Baka Tim or Beef Pata Tim (Beef in Sweet-Savory Sauce) for December Kulinarya Challenge

For foodies and people who love food, cooking, eating and everything in between (you are right, the one after eating is usually not well loved :)), one Christmas tradition that excites me the most is the Noche Buena. The customary dinner or feast shared by and between the whole family on Christmas Eve …… usually right after attending the midnight or late evening Christmas Eve Mass called Misa De Gallo.

Keeping up with that tradition, Joy of Gastronomy by Joy and She of Señorita Sisa’s Blog of the Kulinarya Cooking Club (KCC) chose the theme Noche Buena (of course) for our December Challenge where participating members will prepare one dish of their choice. Something that they intend to become part of their family’s Noche Buena come Christmas Night.

Since I decided to dwell on the centerpiece of the Noche Buena which is usually accorded to the magnificent ham or the all-time Filipino favorite fried or roast whole chicken or the pricey roast pig, I decided to make a new dish that could be placed at the center table with all pride and glory comparable to that of the three mentioned main dishes but characterize by a fresh idea, easy preparation and relative affordability. Here comes my version of “pata tim” prepared using a slab of beef instead of the usual pork knuckle – the “baka tim”. :-)

Atay ng Baka sa Oyster Sauce (Beef Liver Stir-fried in Oyster Sauce)

This is about beef liver as a culinary item …… and I need to tackle this matter convincingly …… my better half is not a fan of the food and as we all know, it’s hard to argue with the wife …… most often it is a no contest situation …… lol. No matter how good my preparation is …… if it has liver, chances are my wife will not touch it …… much more eat it. :-))

But that should not discourage me from sharing you good people what I believe is a wonderful food item …… both in taste and in its nutritional contents. Am I that obvious I love this food? I think so… :) Simply grilled, lightly fried or cook in “calamansi”, soy sauce and onions like in “bistek” (Filipino beef or pork steak), liver or “atay” (as called in the Philippine language), be it from beef, “carabeef”, chicken or pork, never ceases to delight me.

Yes, beef liver has delicate texture and is delicious. Okay, okay that’s only me speaking and not my better half. And it’s also full of high quality protein, has lots of vitamins such as A, C and many types of B as well as riboflavin and niacin, essential minerals such as copper, selenium, iron & zinc and other nutrients such as omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.

I guess she will have to agree with me on the last statement. After all, it is factual that beef liver or calf liver has an incredible nutritional value even when served in small quantity. To mention just a few, it helps the immune system in functioning well, improves cardiovascular health and decreases the risk of having a heart attack. Who would not like that benefits? Except my wife that is. :)

Truly, there are more reasons to eat liver than not! Here is one take that you could try if you have not been transformed yet. Who knows, it could open a whole new insight on the rather exotic food.

Buntot ng Baka sa Oyster Sauce (Oxtail in Oyster Sauce and Lemon Grass)

Oxtail is quite exotic a cut of beef and therefore less appealing (if at all, it is even considered an edible cut of meat) to most, especially mothers, ladies and young children. It composes lots of tailbones called caudal vertebrae, strong ligaments (that allow the joints to move), cartilage (that cushions the bones) and some rather tough flash that’s full of veins and tendons. In some Asian countries like the Philippines, the regular cut even includes, hold your breath ……… the tough rind or skin covering …… but which becomes gelatinous (due to collagen releases) after long hours of patiently slow cooking the meat. :-)

With such a composition, the uninitiated can only imagine how the meat would taste in, say, a rich stew or hearty soup. But before you even judge oxtail, try this dish first. Who knows, it might open a new perspective on how you and other people look at oxtail as an alternative food item? As for me, I have been enjoying its unique robust flavor for a very long time.

Whilst oxtails, in the olden days, really come from oxen or steers, today they are simply the tails of cows and other bovines (like the Philippine “carabao” or water buffalo) of both genders. Surprisingly, oxtail makes for a very flavorful stew or rich soupy dishes with its tasty meat and naturally intense beef flavor due to its bones and marrow. That is provided you are willing to undergo the long hours (based on my own experience, about 2 – 3 hours sometimes more) of slow cooking, either by braising or controlled boiling or simmering.

