How to Make Homemade Beef Tapa: A Filipino-Inspired Dish
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Beef tapa is cured slices of beef. It is usually served for breakfast along with garlic fried rice and sunny-side-up eggs. This dish is one of the famous Filipino "silog meals," meaning a dish that is served with garlic fried rice and eggs. Although this dish is more commonly served for breakfast, it can also be eaten at any time of day. Variations may be spicy, salty, or sweet. My very own variation is a balanced taste of salty and sweet. Enjoy!
Cook Time
Prep time | Cook time | Ready in | Yields |
---|---|---|---|
5 min | 30 min | 35 min | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 500 grams beef, sliced
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons vinegar
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- water, as needed
- cooking oil, for frying


Utensils
For Preparing the Ingredients:
- Plate
- 1 medium bowl
- 2 small bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Spoon
For Cooking the Beef Tapa:
- Frying pan
- Slotted spatula
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine and mix the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Soak the beef in this mixture. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- When ready, pour water into a pan and add the beef together with the marinade.
- Let it simmer until the beef is tender.
- Once tender and no water remains, add a little bit of oil and fry it.
- Serve beef tapa with fried garlic rice.
Tips and Techniques
- Marinate the beef for a couple of hours (or overnight) to ensure that all flavors penetrate the meat.
- Check the tenderness of the beef from time to time. Add water as needed.
- Use a small amount of oil after draining all the liquid to give a bit crunchiness into it.
- Make it spicy by adding homemade chili garlic oil.
- Top it with homemade crispy fried garlic bits.
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