Filipino tapa made with thinly sliced tender beef cured in a sweet, salty, garlicky, and savory marinade. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner served TAPSILOG style!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time5 minutesmins
Servings: 3servings
Calories: 490kcal
Author: Mella
Ingredients
500grams/17 oz tender beefthinly sliced, see note 1
Place beef slices in a large bowl. Sprinkle baking soda then massage with your hands. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Rinse with tap water then completely drain in a colander. Place back in the bowl.
In another bowl, combine all ingredients for the marinade. Stir well until sugar is dissolved. Taste then adjust sugar, salt, or pepper based on preference.
1/2 cup pure pineapple juice, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1/4 cup Filipino soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar, 5 cloves garlic, ground black pepper, 1 tbsp liquid seasoning
Pour marinade into the beef. Massage until well combined. Cover the bowl or place in an airtight container and marinate for a minimum of 2 hours or place in the fridge and marinate overnight.
Cook the beef tapa (see note 6 for tips)
Heat oil in a wide pan over high heat. When the oil is hot enough, fry the beef slices until both sides are browned. This should only take 1 to 2 minutes per side. Cook in batches to prevent the pan from becoming too watery.
Notes
Beef cuts - top sirloin, ribeye, and tenderloin are recommended cuts for beef tapa. For convenience, you can also use beef sukiyaki or beef shabu-shabu cuts (yes, the one’s that you use for hot pot) available in most Asian grocery stores.
Baking Soda - this helps tenderize the beef. If not available, you can also tenderize the beef by pounding it with a meat mallet. Skip the baking soda step if using beef sukiyaki cuts.
Pineapple juice - can be substituted with 1/4 cup calamansi juice, omit the vinegar. You can also omit pineapple juice entirely and use 1 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp vinegar.
Filipino soy sauce - you can substitute it with 3 tablespoons Kikkoman soy sauce.
Sugar - use 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar for a much sweeter beef tapa.
To cook TAPSILOG in one pan - start with frying the eggs, followed by the beef tapa then finally the garlic fried rice. The flavor of the tapa will be infused into the rice.
Cooking time for extra-thin slices (sukiyaki/shabu-shabu cut): Fry all at once using a wide shallow pan. Let the water evaporate and cook until the beef turns brown or crispy (if preferred). Add more oil as needed. Using this type of meat is very forgiving. There’s no need to worry about overcooking the beef.
Storage: Marinated beef can last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and up to 2 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator thoroughly before cooking.