***FOR MY MOM'S FAMOUS BISTEK RECIPE - SCROLL TO BOTTOM OF POST***
Last month, I caught up with the cousins over Filipino food at Isla restaurant in San Bruno, CA.I immediately noticed that everyone in the restaurant was Filipino which is always a good sign and they had unlimited rice - I should totally take my mom here! Here's a round-up from my cuzzos aka contributors for this post:
Leo: You will find your signature Filipino dishes here but be warned, bring 3 families for 1 dish. Definitely order the Bistek and Halo Halo. The Sisig Kapampangan is the real deal. It's pig face and they use all of it...cheek, ears, you name it. We ordered way too much food [for proof click through pics below] so order 2 entrees max. [hmm...maybe we just didn't bring our appetites?]
Janice: Order the Bistek and Lumpia. Overall thoughts: It was too authentic for me.
Here's what the kids had to say: Jasmine (11 yrs) - I liked the lumpia! Alex (7 yrs) - I didn't like anything. [But I did see him try some of everything, kudos to him for giving it a fair shot!]
Isla's Bistek was delish but no one makes better Bistek than my momma and I'm not just saying that cuz she's my momma. It's famous! And by famous I mean always requested at family parties. She's 1 of 9 and all her siblings ike it...their kids and grandkids all like it...so that's famous right? As an added bonus here's her recipe:
MOM'S FAMOUS BISTEK (OR AS SHE CALLS IT...BEEF STEAK) ~ SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 lbs sirloin beef
- 1 round sweet onion
- 1/2 clove fresh chopped garlic
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar (if you don't like vinegar, swap for lemon juice)
- 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- Dash of black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cut the beef in thin slices (1/4 inch)
- Marinate in soy sauce, vinegar (or lemon juice) sugar, black pepper (Marinate for a minimum of 10 mins.)
- Put everything (all ingredients mentioned in step 2) in the pan & cook over medium heat until the sauce dries up
- When the sauce dries up, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to the pan & simmer for 1 minute
- By now the beef should be slightly brown, add the sliced onions and let simmer for 2-3 minutes
- Serve with white rice and enjoy!
