When we visited Bicester Cafe, I ordered Tapa Rice. In Jollibee, I also love ordering their Breakfast Tapa whenever my boyfriend and I go to Jollibee either for a quick breakfast or a brunch date. When this month started I had to find a new recipe that I have to follow and I ended up with this recipe in mind.
I've always been curious about how to create tapa or cured beef just like beef jerky. I've read here that the traditional way of making tapa is done by curing the beef with salt. However, the recipe has evolved over the years and what I'm about to share with you now is the modern way of making it!
Tapang Taal Recipe
Tapa is famous in the Philippines to the point that there are various versions of it. There's a town in the Province of Batangas called Taal where the Taal Volcano is located and today's recipe is inspired by the Tapang Taal famous in Taal and neighboring towns and even Provinces.
I got this recipe from Chef RV's official Youtube Channel but I made a few modification on the measurements. Feel free to check the recipe and adjust to your liking!
For this recipe you'll need the following:
- 30ml of Worcestershire sauce (I bought Lea & Perrins)
- 50ml of Soy Sauce (any brand will do)
- 1 entire bulb of minced garlic
- 5 tablespoons of lemon juice (calamansi juice will do)
- 1 tsp brown sugar (to balance the taste)
- half kilo of breakfast steak cut beef
- oil
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Beef is not available in all supermarkets or groceries here in Cebu City. Friendly advice to shop for beef in the big groceries so you won't waste time hopping from one to another just to find the right cut.
Based on my experience, the cut of the beef matters. It's not necessary that you'll only buy the breakfast steak cut. If what's available in your area are the thicker cuts, make sure to cut them into thin strips resembling breakfast steak cut before marinating them.
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Never thought it's this easy!
There are only 3 freaking easy steps to create the best tapa in town! So pay attention, grab your ingredients and let the cooking begin!
[1] Marinate the meat
Combine all the above-mentioned ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Make sure that all ingredients are mixed well into the meat. You may taste the mixture and adjust accordingly. As for me, I love my tapa salty and tangy! 😋
After combining, it should look like this. When done mixing, set aside to marinate for at least 2 hours. The longer you marinate the meat the better! I tried this recipe twice; the 2nd try with 12 hours of marination tasted better!
[2] Frying time
Heat a pan (any pan will do), add 2-3 tbsp of oil (I used olive oil but any oil is fine) and add the beef making sure that each has enough space in the pan. Add a little of the marinate sauce as well. Cook in low heat and wait until the sauce dries up while constantly flipping both sides of the meat. This ensures that both sides are properly cooked.
Continue cooking it for 15-25 minutes depending on the cut you bought, should be on low heat until the sauce completely dries up. You'll see the sauce will somehow caramelize and that's your queue that you're doing a great job!
It's up to you if you want it to completely dry up or you want to retain some of the sauce. I love it dry and tangy! So yeah, no sauce for me!
[3] Serve with hot rice and sunny side up!
And oh, with toasted spicy garlic, too! In the Philippines, we call this combo Tapsilog which means Tapa, sinangag or garlic fried rice and log for itlog or egg. Thus the best breakfast combo meal is Tapa with fried rice and sunny side up with fresh tomatoes on the side!
You don't have to figure out what it looks like; I made one myself just for you guys! And oh, if you love your tapa spicy, you can add chili flakes. I love spicy food so I added a lot of chili flakes in my tapa. The best part of this recipe is that my parents loved it! Wooohooo!
Mission accomplished! See you in my next food blog! I hope you're done eating dinner by now. The photos below will really make you hungdy, again! Haha! 😋
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