This month’s theme for our Kulinarya Cooking Club is “Only in the Philippines”. Tina from Pinay in Texas Cooking Corner and I are hosting this month and we wanted to focus on unique dishes that can only be found in the Philippines.
Being a Filipina, I love my rice. Growing up, it would be normal for me to have rice three meals in a day. So I thought it natural for me to chose a rice dish for the theme.
I love rice for breakfast. To make a complete meal, add egg and a meat.
What makes this dish unique to the Philippines is the name. Tapsilog. Filipinos like to abbreviate or replace words with acronyms. Tapsilog comprises of Tapa (Tap) sinangag (si) and itlog (log).
Tapa is cured beef. It’s beef that’s been marinated overnight and in some cases, dried then fried. I like my tapa not dried as it can get tough and chewy when not done right. I left out the drying step.
Sinangag is garlic rice. I love it. It’s rice that has been fried with lots of garlic.
Itlog is egg. An oozy, runny egg is essential for this dish.
Recipe:
For the tapa:
- 700g thinly sliced beef tenderloin. I used sizzling steak
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 3tbs soy sauce
- 1tbs mushroom or dark soy sauce
- Pinch salt
Marinate the beef with the rest of the ingredients. Leave overnight or at least 4 hours.
To cook: in a large frying place the beef and marinade in. Let the beef simmer in the marinade until it dries out. Add some vegetable oil to the pan and gently fry until slightly browned and cooked through,
For the sinangag:
- 3cups of uncooked rice
- 1bulb of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- Pinch salt
To cook: cook the rice by absorption method. When cooked set aside to cool a bit. You can also use left over rice from the day before. When ready, add a little vegetable oil in a wok and gently fry the garlic till lightly browned. Add the rice and mix thoroughly and add the salt. Turn the heat to low and leave the rice to fry a little and for the garlic to infuse through. Mix every couple of minutes.
Fry the egg to your liking.
Bon appetite,
Cherrie
