This Filipino-Style Beef Stew With Potatoes A La Bistek Recipe has a tangy finish but is a very delicious beef dish that the whole family will surely love. It is made with hours. chunks of meat, onions and potatoes and cooked in soy sauce, pepper and lemon juice. This Filipino beef stew is one of the famous Filipino dishes. The “bistek” is the Filipino word of beefsteak, a recipe that uses thin slices of meat and marinated in soy sauce and calamansi juice. However, in my recipe, I used cut up chunks of meat from pot roast meat instead of using sirloin or rib-eye meat to make it a more economical meal.
The Filipino recipe originated in the Tagalog regions of the Philippines, where I was born and raised. Most of the Filipino dishes have a Spanish influence because the Philippines was under Spanish rule for more than 300 years and this recipe is one of them. This recipe uses few ingredients compared to the other beef stew recipes like beef mechado.
The beef mechado recipe is made of beef chunks of meat, fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce, carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, bell peppers, green peas and cooked in soy sauce, calamansi juice, pepper, fish sauce, bay leaf and other seasonings. While this recipe uses fewer and simpler ingredients such as thin slices of meat, soy sauce, pepper, onions and calamansi juice. It is actually one of the few Filipino dishes that does not use garlic. Do you see the difference between the two meat stew recipes? However, as far as I can remember, all the Filipino-style stew recipes are always considered by most Filipinos as comfort food and that is why they are a crowd favorite on any special occasion.
I just want to share with you that when Filipinos cook any stew recipe, they utilize whatever meat or whatever cuts of meat are available on hand and below are just a few examples:
- Beef or Beef Ribs – The favorite and most common type of meat for most of the stew recipes.
- Pork Belly – A good meat for the mechado recipe.
- Goat Meat – This is actually a very delicious meat for stew when it is cooked right.
- Oxtail – Although it only has a little meat on it and is mostly bones, the bones and marrow are a good source for the umami flavor of the beef.
I also used chunks of meat and potatoes because my recipe is also influenced by another recipe, beef mechado. Aside from that, I added a few ingredients such as Worcestershire sauce, beef broth and flour for coating to make the broth or sauce on the thicker side. A thicker sauce or broth for me makes beef stew look more appetizing. If you like spicy food, you can add a few pieces of dried chili pepper while the sauce is simmering. You can also use petite red potatoes or golden potatoes in this recipe.
How To Make The Filipino-Style Beef Stew With Potatoes A La Bistek Recipe
- Marinating the meat – In a big bowl, combine and mix all together the soy sauce, lemon juice, 3 tbsp of olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Then add the slices of meat into the bowl with marinade sauce. This will help enhance the flavor, retain the meat moisture and will help to tenderize the meat.
- Searing the meat – Sear the meat on each side for a couple of minutes. Do this in small batches which will help to avoid overcrowding the pan. Searing helps to deepen the flavor of the meat.
- Stir frying the onions- Sautéing onions brings out the its natural sweetness that adds to the depth of flavor in any dish.
- Cook them slowly – After sautéing the onions and searing the meat, you can cook the stew in two ways:
- Cook them slow inside the Dutch oven on the stovetop with the marinade sauce and beef broth using one cup of water or two.
- Transfer the sautéed onions and seared beef slices into the slow cooker and pour in the marinade sauce and the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.
For more beef recipes, try Mongolian Style Beef Stew with Shishito Peppers and Pot Roast Recipe For Crockpot.
The Filipino-Style Beef Stew With Potatoes A La Bistek Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lb Pot Chuck Roast cut into bite size
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 15 oz can beef broth
- 1/2 lb petite golden potatoes
- 1/2 whole red onion thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine and mix all together the soy sauce, lemon juice, 3 tbsp. of olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Then set aside.
- Using a paper towel, pat the pot roast to dry. Then slice the pot roast into bite sized chunks.
- Add the beef slices into the bowl with the marinade sauce, mix it all together. Cover and put it into the fridge and let this marinade for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours maximum.
- After marinating the beef, put the all purpose flour into the baking tray lined with foil. Then take out the beef slices using tongs and place them on the baking tray with flour.
- Coat each beef slice with flour, then set aside. Also set aside the marinade sauce.
- Using a medium size dutch oven, heat the 2 tbsp of oil over medium high heat. Then sear 1/3 of the beef slices until browned or for about 1 minute per side. Then transfer to a plate and repeat the procedure for the remaining beef slices.
- Add the remaining oil, stir fry the onion and garlic for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions are softened. Add the beef stirring continuously for about 3 minutes.
- Stir the marinade sauce, potatoes and beef broth into the mixture. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 40 minutes and stir it occasionally.
- Uncover and continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes or until it's tender to your likeness. Stir occasionally.
- Add a few raw onion rings on the top and cook for 2 minutes. Serve and enjoy the beef stew with steamed rice and roasted vegetables.
