Filipino Beef Tapa is easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought. Serve with garlic fried rice and sunny side eggs for a classic Tapsilog breakfast!
Filipino Beef Tapa
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The chunk of sirloin I bought and had thinly sliced by the butcher at Seafood City a few days ago was pretty huge and at roughly four pounds, was more than enough for one meal. I used about one pound for the beef and baby corn stir-fry we had for lunch yesterday and turned the remaining meat into beef tapa to enjoy for breakfast this weekend.
I do have another tapa recipe on the blog with another set of flavors. While it’s similar in procedure, I used a marinade of fish sauce, brown sugar, and minced garlic. It’s different but delicious just the same.
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What is Filipino tapa
Tapa is a Filipino dish made of thinly-sliced beef, chicken, pork, carabao or game meat such as deer and wild boar. The meat is traditionally cured with salt and spices and then dried or smoked as a preservation technique, but in recent years, the process has been streamlined by simply marinating the meat to infuse flavor and forgoing of the drying process.
After preparation, the seasoned meat is fried or grilled until tender and caramelized. It’s traditionally eaten as part of the classic Filipino tapsilog.
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Marinade ingredients
Calamansi juice-tenderizes the meat by weakening the surface proteins and adds a tangy taste.
Soy sauce-acts as a brining agent and boosts savory flavors
Fresh minced garlic-adds another layer of flavor; fresh is best but garlic powder will work in a pinch
Sugar-sweetens the marinade and balances the acidic component; helps the meat to caramelize
Salt-seasons the meat and acts as a brining agent
Pepper-adds a kick of heat
Cooking tips
Cut the beef thinly for faster cooking and across the grain to ensure a tender chew. To make slicing easier, freeze the meat for a few minutes until slightly firm.
The recipe below uses calamansi juice but other acidic agents such as lemon juice, vinegar, pickle juice or wine are also great options.
Do not marinate the meat for too long as the acids in the marinade will denature the protein fibers and result in a mushy texture.
Sirloin is very tender and takes only a few minutes of pan-frying to cook. If substituting tougher cuts such as bottom round, add about 1 cup of water and simmer the tapa until tender before finishing in oil to crisp up and brown.
What is Tapsilog
A portmanteau for the words tapa (cured meat), sinangag (garlic fried rice) and itlog (fried egg), tapsilog is a popular Filipino meal served as all-day breakfast. The hearty tapa, rice, and egg combo is usually enjoyed alongside condiments such as spicy vinegar dip, fresh tomato salad or atchara.
Print Recipe Leave a Comment3.59 from 24 votes
Filipino Beef Tapa
Beef Tapa is a classic Filipino dish often served for breakfast with garlic fried rice and sunny side up eggs. It's easy to make and sure to be a family favorite.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Marinating8 hrs
Total Time15 mins
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Filipino
Keyword: filipino tapa, tapsilog
Servings: Servings
Calories: 354kcal
Author: Lalaine Manalo
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Ingredients
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup calamansi juice
1 head garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 pounds beef sirloin, thinly sliced
canola oil
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Instructions
In a non-reactive bowl, combine soy sauce, calamansi juice, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir until sugar and salt are dissolved.
Add beef and massage to fully coat with marinade. Keep overnight in the refrigerator to cure. Drain meat from marinade.
In a wide pan over medium heat, heat about 1 tablespoon oil.
Add beef in a single layer and cook, turning on sides, for about 3 to 5 minutes or until liquid (meat will dispel liquid) is almost absorbed.
Add another 1 tablespoon of oil and continue to cook until meat is lightly browned.
Remove from pan and cut into serving portions. Serve hot.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 51g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 1406mg | Potassium: 834mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 5mg
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Filed Under: Breakfast and Brunch, Meat and Poultry
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Hello! My name is Lalaine and welcome to Kawaling Pinoy where you’ll find Filipino and Asian-inspired recipes, cooking tips, and how-to videos. Read more...
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Comments
Expertans says
The procedure below requires combining water and oil. The beef is boiled until the water evaporates – this makes it more tender. The remaining oil fries the beef. You can skip this process by directly frying the beef in oil.
Katrina M. says
Hi Ms. Lalaine!
I tried your beef tapa recipe and it was superb. Thank you for sharing your recipes and for inspiring other people especially Stay-at-home-moms to prepare home-cooked food.Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you for the 5-stars! I am glad you find the recipes useful.
Katrina says
I used your recipe for lamb sukiyaki cut and this is a keeper! Thank you for sharing family-friendly (easy to prepare and very tasty) recipes!
Lalaine Manalo says
I am glad you enjoyed it!
Lora Dyl says
Hi Ms Lalaine! I found and read your recipes just now and can’t wait to try this filipino beef tapa. Just a question po, how can i get to the recipe card for measurement adjustment kasi 1/2 kilo lng po sana ang gagawin q. Thanks a lot!
