Cook’s notes

The fried marinated beef is tapa, fried rice is sinangag and egg is itlog. Served together, the dish is tapsilog. It is served, along with other silog dishes, almost everywhere in the Philippines. There are humble versions served in carinderias, and there are fancy versions served in more expensive and presentable establishments.

Seasoning the beef

To understand the seasoning process, it is important to point out that, historically, there is no marinating involved in making tapa. Tapa is cured and dried beef quite similar to beef jerky. The beef is cut very thinly, rubbed with rock salt and dried in the sun. It was a method of preserving pricey meat to make it last a long time even without refrigeration.

That was then. That was long, long before I was born. Tapa, these days, is simply thin slices of beef marinated in seasonings and fried over intensely high heat until the edges are crisp.

But what is the marinade? Salt and nothing but salt will do. Want to add another layer of flavor? Combine salt with pepper. But if you want to give the beef a deeper color, use a bit of soy sauce or other liquid seasoning. To make tapa for my tapsilog, yakiniku-cut beef is seasoned a la salpicao and fried just until lightly caramelized.

Garlic fried rice

Fried rice is sinangag in the Philippines. Garlic fried rice did not really become the standard until the rise of silog breakfast dishes.

Garlic fried rice is such a simple dish, really. But the way many cooks take short cuts is mind-boggling. I’ve seen recipes where fried rice is cooked, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with fried garlic on top, and it’s called garlic fried rice. And I can only shake my head in disbelief.

For the rice to taste and smell of garlic, you need to stir fry it in oil infused with garlic flavor. Fry pounded garlic until browned, scoop out and cook the rice in the flavored oil. Garnish with browned garlic bits.

Tapsilog (beef, fried rice and egg)

Prep: 15

Cook: 20

Marinating 8

Total: 8 35

Servings: 3 people

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Modern Filipino

Label: Silog

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Ingredients

Tapa

500 grams yakiniku-cut beef (1.1 pounds)
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons liquid seasoning (I used Knorr — I do not recommend substituting soy sauce)

Garlic fried rice

¼ cup cooking oil
1 whole garlic peeled and pounded
3 to 4 cups day-old rice (letting cooked rice sit in the fridge overnight is recommended)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Tapsilog

3 eggs
salt
cooking oil

Instructions

Marinate the beef

Cut the yakiniku-cut beef into half-inch strips.
Place the beef in a bowl, and mix in the garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and liquid seasoning.

Cook garlic fried rice

Pour the oil into a wok or frying pan and stir in the garlic.
Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic bits are golden and crisp (it takes about eight minutes).
Scoop out the garlic, drain on a stack or paper towels and set aside.
Reheat two tablespoons of oil.
Turn up the heat to high and dump in the rice.
Sprinkle in salt and pepper, or your preferred seasonings.
Stir fry the rice until hot.
Take about three-quarters of the fried garlic and stir into the rice. Set aside and keep hot.

Complete your tapsilog

Heat two to three tablespoons of cooking oil in a frying pan and cook the eggs with a little salt. Set aside.
In the same frying pan, heat enough oil to reach a depth of about one-fourth inch (skip if using a fatty cut of beef).
With the heat on HIGH, spread the marinated beef in the pan and leave to cook for about a minute before stirring to separate the pieces.
Cook, stirring often, until the edges of the beef are lightly caramelized.