If you have not tried this fabulous meat yet, this should be the right time. Many adventurous chefs have been trying their kitchen prowess at this meat quite often now. The attempts are so variable and excitingly beyond the usual stew and soup preparations. Let’s be part of the ongoing trend of rediscovering the humble meat that has been with us for ages …… since the time we have started eating beef. :-)

Chicharon Bituka (Crackling Intestines) for April Kulinarya Challenge

For a person who’s in serious diet, decadence could mean indulging in foods not in line or in total contrast with the diet program. Most often the foods involve are those excessively sweet, heavy on carbohydrates and overly laden with fats and/or calories. Since I am not so much into sweet foods, like banana cake, chocolate cake, carrot cake, no-bake or refrigerated cake, “ube halaya”, “maja blanca” and “minatamis na saging” (no … not really, I just like to make them :)), decadence to me is feasting on salty and oily foods like “crispy pata” (the all-time favorite), “crispy ulo” (unsightly but goodie), “rebosadong taba” (gush, I have to make this again soon) and as recently featured here “chicharon bulaklak” (the ultimate in crisp). The mere thought of these fatty but utterly tasty foods made me slobber and feel seemingly a pound heavier. :-)

In response to this month’s (April 2011) Kulinarya Challenge under the theme DECADENCE (I really like this term, for some reasons it sounds good and feels good), I thought of adding another sinful dish similar to the deep fried meats (or fats) above but this time using the equally challenging intestines of a swine or a bovine. Okay this maybe a bit unusual for non-Filipinos and definitely not for the squeamish as it involves part of the offal or internal organs of an animal used as food. While I usually use such intestines in “dinuguan” or blood stew, this is also good cooked as “chicharon”, either as a viand or side dish in a main meal, as a snack eaten in between meals, or as “pulutan” or bites munched over a bottle of beer.

Unlike the ordinary “chicharon” made from pork rind, I find “chicharon bituka” particularly fatty, salty and if store-bought, excessively seasoned with MSG. That’s on top of the fact that it is made from internal organ which has a high concentration of cholesterol. Thus, I consider it decadent to indulge with. But like most Filipino (and some Filipina too), I would still crave for it whenever I see some or even just hear someone talking about it. It is among the wicked Filipino foods that once you get used to are quite difficult to avoid or remove from the diet …… sort of kicking a vice.

Bagis Recipe Version 2 (Minced Beef Cooked in Calamansi & Chilies)

I have featured this spicy viand before in a version cooked using lime juice and green finger chilies. Since I now have “calamansi” or “calamondin” (Philippine lemon) and “siling labuyo” or bird chili which are the original ingredients in an authentic “bagis” (as usually prepared in the central and northern Luzon areas of the Philippines), I would like to make another version of the dish for posting here. Well in addition, it is also my lame excuse for not being able to immediately come out with fresh ideas on how to cook our minced beef long standing in the fridge. But as it turns out, it is an appetizing excuse indeed. :-)

Minced beef or beef mince, popularly known in the Philippines as ground beef or “giniling na baka”, is a finely chopped beef, usually by a meat grinder or mincer locally known as “gilingan”. Please take note however that the cutting process involves fine chopping or mincing and not grinding. Ground beef is relatively a quick-cooking form of beef which does not require long simmering or boiling to tenderize the meat. It is usually made from leaner, tougher and less desirable beef cuts ……… sometimes from loose or side cuttings of other cuts which could easily be marketed minced.

The popularity of minced beef soars with the popularity of hamburgers where it is the main ingredient. It is also widely use in the preparation of meatloaves, sausages, meat pies, meatballs, tacos, chili, sauces like lasagna and spaghetti Bolognese and many more.

In the Philippines, it is typically cooked into everyday food called “giniling” with minced tomatoes and potatoes, in steamed dumplings like “siomai”, in meatballs like “bola-bola” and “kikiam”, as fillings for pastries like in empanada, turn-over and buns, in meat spring roll called “lumpiang shanghai”, in fresh sausage called “longanisa” and in meatloaf known as “embutido”.

