beef, reserving the marinating sauce.
3. Set aside the fried beef and slice the onion into round pieces (like onion rings).
4. In the same frying pan with the sauce from the beef, cook the onion and then add the beef and remaining marinating sauce (add a little water if you want it more saucy).
5. Add pepper & sugar to your liking.
6. Enjoy with a fried egg and jasmine rice.
Photo courtesy of: Jen Phanomrat, Just Eat Life