Lalaine Manalo says
Hello, Lora
Just type the number of servings you want in the servings box 🙂
Erce Cobile says
What can you use beside sirloin?
Lalaine Manalo says
You can use top round but it might take longer to cook. Simmer the seasoned meat in about 1 cup of water until tender before finishing off in oil to brown.
Maria says
Do not let this recipe fool you! At first you would think, “Hmm, di yata sapat yung pangbabad”, but holy guacamole, this is the best tapa I made! I made this with outside rounds (cheaper cut), because we were slicing for jerky and the thickness was wrong, somehow. I let it simmer in little water then pan fry, turned out soooo tender. Thank you for this recipe and more power!
Lalaine says
Thank you so much, Maria, for leaving feedback. I am glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Weng Zialcita says
Ive tried different beef tapa recipe, and yours is the BEST. My husband and kids are loving it .
Lalaine Manalo says
Awww, thank you so much. YOu made my day. I am glad you liked it 🙂
Suzanne says
Lalaine, this is the bomb! I used to buy ready-to-cook beef tapa at the grocery but they don’t have the taste I was lookimg for. And I tried your recipe and this is it!
Since I wanted to fully incorporate the garlic, I processed the marinade with a blender.
Thanks again! You are awesome!
Lalaine says
Thank you so much, Suzanne, for the feedback and tip. Processing it in the blender is a great idea!
Tina says
Hi ms. Lalaine,
How to adjust the ingredients if i only intend to cook about 500g of beef?
Thank you!
Lalaine says
Hi Tina,
Use the serving adjuster on the recipe card, it should give you a good estimate of how much you’ll need. 🙂
Maria Teresa Obias says
Perfect
Lynn says
This is the bomb! Thank you for this recipe Ms. Lalaine.. Super super super sarap! 😄
Lalaine says
Aww, thank you, Lynn. I am glad you liked it 🙂
christine says
What kind of soy sauce do you use?
Lalaine says
I use dark soy sauce, Filipino brand like Silver Swan or Datu Puti 🙂
Norman Canlas says
Hi Lalaine! I tried this two weeks ago. My wife liked it so I am happy. No calamansi here at this time and our calamansi plants are too small to bear enough fruits. I ended up using lemons, same amount. The advise to freeze the extra was very helpful. Thanks for your guidance.
Sarah says
I had the chance to try this last night. I followed your recipe as is, but I didn’t get to cook it right away. I had to freeze it for a few days, then thawed it last night before cooking it. At first, I thought it would taste like “bistek” because of similar ingredients. Surprisingly, it didn’t. This beef tapa had its own personality, and it was wonderful! The only thing I slightly changed is to add a tad of salt. Then it was perfect.
Ruby says
Hi Lalaine!
I was going to make this tomorrow morning for breakfast, but I realized that its lent friday so sadly we can’t eat beef 🙁 Would it be okay to marinade this for over two nights?
Last week, I marinated bangus. With your advice, I had told my BF that it’s important to marinade this just for one night -otherwise it will break apart when frying. But my BF was all like, “No -you can’t believe everything you read on the internet. The longer you marinade, the tastier it gets.” So I listened to him and I let it marinade for over 4 nights. Hehe. Sure enough when I fried it, it was a mess! It was still tasty, but it was all in pieces.
So no more listening to my boyfriend. I will follow every step and advice you have 🙂
Lalaine says
Hello Ruby
You can transfer them to a ziplock bag and store in the freezer until ready to use. The tapa will keep in the freezer for one or two months. Just thaw and cook as directed.
Hahaha you made me laugh. Yes, marinating meat (most especially fish!) over extended period of time in acids such as lemon or vinegar will break down the protein and change the texture. But still, it was wise of you to have listened to your BF. It’s healthy for the relationship and for our guys’ ego to OCCASIONALLY give them a say. 🙂
Haidee E. Terry says
Thank you for this most EXCELLENT recipe. My family & friends love it so much that I made the 2nd batch a few days ago for this weekend. I used the beef flap/skirt meat from Sam’s and after 7 days of marinating, I boiled it for about 5 minutes in plain water to reduce the saltiness, & then fried it. The result was this tender, succulent, and flavorful tapa! It even had the mildest hint of sour that it reminded me of my grandmother’s pindang damulag. Dakal a salamat, Lalaine! And congratulations on the success of Kawaling Pinoy.
Lalaine says
Thanks, classmate 🙂
Sheryl E says
I love beef tapa even one that is simply seasoned with salt and MSG. Atcahara papaya, for some people, is a good side dish for beef tapa although I could get my tummy happy with plain vinegar.
Lalaine says
Hello Sheryl
I, too, prefer vinegar as accompaniment to beef tapa, with sili please! 🙂
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