'BISTEK TAGALOG" ("Beef Steak")

It's been a busy weekend! We had fun at the Queen Mary for the Star Trek Tour! I had my fix of steak, hotdog, cookies, and yes...fried food!

Well, coming back home, I definitely missed Filipino food. BUT, I still wanted some steak! And so, I decided to make "BISTEK TAGALOG". Fair enough ha.

I really like my Bistek Tagalog sour - with lots and lots of "kalamansi" and brown "sabaw"!

Well, my husband doesn't like his bistek too sour and requested that I make the sauce thicker.

So, I had to modify the recipe by using constarch to thicken the sauce, used less kalamansi and added just a little sugar (or Splenda) to lessen the sour taste. It turned out well, and it was delicious!

[CHICHAY TIP: The recipe here included the option of adding the sugar and cornstarch, but if you really want to have the traditional "Bistek Tagalog", then I suggest that you ignore these additional ingredients. Feel free to use more/less kalamansi - based on your sour taste preference as well.]

- CHICHAY

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"BISTEK TAGALOG"

What You Need:

1 lb beef sirloin, thinly sliced

3 tbsp juice of calamansi

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 medium onion, sliced crosswise (into ring)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp sugar or a pinch of Splenda (optional)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup hot water (optional: add 1 tsp cornstarch to thicken the sauce)

marinade

3 tbsp juice of kalamansi

2 tbsp soysauce

Prep:

Marinate beef for about 30 minutes.

How To:

-Heat oil and butter in a frying pan

-Fry the onion rings in 1 tbsp olive oil, until lightly brown.

-Remove onions from frying pan and set aside.

-Drain beef slices from marinade (and reserve marinade).

-Sautè beef in the same frying pan (use the rest of the olive oil and butter) for 1 to 2 minutes, then turn to cook other side for 1 to 2 minutes.

-Transfer the meat to a dish and set aside.

-Combine sugar, calamansi juice, soy sauce and water (with 1 tsp cornstarch - optional).

-Stir this into frying-pan together with reserved marinade let simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes stirring constantly.

-Return onion and meat to the pan, add in the ground pepper, and let simmer about 1-2 minutes.

-Turn off heat, cover the pan, and let rest on the pan for 2 minutes.

-Serve with steamed rice.

"BELL PEPPERS AND ONIONS STIR-FRY"

Sometimes we do not need complicated side dishes to complete our meal.

Bell peppers and onions, stir-fried in sesame oil or unsalted butter with a little bit of soy sauce (or oyster sauce) is one of my favorite side dishes! It's got the texture and flavors that I really enjoy.

Bell peppers (my favorite among the "sweet" pepper variety) are fat-free, and are packed with nutrients: iron, vit A, and tons of vit C! Yes, lots of vit C. Do you know that eating one sweet green pepper will be roughly eating two oranges?

What about onions? Do you know that the onion, which is one of the staple ingredients in Pinoy cooking is packed with vit C as well?

Try this "Bell Peppers and Onion Stir-Fry" side dish. You might need it specially if you are on the run, and still want something delicious and nutritional too.

- CHICHAY

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"BELL PEPPERS AND ONIONS STIR-FRY"

• 2 medium green bell peppers, cut into strips


• 1 large sweet onion, cut and quartered


• 1 tbsp sesame oil


• 2 tbsp oyster sauce or 1 tbsp low sodium Kikkoman soy sauce
  

How To:

-sautee the onions in a hot pan until it's a half cooked

-add in the bell peppers and soy sauce, stir continously and cook for 2-3 minutes

-turn off heat and transfer to another container

[CHICHAY TIP: do not overcook the peppers and onions to keep the "crunch".)