Nakakatakam na Beef Tapa

Nothing beats eating tapa for breakfast. With garlic rice and fried egg, it’s a breakfast fit for anyone expecting a busy day. My beef tapa recipe is a mixture of pepper and sweetness the way I like my lean and tasty beef tapa to be. Remember to marinate overnight (two days for better absorption) so that the seasonings seep well into the beef slices.

1 kilo beef sirloin, thinly sliced, cut into long strips
1 1/2 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon salt
7 Tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoon minced garlic (adding more the better)
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
3 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

1. Mix all ingredients into mixing bowl.
2. Cover and Let stand overnight or two nights in the refrigerator.
3. Depending on the size of your family, apportion the beef slices into plastic bags. In our case, we are a family of four. A pack of 3 plastic bags is enough.
4. Store in freezer for 24 hours before cooking.

I usually add a little water in the kawali and allowing the water to evaporate before frying the beef so that it comes out more tender. Others like their tapa as hard as rock or rubbery but I prefer mine tender to the bite.

source:pinoyfoodblog

Tikoy with a twist.

Nowadays, Chinese immigrants comprising the largest group of immigrant settlers in the Philippines.  As an ethnic group, they get 22% of our population including Chinese-Mestizos. Business and even their special occasions are being recognized by the country. One of which is the Chinese new Year. 

 Every Chinese New Year, Nian Gao or most popularly known as "tikoy"  is always on the list.  It is a food prepared from glutinous rice and very sticky. For Chinese people, tikoy should be on the table every New Year because it will cause the family to be close for the whole year. 

The usual way of cooking it is frying it in a pan after coating with beaten egg. We always have plenty boxes of tikoy in our house and doing this usual preparation makes our  tongue wanna try something new. Fortunately, my mother's officemate taught us a twist in cooking tikoy. 

Here's how. 

Basically you just need four, yes only four ingredients. 

1. Tikoy
2. Lumpia wrapper
3. cheese
4. oil(for frying)

Cut the tikoy and cheese into strips. Get a strip of tikoy and cheese and wrap it together with lumpia wrapper. In a hot pan, fry it until golden brown. And holla! your tikoy with twist is now ready!

Easy right? and I assure you it's yuuuummmmy! Try it for yourself. :)

Sinigang na baboy