Description
A beloved Filipino comfort dish featuring melt-in-your-mouth beef simmered in a soy-based sweet-savory sauce, served alongside aromatic garlic fried rice.
Ingredients
For the Beef:
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2 lbs beef brisket or chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes (sub: beef short ribs)
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8 cups water
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1 whole onion, quartered
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1 whole garlic head, halved crosswise
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2 bay leaves
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1 tbsp whole peppercorns
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2 star anise pods (or ½ tsp five-spice powder)
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1-inch piece ginger, sliced
For the Sauce:
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½ cup soy sauce (Filipino preferred: Silver Swan or Datu Puti)
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⅓ cup brown sugar (or palm sugar)
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2 tbsp oyster sauce
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1 tbsp fish sauce (patis)
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3 tbsp cooking oil
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1 onion, finely diced
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6 cloves garlic, minced
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1-inch piece ginger, julienned
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¼ tsp ground black pepper
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2 cups beef broth (from simmering beef)
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1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water (for slurry)
For the Garlic Rice:
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3 cups cooked jasmine rice (preferably day-old)
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3 tbsp oil
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8 cloves garlic, finely minced
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½ tsp salt
For Garnish (optional):
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Chopped spring onions
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Fried garlic bits
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Red chili slices (for heat)
Instructions
1. Prep the Beef:
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Rinse and blanch beef cubes to remove impurities.
2. Simmer the Beef:
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In 8 cups of water, simmer beef with onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, star anise, and ginger for 1.5–2 hours until tender.
3. Make the Sauce Base:
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Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, oyster sauce, and fish sauce.
4. Reserve Broth:
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Strain beef broth; set aside 2 cups.
5. Cook the Sauce:
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Sauté onion, garlic, and ginger in oil. Add sauce mix and beef broth. Return beef and simmer 15–20 mins. Thicken with cornstarch slurry.
6. Make Garlic Rice:
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Sauté minced garlic in oil until golden. Add day-old rice and salt. Stir-fry until heated and fragrant.
7. Serve:
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Plate garlic rice with beef and sauce. Garnish with spring onions, fried garlic, and optional chili slices.