Bistik (Beef Steak)

I was chatting with my lovely friend Lhita who lives in Singapore and told me she still couldn’t get the right taste for Bistik. I cooked this a few times and even my maid in Jakarta, Indonesia knows how to cook this now. I guess I have asked her so many times that she knows it by heart lol.

I would normally buy beef tenderloin for this recipe but saw a “Snitzel Beef” at the supermarket. This is what I get when I want to make a beef schnitzel. According to Wikianswers, a schnitzel is a thin 'escalope' of meat, usually veal or pork that is first floured, eggwashed then breadcrumbed before frying. Nowadays beef and chicken are the most popular for schnitzel.

You Need:

Beef (half a kilo)

Cornstarch – 1 tsp

Worcestershire sauce – 2 tsp

Soy sauce – ½ cup

Lime juice – 1tsp

Garlic – 7 cloves

Whole peppercorns – 20 or more if you like

Onions – 2 big ones

Cooking oil

2 Tbsp water

How?

1. Pound meat with a meat mallet until it’s thin. Be careful not to tear the meat.

2. In a bowl put in the pounded meat, cornstarch, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, peppercorns and lime. Mix together and marinate for 30 minutes or more if desired.

3. Heat oil in a pan and cook the cut onions. Transfer to a bowl or another container.

4. Heat more oil probably 2 tbsp and cook the meat leaving the marinated juice.

5. Add more oil if necessary if there isn’t enough oil to cook all the meat.

6. Transfer all the meat in a separate bowl or if you want you can just put it on top of the cooked onions.

7. In a low heat, pour the marinated sauce into the same pan (where you cooked the meat) with a fine cooking strainer to get the liquid of the marinated sauce.

8. Put back cooked meat and onions.

9. Cook for a minute or 2 then add the water.

10. Serve hot and enjoy!