The quintessential "silog" meat dish. Beef Tapa. This is so easy to make it can be done with 3-4 ingredients. But, since I love experimenting with flavors, and taking a cue from my son's interest in Beef Pares, I added one ingredient that elevated the overall flavor and taste of this dish. Star Anise.
INGREDIENTS
1-pound beef tenderloin, thinly sliced
8 cloves garlic, minced or pureed (divide into 2--- for marinade and for sautéing)
1 ½ Tablespoons brown sugar
3 ½ Tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup hot water
3 pieces star anise
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small bowl, soak the star anise in hot water for at least 10 minutes. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic. Mix and set aside.
When star anise mixture is ready, combine with the soy sauce mixture.
Pour the mixture (marinade) over the beef slices. Do not discard the star anise; do so only before cooking the beef slices.
Make sure to coat beef slices well with the marinade.
Set aside and let marinate for at least an hour. Overnight in a covered container in the fridge is best.
When ready to cook, heat oil in pan on medium heat.
Sauté garlic. Once garlic is aromatic, stir fry the beef slices, in batches.
Do not dump the beef slices into the pan on one go. This may not fry the beef but steam it instead.
Depending on how well you want your beef cooked (some like it crispy), once ready serve with steamed white or garlic fried rice and fried egg.
