Beef tapa (for tapsilog)

Tapsilog is my favorite breakfast. Tapsilog is every Filipinos’ favorite. The secret to Pinoys’ beef tapa is the freshness of the meat and lots of garlic. That’s it! The rest is found below:

1 kilo thinly sliced beef sirloin

Marinade:
1 1/2 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon salt
7 Tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoon minced garlic (you can add more)
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
3 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

Mix well all marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl. Dip each slice of beef into the marinade and place in a plastic bag or any shallow plastic container. When all slices has been dipped and placed in the plastic bag/container, pour the remaining marinade over it. Seal the plastic bag/container removing as much air as you can from the container. Let stand for at least overnight in the refrigerator. You may allow it to “cure” for at 2 days. You may also sun dry the meat pieces if you want your tapa to have that rubbery texture. To cook, just fry in little cooking oil. I prefer mine cooked first in a little water. When the water has dried up, that is the time I add oil to fry. This way the tapa is tender and juicy.

Now serve with fried egg and kalo-kalo (sinangag or fried rice). Garnish with slices of tomatoes and atsarang kapayas (papaya pickles).

It is better if you make several servings of tapa. Let’s say one serving of about ½ kilo per meal. You can save a lot than buying tapa from the grocery stores that are probably made from unsold, thus, not fresh meat.

You may also use pork instead of beef. Pork is cheaper than beef.

photo from marketmanila.com

For a demo on how to prepare beef tapa, here's a video:

Tocino (w/ soda)

1 kilo thinly sliced pork with skin removed   

8 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon rock salt

1 cup clear soda (sprite or 7up)

Spread the thinly sliced pork on a chopping board and pound it using a meat tenderizer hammer or with the dull side of a kitchen knife. Mix all ingredients and allow to marinate for at least 3 hours. You may cook the tocino in its marinade. When almost dried up. Add some oil. Turn the tocino frequently to ensure even cooking. Top with fried garlic. Serve with sunny-side-up egg and fried or plain rice.

Children will love this tocino for its sweetish taste. This recipe is good as it does not require any preservative other than sugar and salt used here.  Because of this, it requires refrigeration.

Happy eating!

photo from flickr.com

Meat loaf

Meat loaf is synonymous to embutido and hardinera in terms of ingredients and process. But there's a twist in this recipe. Try it and find out.

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo ground pork
1 can sliced pineapple
1 onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 small singkamas (sweet yam), chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp powdered milk
4 slices loaf bread
1 egg, slightly beaten
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients except sliced pineapple. At the bottom of a 9"x5" pan, arrange pineapple slices. Pour meat mixture. Cover with wax paper or aluminum foil. Steam for 1 hour, then cool before serving with your favorite ketchup.

Pancake or hotcake

Another recipe from my dear mother's notebook. She used this recipe during those year when ready-to-mix hotcake mix was not available yet in the market. But if you want to try your hand in making real home-made hotcake, here's the recipe for you. It is a lot cheaper if you do this instead of buying the ready-to-mix hotcake.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup sifted all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 cup mince meat (optional)

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. combine eggs, milk, oil, sugar. mix well. add to dry ingredients with mince meat. stir just until flour is moistened. bake on hot griddle pan.

If you use a frying pan, allow the pan to heat up over low to medium heat. Then brush some melted butter or cooking oil. Pour in about 1/2 cup of dough. Cover and allow to cook. If the sides are dry, turn the pancake for the other side to cook.

Instead of meat, you may use mashed banana (green variety), or grated carrot, or chopped malonggay leaves for vitamin-rich pancakes. Happy eating!

Oops! The syrup? Wait lang...

Ah. tantsahan lang sa proportion. Just mix some water (about 1/4 cup), add some white and brown sugar, add butter or oil, heat over low heat until thick. Or you may use condensed milk as topping and sprinkle some chocolate milk drink in granualted form (Milo).