Southern Tagalog Style Goto (Ox Jowl or Cheek Soup)

Aphrodisiac Food……that’s the theme of the Kulinarya Cooking Club challenge for the love month of February. It’s pretty sensible right? The sweetly and hotly (pun intended) celebrated Valentine’s Day or Heart’s Day is the most important occasion of the month …… especially for lovers …… or would-be lovers. A day allocated and designated particularly for couples who want to celebrate their love, pledge and vow (as the case maybe) with one another ……… to strengthen the relation ……… to re-ignite the passion ……… to rekindle the affection ……… to solidify the union.

If sumo wrestlers have their “chanko-nabe” meals to develop the strength for a husky and fiercely fight, we in Kulinarya tried hard to come out with special food for lovers to be ready for a lovely and cuddly fight. That while some political activists are giving free condoms in the streets of Manila (Philippines) for safety reasons, foodie members of Kulinarya around the world are busy concocting food formulas for sultry reasons ……… for enhancing the desire ……… for stimulating ones drive ……… through meals which are not only intended to be attractive and tasty ……… but also provocative and kinky. :-)

This blog is not actually new to such a recipe. For more than a year, my most popular and thus most visited post is Soup Number 5. Could you believe that? It is regarded as the ultimate aphrodisiac Filipino food. Myth or truth is something not important for those who love the dish. Be it simply for the taste or secretly for the potent love potion, Soup No. 5 continues to draw patron. Be it for the comforting effect or the stimulating upshot, more and more Filipinos are eating the famed soup. As a follow up for that dish and as my entrée to the Kulinarya challenge, I am glad to feature the Southern Tagalog Style Goto, an invigorating soup made from ox jowl or cheek called “mascara ng baka”.

Bopis or Bopiz Version 2 (Lights and Heart Sauteed in Onions, Tomatoes and Chilies)

We already have a post about the earthy Filipino dish called “bopis or bopiz” which could be regarded as quite unusual because it is made from the lungs of a swine or sometimes bovine. Such internal organ of a livestock when used in cooking is called lights. For this preparation though, and as always done in the Philippines, I included the heart as well. Having said this, please consider yourself as have been warned about the bizarre or to some extent disturbing nature of the dish we are about to cook. You are advised to leave freely now if you think you are squeamish or faint-hearted and have a feeling that this post will somehow touch your sensitivities.

Please understand that like in many Asian countries and surprisingly Scotland and other European nations, lights or lungs are a common food item in the Philippines along with the heart, liver and even spleen of a livestock or game. There are unique dishes which the common people of our country have successfully developed for the main purpose of using such peculiar meat parts, which other find no or very limited usage in the kitchen, into acceptable daily meals. These I believe are normal occurrences in a country where the population is continuously exploding and shortage of food remains a perennial problem.

As explained before, “bopis” or “bopiz” in Spain is a spicy Filipino-Spanish dish made from finely diced pork or beef lights (lungs) and heart sautéed in garlic, onions, tomatoes, chilies and flavored with natural vinegar. While in the first version I used a parboiled and finely diced lungs, this version 2 will totally omit the parboiling process and directly sauté the finely minced or ground raw lungs and heart instead. As the meat is finer, we could expect the dish to be richer in taste and smoother in texture.

Iyasi - The La Paz Batchoy of Batangas

Nippy wind starts blowing in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries. Torrential rains continue pouring hard over the entire island of Sri Lanka and other South Asian nations. Heavy snow started falling in the UK, Germany, Italy and other parts of Europe. We are experiencing a cooler weather all over the world. Truly, the cool and joyful season of Christmas is almost here. It does not only stir excitement to the Christian world but also brings a chilly feeling deep down to the bones. It makes us stay longer in bed and even longer inside the comfort of our homes.

During such cold season, the family will be delighted if served with steaming hot soupy dish like “tinola” or “sinigang” or “nilaga” during meals. In line with this, I thought of preparing another soup dish, rough recipe of which I learned from the mother of my brother-in-law. It is locally called “iyasi” in some parts of Batangas which is basically a type of “bachoy”, utilizing almost the same “bachoy” ingredients, with just a few twists in the preparation like the addition of chopped coriander or “kinchay” and “misua” or long and thin wheat flour noodles in the end.

