Bistec from Sol Food
A few months ago, my cousin suggested we grab lunch at this joint in San Rafael called Sol Food. I had never had Puerto Rican food prior and was more than willing to give it a shot. As we were peering through the menu, I had noticed there was a dish that looked all too familiar to my own roots as a Filipina American called Bistek.
I grew up in a household where my mother was the primary cook. She would cook the traditional stews such as Kare Kare (Oxtail with peanut butter and vegetables), Adobo (Chicken or pork with soy sauce and vinegar), fry up some tasty Lumpias (eggrolls) and bake a mean Bibingka (rice cake.) On the days that she wasn’t up to preparing such a heavy feast, my family was relegated to numnuming on Bistek, which consisted of thin slices of sirloin steak, onion rings, garlic, kalamansi (citrus) juice and soy sauce. I was always excited to have Bistek with rice for lunch or dinner. It’s one of those meals that is so simple to prepare yet so tasty, it leaves you wanting more than you can chew.
When I saw it on Sol Food’s menu, I couldn’t help but want to try it out. Could it be that it was similar to the Filipino style of Bistek? When it was time to place my order, I had to ask what it came with. The woman at the register said that it came with red beans, rice, mafungo (plantain mash), salad and a plantain chip. I did not hesitate to add fresh limonada to my meal. After we were seated, my cousin and I got to chat about how the weather was so sunny and the other plans we had in store for the rest of the day. Ten minutes passed and the Bistek finally arrives. My cousin and I were gnawing at the beef and were pleasantly surprised that it was like how our mothers made it. I felt a sense of connection almost immediately between both cultures and of course, with our mothers. It’s funny how eating Bistek had a way of bringing me to a different place and taking me right back home all in one sitting.
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7 Comments to “Puerto Rican Bistec, Filipino Bistek”
Ernie wrote:
mmmm. Food porn. mmmmmm.
Posted on 20-Nov-08 at 8:02 am | Permalink
ro wrote:
i’m salivating looking at the pic this early in the morning.
Posted on 20-Nov-08 at 10:36 am | Permalink
Efren wrote:
What is it with us and food porn?! That looks amazing…
There actually is a lot in common though between Filipino and South/Central American cuisines…so this isn’t much a surprise to me.
Posted on 20-Nov-08 at 11:34 am | Permalink
Jeff wrote:
Food porn, and by a “Rosemary” no less!
“Sol Food” sounds like a place that I want to try out.
The Spanish colonial connection is an explanation for a lot of the commonalities between Filipino and Latin American cuisines – food like Flan and Cerviche are obvious examples. The Spanish also brought over food like corn from the Americas to the Philippines.
Posted on 20-Nov-08 at 10:57 pm | Permalink
Daixa wrote:
We have a lot in common including a lot of words in tagalog are same words in spanish…Hope you enjoyed every inch of our Island and our food!
Posted on 22-Jan-09 at 1:20 pm | Permalink
Phở Kinh Yue wrote:
Nice. I like how you made a post that also brings out the other cultural influences in your own Filipino one.
Perhaps someone can make a blog about how Vietnamese has foods influenced from the French as well, or even the words like Daixa has kindly mentioned how Spanish is influenced in Tagalog. Vietnamese also has its own influences in their alphabet and language. .
Posted on 22-Jan-09 at 3:32 pm | Permalink
Lina wrote:
I grew up eating both Asian and Puerto Rican food. My mother is Cambodian and Thai, and my father is from Puerto Rico. So i grew up eating all kinds of great food and learning very different cultures as well. Although many different countries were influenced by spanish cuisine Puerto Rican cuisine is influenced by other cultures as well. Puerto Rican food is influenced by native Puerto Rican Indians (Tainos), Spaniards, and Africans. So its different in many ways from Central and South American food. I love different cultures and am constantly fascinated by their influences in other countries!
Posted on 29-Mar-09 at 2:45 pm | Permalink
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