Beef Tapa

Beef Tapa marinated in fish sauce, brown sugar, and fresh garlic. This Kapampangan delicacy is easy to prepare, freezable, and makes a great all-day breakfast meal!

This recipe is another of my favorite ways to prepare beef tapa. While the other tapa version takes its flavor from freshly squeezed calamansi juice, soy sauce, and minced garlic, this one is seasoned with fish sauce, brown sugar, and garlic.

Although each uses a different set of marinades, they're similar in their procedure and are both delicious in their own right. Perfect for Tapsilog meals!

Marinade ingredients

• Fish sauce-adds salty umami and savory flavor
• Brown sugar-acts as a sweetener and helps with caramelization
• Minced garlic-boosts flavor; fresh is best, but garlic powder will work in a pinch
• Ground black pepper-adds spice

Cooking tips

• Slice the beef for faster cooking and across the grain for a tender chew. Freeze the meat for about 10 to 15 minutes or until slightly firm to make cutting easier.
• Do not marinate for too long lest the taste becomes overly salty.
• The recipe calls for sirloin which takes but a few minutes of pan-frying to cook. It using tougher cuts such as bottom round, add about 1 cup of water and simmer the tapa until tender before finishing in oil to brown and caramelize.

How to serve

• Serve beef tapa with garlic fried rice and sunny side up eggs for a hearty and tasty all-day breakfast. Enjoy with spiced vinegar for dipping or atchara as a sweet and tangy condiment.
• Cooked tapa will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• To store longer, transfer the uncooked meat to an airtight container or resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months for future cravings.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @kawalingpinoy on Facebook and Instagram!

5 from 2 votes

Beef Tapa

Beef Tapa marinated in fish sauce, brown sugar, and fresh garlic. This Kapampangan delicacy is easy to prepare, freezable, and makes a great all-day breakfast meal!

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Author: Lalaine Manalo

Course: Main Course

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6 people

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef sirloin, thinly sliced
• ½ cup fish sauce
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Instructions

• In a bowl, combine beef, fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and pepper. Massage meat with the marinade.
• Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or overnight. Drain beef from the marinade.
• In a pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add beef in a single layer and cook, turning once or twice, until lightly browned and cooked through. Serve hot.

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”