As a backgrounder, “bachoy” is the term used to refer to the combination of pork meat composed of some tenderloin (“lomo”) and entrails like spleen (“lapay”), kidney (“bato”), heart (“puso”) and liver (“atay”). It is also the name of a traditional soup cooked using the collective meat ingredients and flavored with lots of ginger and topped with chili tops. If noodles are added and the noodle dish is topped with ground pork crackling or “chicharon”, it is called “la paz bachoy”. Since “iyasi” have “misua” noodles, it can be considered the “la paz batchoy” of Batangas (Philippines); the reason for my post title above.

Beef with Broccoli in Oyster Sauce

When thinking of a dish composed chiefly of meat and vegetable, a stir-fried beef flavored with oyster sauce will always come to one’s mind. For some reason, beef and oyster sauce easily create a pleasant combination of flavors which works very well with many kinds of vegetables especially those belonging to the families of cauliflower, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprout as well as gourd like bitter melon. So when a friend requested that we cook broccoli for a change, in our regular list of weekly veggies actually, I immediately thought of beef broccoli. Sounds pretty delicious right!

Broccoli is a plant of the Kale family “Brassicaceae”. The plant has large lovely flower heads stunningly arranged in a tree-like fashion on branches sprouting from a thick stalk. The edible flower head is usually green in color and attached to an also edible stalk. The mass of flower heads is surrounded by leaves. Broccoli is a cool season annual crop most closely resembles cauliflower, a different cultivar group belonging to the same species. It is believed to have evolved from wild cabbage plant that grew on the continent of Europe.

Apart from tasting real good and quite an attractive ingredient, broccoli is a very important vegetable because it is highly nutritious. It offers many health benefits - enough reasons for us to regularly include it into our family’s everyday meal. It is an excellent source of vitamins C, K & A and dietary fiber; and a good source of selenium. In fact, a single serving of the vegetable could provide more than 30 mg of Vitamin C. It also has high levels of carotenoids, particularly rich in lutein and a provider of beta-carotene. Amazingly, it also contains multiple nutrients and chemical compounds with potent anti-cancer, anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.

Hamburger with Cheese - 100% Beef (Cheeseburger)

Due to its widespread popularity and worldwide proliferation, hamburger can be considered as an indication of inflation. Seriously! The hamburgers we have been enjoying from the many fast-food restaurants have considerably evolved into smaller sizes over the years, sort of suffering from a serious condition of dwarfism. This, I believe is due to the effect of the world inflation. Knowing it is a good business decision to stick to the current retail price as much as possible, the only way to go for burger companies to counter the continuously rising prices of ingredients and increasing costs of production is to wittingly but very silently reduce the serving sizes.

Praying the consumers will not really notice the physical changes and blindly think that they are eating the same portion originally served many years back. But of course we eventually become aware of. We may not necessarily complain but somehow deep inside we know.

On top of the reduction in size, the quality of beef patties is also probably being thwarted to incorporate cheaper extenders and the likes to cope up with the increasing price of beef. We have notice the slightly diminishing quality of the beef patties over the years as well. What used to be a 100% beef hamburger can no longer be expected from our favorite burger fast-foods now. But this negative food evolution is something we should understand. As I said above, this is brought about by the world inflation and the company’s decision to suspend increasing prices as much as possible. It is happening not only to hamburgers but to almost all commodities, food or otherwise.

But we, as consumers have the power to choose. With the many restaurants or food outlets available around, offering their versions of the delicious hamburgers, then we can select the ones giving the best worth for our money. We can still continue our pursuit for that 100% pure beef hamburgers. Not just as a commercial ad label but a true selection parameter. And if still we cannot find satisfaction, then we can always make our own and be sure that it is really a 100% beef hamburger.

Beef Siomai or Shaomai a la Jhala (Beef and Vegetable Dumpling)

Now among the most popular light meal or snack meal in malls and supermarkets in the Philippines, “siomai” has been causing quite a stir in the Philippine food scene. With the proliferation of mall kiosks and roadside stores selling freshly steamed and sometimes fried “siomai” at a very affordable prices, the family can now fully enjoy the delicious Chinese dumpling any day of the week without losing a big chunk of the already tight budget. It is a welcome reprieve for mothers who have kids and hubby, who love the tasty dumpling so much, but do not have the required time to regularly prepare one.

