Bistek Tagalog is definitely in my top 5 Filipino dishes. Just the smell of it takes me back to my mom's kitchen in my good old youthful years. I thought I will never have a taste of it again... until soja rinderfilets of Vantastic Foods came to our lives.


Vantatic Foods Soja Rinderfilets mimics a thinly sliced beef fillet in dehydrated soy meat substitute form. I love the fact that I can now make and enjoy my favourite beef fillet dishes, more healthy and cruelty free.

Pros:
- When cooked, the beef fillet is very close to the chewy meat texture.
- Marinade is easily absorbed.
- Doesn't get jaw-breaking chewy when overcooked like the real beef meat. You'll never go wrong.

Con:
- You can taste the soy - of course, it is SOY! But we can fix that.

To remove the soy taste, here's what I do:

1. Boil in a pot of water for 3-5 minutes (or until tender all over).
2. Drain and wash in running tap water. Squeeze excess water.
3. Boil again in veggie broth for about 3 minutes, but this time, water must just be enough to submerge the meat (water is same level as meat? I'm lost for words).
4. Drain using a strainer and then squeeze excess liquid by just pressing with a spoon on the strainer.

Sounds like a lot of work, but trust me it is all worth it.

After these steps, you can cook the beef fillet normally as your recipe instructs.

Here's the recipe for my all time favourite Filipino beef steak (Bistek Tagalog) made from Vantastic Foods Rinderfilets. Just perfect.

A small disclaimer though : I'm well-known for just eyeballing ingredients, so feel free to adjust to your own liking.

Ingredients:
For the marinade:
- 1/3 cup soysauce
- 1 pc lemon or 4 pcs calamansi
- ground pepper

Base:
- 65g of Vantastic Foods Rinderfilets (dry)
- 2 pcs onion, sliced into rings
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/8 cup water
- pure coconut oil

MARINATE

1. Prepare the Vantastic Food rinderfilets as instructed above.
2. Put the meat in a mixing bowl and add the soy sauce and lemon/calamansi juice. Sprinkle some pepper and mix well. The marinade should be sour and a bit salty so adjust accordingly. If you feel like the meat is not well soaked with the marinade, add more soy sauce and lemon.

Note that the marinade becomes the sauce later, so if you want the dish to be more saucy, add a little bit more soy sauce and lemon/calamansi juice.

3. Marinate for 30 mins.

COOKING PROPER

1. Heat 2 TBSP of pure coconut oil in a pan.
2. Saute onion rings until soft and rings are loose. Remove onions and set aside.
3. In the same pan, fry the beef without the marinade for a few minutes until brown. Remove and set aside.
4. Still using the same pan, add 1 TBSP of coconut oil again and saute the minced garlic.
5. Pour the marinade and bring to a boil. Add 1/8 cup of water
6. Return the meat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the soy sauce is cooked and curdled a bit.
7. Add half of the onion and mix well.
8. Season with salt according to your liking. Bistek tagalog is usually salty but don't go overboard.
9. Top with the remaining onions and serve with white rice. Serves 2.

Why pure coconut oil?
I use pure coconut oil to mimic the fat that beef makes. The texture of pure coconut oil for me is a lot fatter than the regular vegetable oil. Pure coconut oil doesn't take like coconut at all so don't worry.