Bistek is Filipino steak and onions cooked in a citrusy soy sauce, and it's totally delicious. Here's how to make it:
450 g (1 lb) flank steak, or other steak cut of your choice
1 tbsp fresh lime juice *
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice *
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 large onions
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
* replace with fresh calamansi juice, if you can find it
1. Cut the steak into 1/2 cm strips, perpendicular to the grain of the meat. Season it liberally with freshly cracked pepper, then toss it in a bowl with the lime juice, lemon juice, soy sauce and baking soda. Let it marinate for about 20 minutes.
2. Add a splash of veg oil to a wok on high heat. Throw in the onions and let them fry to your desired doneness. Bistek normally features lightly fried onions with a lot of bite. I did this for half of my onions, and cooked the other half until caramelized, for contrast and extra sweetness. Once your onions are done, pull them out of the pan and onto your serving plate.
3. Refresh the oil in the wok and add the meat all at once. Let fry a few minutes until the meat's about half cooked and there's a pool of juices in the pan. Add the garlic and ginger and fry another few minutes until the meat's cooked through. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue cooking another minute, then remove the meat from the pan to the serving plate with the onions. Keep the heat on to reduce the sauce. Once reduced by half, pour the sauce over the steak and onions and serve.