“Siomai” as called in the Philippines is a traditional Chinese dumpling also known as “shaomai”, “shumai”, “siu mai”, “shui mei” and “siew mai” among its many name variants. While originally, there were two regional varieties in China, the Cantonese and the Jiangnan versions, its introduction and wide acceptance in many parts of the world like the Philippines and other South East Asian nations, inevitably resulted to the evolution of many varieties, methods of preparation and using different ingredients.

I have been preparing ‘siomai”, a standard dish of the Chinese dim sum tradition, for many years now but regularly using pork (though sometimes with shrimp) as the main ingredient. It is a constant hit among my friends, colleagues and guests. Due to personal satisfaction, a colleague, Jhala, wittingly prepared a variant using minced beef in lieu of the usual ground pork. It came out quite successful so sharing the recipe here for interested readers to try is such a noble deed which we should take advantage of.

Easy Beef Spare Ribs (Short Ribs) and Steamed Veggies

It’s been a while since my last post. Since last week, I have been busy on a special job assignment and so I thought I owe to present you guys with a rather extraordinary recipe worthy of waiting. But since I just returned and don’t have much time yet, let me first feature an equally important dish prepared by a colleague following the recipe I developed and posted here late last year under easy spare ribs. While my original recipe uses pork spareribs, my colleague tweaked it a little bit and used beef spareribs or short ribs and served the dish alongside steamed veggies. Brilliant Idea!

As discussed before, spare ribs or spareribs are a variety of pork ribs which are a long cut from the bottom section of the ribs and breastbone, just above the belly and behind the shoulder as oppose to baby back ribs which are from the top of the rib area along the back. It is considered to be more meaty and succulent than baby back ribs. For beef however, a slab of spare ribs can be too big so it is usually cut into thinner, lighter and more manageable sizes called short ribs. Short ribs or thin ribs are a popular cut of beef. Beef short ribs are larger and usually more tender and meatier than their pork counterpart. They are a cut from the rib and plate primals and a small corner of the square-cut chuck.

A full slab of short ribs is typically about 10 inches square, ranges from 3-5 inches thick, and contains three or four ribs, intercostal muscles and tendon, and a layer of boneless meat and fat which is thick on one end of the slab and thins down to almost nothing on the other. There are numerous ways to butcher short ribs. The ribs can be separated and cut into short lengths, typically about 2 inches long, called an "English cut", "flanken cut" across the bones, typically about 1/2 inch thick, or cut into boneless steaks, a style recently introduced in the US, as a cheaper alternative to rib steak.

Mechado (Beef Stew in Tomato Sauce)

Like “caldereta” or “kaldereta”, “mechado” is a beef stew dish from the Philippines with obvious Spanish influences, from its name to the use of ingredients and to the slow stewing process. Although the current use of typical Filipino ingredients such as soy sauce and “calamansi” extracts in many of its variations is giving its distinct Filipino character, the key ingredients and texture of the dish remain a showcase of the rich Spanish cuisine’s characteristics.

The name “mechado” originates from the traditional use of Spanish culinary practice of threading strips of pork fatback through thick pieces of the lean beef to render them more tender and juicy. The strip of fatback which basically serves as a wick is called “mecha” in Spanish, hence the name “mechado” to the dish.

In its common form, the larded pieces of beef are then marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, “calamansi” extract, crushed garlic, black pepper and bay leaf, browned quickly on all sides in hot oil or lard and then slowly braised in its marinade with the addition of soup stock, onion slices and tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes until tender and the liquid is reduced to a thick flavorful gravy.

However, my own variation is more of the Spanish side; cooking it more like “beef caldereta” with no quick-frying of the meat and not involving the use of soy sauce and “calamansi” in the marinade. I also prefer beef cuts with some fat layers, ligaments and tendons if possible to avoid the use of pork fatback strips which my wife and kids do not particularly like in stew dishes.

Adobong Batangas (Pork, Beef and Liver Adobo - Batangas Style)

The versatility of the Filipino adobo dish transcends many boundaries. From the use of different main ingredients to the incorporation of various condiments, flavorings, sauces and spices, adobo has evolved into becoming a major food tree that comprises many branches and sub-branches. In fact, it is still actively growing and many other variations and kinds are probably being created as we speak.

In addition to the several adobo recipes that I have already shared here like pork adobo version 1 and version 2, beef adobo, chicken adobo in turmeric, fish adobo in coconut milk and even mixed-meat adobo using ox tongue and chicken neck, there is another exciting type of the dish being prepared in the Batangas province of the Southern Luzon Region (Philippines) called “Adobong Batangas”.

