Filipino – Tapsilog

by Hina Alam

ABOUT THE DISH

The Philippine cuisine is one of the best cuisines allover the world. From its wide range of spicy dishes to the desserts they are all absolute classics with a deep history which goes way back centuries. Just like those dishes this dish is also an absolute classic. Tapsilog is a breakfast dish for most of the Filipinos. They usually eat it before starting their day of work. It is a dish which consists of three components all merged together to give out a final masterpiece. It is basically a meat dish mostly beef is used which is marinated beforehand with vinegar , soya sauce and garlic. This marinated beef is then cooked and served alongside some rice and an fried egg. This dish is a dish with huge amounts of flavor and protein which is very healthy for a person. It is a common household breakfast dish and even in the streets of Philippines its demand is vey high. It can be made with other type of proteins as well like fish and chicken. The main thing which standouts about this dish is how different these three ingredients are from each other yet still they go so well together and give an flavor never been eaten before. This dish has a high place in the culinary history of the Philippines cuisines and many restaurants serve this breakfast and claim its flavor to be the original flavor.

ORINGIN AND HISTORY

This is the question everyone asks when they eat a quality dish . Where did it come from ? and when it was first made? . These are very common questions and the beauty about the Philippines cuisine is that they always have a great history behind their foods. The first Tapsilog is said to be made by Vivian Del Rosario in 1986 . She was a local resident who had a love for making food. She opened her store which was strictly budget restricted. It was named Vivian at Bulaluhan. She used to sell Bulalo and Tapsilog. Mainly the people who often ate her food were bikers who used to pass from there. From there on her specialty Tapsilog became famous and one of her best dishes. People came regular at her store to eat it because it was budget friendly and mostly it was so delicious. Soon she became popular and was able to shift her business to better locations. She opened street stores as well as restaurants which would sell this dish too much. After this many restaurants copied this dish and made a knock of dish themselves and named it something else. They used different products to make it but the original flavor is the only one that matters and still matters.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME

Tapsilog is named after the three main components which the dish is about. First is the word Tapa which means “cured meat”, second is the word sinangag which means ” fried rice” and lastly there is the word itlog which means ”egg”. Combining these three together gives us Tapsilog. When Vivian Del Rosario was asked why did she named her dish Tapsilog she answered that she needed to come up with something that could attract people to come to her store to try her dish. So she decided to go with Tapsilog which in the start did not work well but soon it became very popular and now it is mentioned in the all time best Philippines cuisines.

VARIATIONS

There are many different variations of this dish. Some people have changed the protein in the dish and some have made rice through different spices. These variations are as follows.

• ADOBOSILOG : It is a dish made with marinated chicken and garlic fried rice.

• BACONSILOG : This dish is made with bacon and rice.

• FISHSILOG : Fish is used as the main protein along with rice.

• SISIGSILOG : It is made with seasoned pork and rice.

• CORNSILOG : Is is corned beef and rice.

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO MAKE IT

• Beef

• Garlic

• Soya Sauce

• Vinegar
• Sugar

• Black Pepper

• Cooked rice ( Leftover rice can work best)

• Egg

STEPS TO MAKE IT

• To make this dish we first need to marinate the beef.
• Take your beef and cut it into pieces.
• Take a bowl and add some crushed garlic in it.
• Add pepper and vinegar in it.
• Also add some soya sauce and some sugar.
• Mix everything.
• Dip your beef pieces in the marination sauce and cover the bowl with plastic.
• Let it marinate for 4-5 hours.
• Once done set it aside.
• Take a pan over a medium heat and add some garlic in it .
• If you have leftover cooked rice add it into the pan and let it cook with garlic.
• Once done take it out and set it aside.
• Add in the same pan your marinated beef.
• Cook until brown color is obtained.
• Once done take it out.
• Crack and egg and cook it also in the pan.
• Plate your dish by adding all these elements together.
• Enjoy your dish.

TIME NEEDED TO MAKE IT

• PREPERATION TIME : 5 minutes
• COOKING TIME : 10 minutes
• MARINATION TIME : 4-5 hours
• TOTAL TIME : 5 hours 15 minutes
• YIELDS : 2 servings

NUTRITION FACTS

Calories 366 kCal
Total Fat 6.7g
Cholesterol 250mg
Total Carbohydrates 52g
Sugars 4.2g
Protein 25g
Sodium 94mg
Potassium 78mg