September 2022 Recipe of the Month

Tapsilog Recipe

From Patricia Coldwell

Tapsilog, a popular Filipino meal, is a portmanteau of the dish’s three components: tapa (beef), sinangag (garlic fried rice), and itlog (fried egg). It’s one of many variations of silog (garlic fried rice plus fried egg), others of which include tosilog (made with pork), bangsilog (fish), and Spamsilog (Spam).

Tapa has origins in the pre-refrigeration era, when it was cured and dried in a fashion similar to beef jerky as a means of preservation, but today the meat is most often marinated before being fried or grilled.

This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit magazine. When Patricia has made it, she has sometimes substituted pork tenderloin for the sirloin and added edamame. You could add other vegetables, such as broccoli, to the meat in the last few minutes. She also sometimes skips the rice and serves it on a bed of rice noodles.

Top with a lot of Thai basil.

Serves 4.

Tapa:

1 lb. sirloin, thinly sliced against the grain into bite-size strips
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ cup vegetable oil

Rice

 4 cups chilled leftover cooked jasmine rice
¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
¼ cup (or more) vegetable oil
12 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 large eggs

Preparation

TAPA

Step 1

Pat meat dry with paper towels. Whisk garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt in a medium bowl. Add meat to marinade and toss well to coat. Cover and chill at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.

Step 2

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high. Drain meat in a sieve, letting as much excess marinade drip off as possible. Add half of meat to skillet, arranging in a single layer and cook, turning halfway through, until cooked through and deeply browned in spots, about 3 minutes (be careful; the marinade will splatter). Transfer meat to a plate. Discard any garlic remaining in pan and repeat process with remaining meat. If using edamame, add in the last 2 minutes. Keep warm. Clean skillet and set aside.

ASSEMBLY

Step 3

Place rice in a large bowl and break up with a rubber spatula. Stir in 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt; set aside.

Step 4

Heat oil in reserved skillet over medium-low. Cook garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain garlic in a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; transfer to a small plate.

Step 5

Pour 2 Tbsp. garlic oil back into skillet and heat over medium-high. Add reserved rice mixture and stir to coat in oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Set 1 Tbsp. fried garlic aside for serving and stir remaining fried garlic into rice. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm.

Step 6

Heat remaining garlic oil in the same skillet over medium-high (you should have 2 Tbsp.; add vegetable oil to make up the difference if needed). Crack eggs into skillet and season with salt. Cook until whites are almost set, about 2 minutes. Carefully tilt skillet so oil pools on one side. Spoon oil over egg whites until fully set about 1 minute.

Step 7

Divide rice mixture, meat, and eggs among plates and top with reserved fried garlic.