Like the “adobong manok sa dilaw”, this variation is quite unique for it does not contain or use soy sauce, a now very basic ingredient in a typical everyday adobo. “Adobong Batangas” is likewise rather unusual for it utilizes a combination of meats; pork, beef and liver as its main ingredients and “atsuete” or annatto seed extract to provide a mild earthy flavor and darker color which the soy sauce usually provides.

Asadong Dila or Lengua (Pork or Ox Tongue Asado Version 2)

I have already featured here a recipe for “asadong dila or lengua” but to satisfy a reader’s request, particularly asking an even simpler way to cook the sweetish-salty Chinese influenced-Filipino dish using just basic and ordinary ingredients, I am posting this second version of preparing the dish. Whilst this is easy, simple and requires just a few common Filipino ingredients be surprised not that this still tastes great. With enough patience in slowly simmering the meat, tongue or “lengua”, until it is already succulent but still with the correct amount of sauce, you can’t go wrong doing the dish.

I usually prepare this dish in large quantity. Not only because I really love it but because there are many other uses of the already cooked “asado”, be it a straight beef asado or like in this case, using the tongue meat. It can be used as filling for “siopao” or Filipino-Chinese steamed bun; bread rolls or baked buns or empanada; and wrapped up foods like burrito, soft taco, tortilla and probably even like in a la “shawarma”. It also remains good tasting over a long period of time kept in the fridge and a handy source of quick food when in a hurry. During an unannounced visit of guests and relatives, it could well save you from stress thinking of what food to urgently serve. :-)

Bopis Garlic Fried Rice (Sinangag)

In the same passion of cooking adobo garlic fried rice, I have experimented with many other variations using different leftover meat; basically whatever is available in our kitchen. My latest trial is using some excess “bopis” and it came out quite fine hence my posting here. As also featured here before, “bopis” or “bopiz” is a spicy Filipino dish made from finely diced pork or beef lights (lungs) and heart sautéed in garlic, onions, tomatoes, chilies and vinegar. It is a very tasty and sometimes really spicy dish which can be eaten with rice as a main meal or side dish and often times as bites or “pulutan” while drinking alcoholic beverages.

We have some leftover “bopis” and it so happened that we want to eat fried rice, so I thought of preparing garlic fried rice flavored with “bopis” or in other words, a “bopis-garlic fried rice”. With my firm belief in the delicious “bopis” and the aromatic garlic, I never had doubt about the resulting fried rice dish. And I was right; the concocted dish was wonderful and something worth blogging. It’s distinctly tasty and yummy. It is now among my favorite fried rice recipes and repeat preparation is already booked.

Beef Salpicao (Beef Stir Fried in Garlic and Oyster Sauce)

"Beef Salpicao" is a Filipino dish made from tenderloin cubes that are quick-fried with garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and/or oyster sauce. It is like steak “a la pobre” only the beef is cut into small bite sizes and rapidly stir fried in a steel wok over very high heat. The idea is to sear the tender meat, lock the juice inside and infuse it with garlic flavor and the combined taste of several liquid seasonings. Stir frying only takes several minutes so the meat is basically cooked rare to medium rare for it to remain juicy and succulent. Over cooking will unnecessarily result to a dry and tough meat even when using the loin cuts of beef such as tenderloin or sirloin.

Surprisingly, there are so many variations of the dish. I have first tasted it in one restaurant in the Ilocos Region of northern Philippines and instantly bitten by its wonderful taste. I never had the chance to return to the same restaurant again nor encounter any restaurant that could at least equal the type of “salpicao” being served there. I keep on trying the dish offered in many other restaurants in Manila and elsewhere but could not really find the kind that caught my taste buds in Ilocos. Other versions are either not as tasty or not as juicy.

Sinigang na Baka (Beef Stew in Tamarind)

As mentioned in my “sinigang na tuna” post where I discussed the popular Filipino soup dish collectively called ”sinigang”, beef is one of the other meats that can be cooked the same way. Whilst I have cooked beef in several Filipino dishes like beef “caldereta” or “kalderetang baka”, beef adobo or “adobong baka” and the meaty beef “asado”, I have yet to prepare and feature it in a soupy dish. Although my favorite soup dish for beef is “nilagang baka”, a variation of the popular “nilagang baboy” or pork stew with vegetables , I intend to first prepare it as “sinigang” or stew with souring agent which in this case is a pre-mix tamarind powder.

