Tapsilog

“Almusal naman ang pag usapan natin” (Let’s talk about breakfast). There is nothing like a hot Tapsilog to start-up my day. This was what I had for breakfast this morning. I can still remember the flavor of the tender homemade beef tapa and the aroma of the sinangag. In fact, I can still smell the garlic till now (oops, forgot to brush).

This meal needs no introduction since most of us might be familiar with it. But, let me provide a little description for the benefit of our non-Filipino readers. Tapsilog is a slang (which later became an accepted name) for a meal consisting of tapa (cured beef similar to beef jerky), sinangag (garlic fried rice), and pritong itlog (fried egg).

“Kuya, where is the cooking video?” Sorry guys, there is no video for this post. My beautiful wife prepared this delicious meal for me. In fact, the meal was already served when I woke-up this morning. Don’t worry; I’ll try to convince her to do some cooking videos in the future – but I’ll need your help on that.

Also, this category which I call “What’s cooking” is all about the simple foods that we have everyday. Videos are not necessary for this category given that most of the featured items are simple to prepare; some might already have their own post or video (like the beef tapa and sinangag). But if you really insist, I can put a video of myself singing Frank Sinatra’s My Way (just don’t stab me or anything). Seriously, you can always shoot me an email or post your questions anytime.

How to make home made Beef Tapa

Beef Tapa is dried cured beef similar to “Beef Jerky”. This is traditionally prepared by curing the meat with sea salt and letting it dry directly under the sun for the purpose of preserving the meat. Nowadays, commercialized Beef Tapa are often cured but most do not undergo drying.

Tapa is usually fried and is best served with vinegar. A popular combination called “Tapsilog” is commonly served in eateries called tapsihan and gotohan. Tapsilog is an abbreviation for Tapa, Sinangag (Fried Rice), and Itlog (Fried egg). Other meats used to make tapa are: Carabao’s meat (tapang kalabaw) , Deer’s meat (tapang Usa), Wild Boar’s meat (tapang Baboy Ramo),and horse’s meat (tapang kabayo). Speaking of tapang kabayo, Matty’s tapsilogan in Don Galo, Paranaque serves one of the best tapang kabayo in the Las Pinas-Paranaque-Muntinlupa area.

This tapa recipe does not entail the use of any preservatives. This is intended for home consumption and is a good “pambaon” for school and work.

Try this easy-to-prepare Filipino Food : Beef Tapa.