Generally, beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle or cows. It is among the principal meats used in the cuisine of America, Australia, Argentina and Europe. It is also an important meat in Africa, East Asia and Southeast Asia like in the Philippines, where it is much pricier than pork and chicken.

Beef is divided into basic sections from which steaks and other subdivisions are cut. These are called primal cuts. Different countries have different cuts and names. Different cultures have their own distinct ways of dividing and cutting the meat. The French and English make 35 differentiations to the beef cuts. The “Bodi” tribe in East Africa has 51 cuts. Even more remarkably, the Koreans differentiate beef cuts into 120 different parts.

Adobong Lengua at Leeg (Ox Tongue and Chicken Neck Adobo)

As mentioned in both my previous Adobo posts Version 1 and Version 2, you can basically cook anything, meat, seafood and veggies, into the widely regarded Filipino national dish called Adobo. As of this writing, many other variations are probably being created somewhere within the more than 7,100 beautiful islands forming the Philippine archipelago. The endless possibilities in cooking adobo and the strong fascination of the Filipinos to find new ways to enjoy the delicious dish bring about many new variations of the dish. The one I am posting now is my own concoction prepared using ox tongue and chicken neck.

I thought this could be somewhat similar to the already popular Chicken Liver and Gizzard Adobo with the texture of the ox tongue being comparable with that of gizzard. I decided to include the chicken neck to provide that tasty chicken flavor which the ox tongue obviously lacks. It is just a pity that chicken neck here in Sri Lanka is sold without the skin which I believe is the part that is packed with that yummy flavor. On the second thought, maybe it is a blessing in disguise, since it is a common knowledge that chicken skin is so full of unhealthy fat which we don’t want to put into our system. :-)

Ox tongue, called “lengua” in the Philippines, is a wonderful cut of meat which I already cooked into “Asadong Dila or Lengua” sometime before. Once tender, the meat offers a distinct texture and succulence so good that it perks up the taste buds…….. makes you to want more…….. and more……. and more.:-)

Chicken is probably the tastiest poultry meat. It is one of the most eaten meats in the world with almost all parts of the bird being used for food including the neck. While the neck is bony and has less meat, it is very tasty and quite good in dishes prepared with small amount of sauce remaining like adobo.

To cook the dish we need about half a kilo (500 grams) each of both ox tongue and chicken neck, properly washed, drained and cut up to bite sizes.

The other ingredients needed are 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 6 gloves garlic, peeled and crushed, 2 pcs small bay leaves, 1 tsp ground pepper, ¼ cup white vinegar (adjust the amount depending on the type you are using), ¼ cup soy sauce, 1 tsp salt or to taste and about 1 large potato, peeled and cut into serving sizes.

In a large thick pan or wok, heat the oil and fry the garlic and onion. Add in the ox tongue and sauté. Cover and wait for the meat to render its own liquid. Give it a gentle stir and simmer on low heat until the liquid is reduced and meat starts to sizzle in its own fat and aromatic. Add the ground pepper, salt and bay leaves on the sizzling meat in the pan. Continue sautéing for several minutes.

Pour the vinegar and let it boil uncover. Add the soy sauce, lightly stir to blend and continue simmering on low heat. Add hot water when the liquid is drying up, ½ cup at a time.

Continue simmering until the ox tongue is slightly tender. Add in the chicken neck and continue cooking until both meats are just tender. Taste the sauce and adjust the saltiness according to your preference.

Add the potato and simmer further until the potato is cooked through, both meats are fork tender and the sauce is reduced and has a slightly thick consistency.

Transfer in a wide shallow bowl and serve with steaming rice. Some chopped tomatoes or pickled green papaya (“atsara or achara”) on the side will make the dish extra special.

It is amazingly good……a new twist to the familiar Filipino Adobo. Enjoy! c“,)

Bopis or Bopiz (Lights Sauteed in Onions, Tomatoes and Chilies)

As a sign of respect I need to forewarn that if you are squeamish or faint-hearted, this post might not be for you. It deals on a subject matter others might find somewhat bizarre and alarming especially by non-Filipinos. But if you have interest in discovering amazing exotic dishes made from pork or beef internal organs and the likes, then by all means continue reading. You are in for a wonderful culinary experience, creating sumptuous dish out of unusually unique meat parts. A bit peculiar or to some extent disturbing as it may, but some surprisingly delicious dishes like “Bopis” are made from extraordinary ingredients and rather simple methods of preparation.

As I have mentioned before I love offal. My wife and children might be giving me a frown look but I have been exposed to such food and have learned to like them, really like them. I have shown this special affection by posting some odd Filipino dishes made from pork and beef entrails, innards, gonad, phallus and even blood like in the following dishes: “Dinuguan” or Pork Blood Stew, “Goto” or Beef Tripe Congee, “Callos” or Beef Tripe Stew and Soup Number 5 or Bull/Ox Gonad Soup.

Lights are the lungs of livestock or game as used in cooking and butchery. Apart from the Philippine’s “Bopis”, lights are also use in other dishes of other countries like in the Scottish national dish called “haggis”. A sausage dish made from sheep's “pluck” or heart, liver and lungs and traditionally simmered in the casing of the animal’s intestine. Pretty much like the Filipino “longanisa”.

“Bopis” on the other hand, is a spicy Filipino dish made from finely diced pork or beef lights (or lungs) and heart sautéed in garlic, onions, tomatoes, chilies and infused and flavored with vinegar. The unique dish, called “Bopiz” in Spanish, was probably introduced to the Philippines or influenced by the Spaniard colonizers. But I don’t know this for sure. While “bopis” is traditionally cooked using pork lights and heart I will be using only beef lights to prepare the dish. :-)

For the more than 2 kilos beef lights our cook purchased for less than 5 USD, some fresh vegetables are necessary to re-create the sumptuous Filipino dish. About 2 large plum tomatoes, 1 head garlic, 3 medium onions, 1 large red bell pepper, 2 green chili peppers, 2 finger chilies, 1 medium carrot and 1 medium white radish or mooli.

To cook, thoroughly wash the beef lights, drain and place in a large pot, cover with enough water and boil for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the meat is just tender. Take out the lungs from the pot and let it cool a bit before dicing. Discard the liquid.

While the boiled lungs are cooling down, finely dice all the vegetable ingredients shown above. In addition, prepare about ¼ cup vegetable oil, 2 tbs annatto oil (1/4 cup annatto seeds or "atsuete" steeped in 2 tbsp hot oil then strained to discard the seeds), 3 pcs bay leaves (“laurel”), 2 tsp salt or to taste, 2 tsp ground pepper, ½ tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp fish sauce (“patis”) and 1 cup natural vinegar. The complete other ingredients are as shown here except for the about 3 cups beef or chicken stock or just water:

Finely dice the boiled lungs as well. Since more than 2 kilos beef lights is quite a lot of meat, dicing it is not an easy job. :-)

In a large thick pan heat about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and fry the garlic followed by onions and tomatoes. While sizzling, add in the fish sauce followed by salt and ground pepper. Then add the diced lungs and continue sautéing until the meat is sizzling in fat and aromatic. Add the annatto oil and then the vinegar. Let the vinegar boil without stirring.

When the liquid is already boiling, stir the meat to evenly mix the flavor. Then add all the remaining ingredients. Continue stirring to mix all ingredients evenly. Add the stock and simmer for about 10 minutes on low heat. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings and level of vinegar. Continue simmering for some more minutes. When the liquid is reduced and has slightly thickened, it’s done.

Transfer in a large serving plate and serve with lots of rice. In the Philippines, the dish is usually served to Filipino men as bites or “pulutan” while drinking their favorite alcoholic beverages, like “Sisig Pampanga” and “Imbaligtad”. But eating it as viand for steamed rice is now very common even for the ladies and young ones. After all, the level of kick can be adjusted so that it can be handled by everyone. This recipe, for one, is not really hot as I have group mates not really into chilies.

Enjoy this distinctly delicious dish. Try and see it for yourself. Once you taste the dish, you might change the way you look at animal lungs or lights as culinary ingredients. c“,)