Beef Tapa for Breakfast Tapa is a relatively simple dish to prepare. You just need to make sure the meat is marinated well and cooked at the right temperature. There are, of course, several versions of this dish. Some dry the meat under the heat of the sun for a beef jerky feel. Others simply add a dry rub so the tapa does not produce so much juice while cooking. I prefer mine tender with the right amount of sauce on it. Perfect with scrambled eggs and a healthy serving of fried rice. Ingredients: Sirloin Beef, cut in strips Vinegar Soy Sauce Black Pepper Calamansi Vegetable oil Garlic Procedure: 1. Just mix the above ingredients in bowl, making sure that the meat is fully submerged. Marinate overnight. 2. Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Saute garlic. Add marinated meat and cook for a few minutes. Set aside meat once cooked. 3. Cook the remaining sauce for a few more minutes until you reach the desired consistency. Pour on top of the tapa. Serve with fried eggs and rice.
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Beef Tapa for Breakfast

Tapa is a relatively simple dish to prepare. You just need to make sure the meat is marinated well and cooked at the right temperature. There are, of course, several versions of this dish. Some dry the meat under the heat of the sun for a beef jerky feel. Others simply add a dry rub so the tapa does not produce so much juice while cooking. I prefer mine tender with the right amount of sauce on it. Perfect with scrambled eggs and a healthy serving of fried rice.

Ingredients:

Sirloin Beef, cut in strips

Vinegar

Soy Sauce

Black Pepper

Calamansi

Vegetable oil

Garlic

Procedure:

1. Just mix the above ingredients in bowl, making sure that the meat is fully submerged. Marinate overnight.

2. Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Saute garlic. Add marinated meat and cook for a few minutes. Set aside meat once cooked.

3. Cook the remaining sauce for a few more minutes until you reach the desired consistency. Pour on top of the tapa. Serve with fried eggs and rice.

My First Crab Experience: Ginataang Alimango I have always been intimidated of cooking crabs. They’re big, hard, and they fight back! I probably had a lot of missed opportunities in the past as far as learning how to handle this crustacean. After all, my dad cooks it on a weekly basis (even more whenever I’m home). At this point in time, my back is against the wall because I need to learn how to cook crabs if I have any shot at improving my culinary skills. Today, Dad came home with a bunch of live crabs. I knew this was my chance. I immediately let him know about my motives and he was quick to refer me to Joel for the preparatory steps. How to Clean (Kill) a Crab First, there’s the matter of decapacitating the crabs. Yeah, you have to kill them first. I read somewhere that the “humane” process of killing crabs is to dip them in iced water or to drop them in boiling water head first (“stroke the head first until the crab falls asleep”). Not surprisingly, the probinsyanos have a different way of doing things. While the crab is tied up, you poke the mouth with a barbeque stick repeatedly. Ouch. It was an experience in itself. Next, comes the cleaning part. These fresh crabs dwell in mud so they need a good cleaning before cooking. Using a small brush, clean the exterior in running water. Then comes the business of opening it up and clearing out the inedible internal organs. And finally, cracking it in all the right places using the back of a big knife. Or a hammer.  Super effort. But very much worth it. So for my first lesson in crabs, Dad decided on using a basic recipe: Ginataang Alimango Ingredients: Crabs Garlic/Onions/Ginger Salt/Pepper Coconut Milk Dahon ng Alugbati Procedure: 1. Clean the crabs. Crack for easy eating. Set aside. 2. In a wok, saute garlic, onions and ginger. 3. Add the crabs. Cover wok and cook for a few minutes, occasionally checking and stirring. 4. Add coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few more minutes. 5. Add veggies. Cook for a few more minutes. Serve. Now that I was able to overcome this initial hurdle, I can already imagine the number of crab dishes that I want to prepare in the coming days. 
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My First Crab Experience: Ginataang Alimango

I have always been intimidated of cooking crabs. They’re big, hard, and they fight back! I probably had a lot of missed opportunities in the past as far as learning how to handle this crustacean. After all, my dad cooks it on a weekly basis (even more whenever I’m home). At this point in time, my back is against the wall because I need to learn how to cook crabs if I have any shot at improving my culinary skills.

Today, Dad came home with a bunch of live crabs. I knew this was my chance. I immediately let him know about my motives and he was quick to refer me to Joel for the preparatory steps.

How to Clean (Kill) a Crab

First, there’s the matter of decapacitating the crabs. Yeah, you have to kill them first. I read somewhere that the “humane” process of killing crabs is to dip them in iced water or to drop them in boiling water head first (“stroke the head first until the crab falls asleep”). Not surprisingly, the probinsyanos have a different way of doing things. While the crab is tied up, you poke the mouth with a barbeque stick repeatedly. Ouch. It was an experience in itself.

Next, comes the cleaning part. These fresh crabs dwell in mud so they need a good cleaning before cooking. Using a small brush, clean the exterior in running water. Then comes the business of opening it up and clearing out the inedible internal organs. And finally, cracking it in all the right places using the back of a big knife. Or a hammer. 

Super effort. But very much worth it.

So for my first lesson in crabs, Dad decided on using a basic recipe: Ginataang Alimango

Ingredients:

Crabs

Garlic/Onions/Ginger

Salt/Pepper

Coconut Milk

Dahon ng Alugbati

Procedure:

1. Clean the crabs. Crack for easy eating. Set aside.

2. In a wok, saute garlic, onions and ginger.

3. Add the crabs. Cover wok and cook for a few minutes, occasionally checking and stirring.

4. Add coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few more minutes.

5. Add veggies. Cook for a few more minutes. Serve.

Now that I was able to overcome this initial hurdle, I can already imagine the number of crab dishes that I want to prepare in the coming days. 

The Resto and the Rainbow(s)

No foodie post today! Instead, I would like to post a couple of photos that I took recently.

First, I found myself staring at this little piece of construction at Villa Saturnina. It’s a simple structure that will soon become the restaurant/dining area of our guests (and possibly walk ins?). It’s a work in progress and I have no idea how it will turn out. There is still an ongoing debate as to what materials to use and what design will be followed. I’m sure it will look nothing like what I originally envisioned, but will nonetheless be nice area. Just look at the trees surrounding it. This area will probably end up looking like a greenhouse.

The other photo that I took was of the sky. Nothing spectacular: just a little blue, a lot of clouds, and the building below. And yeah, there are two parallel rainbows. Long colorful rainbows that graced the sky. I have never seen anything like this, and I had nobody to share the experience with but the the cab driver (I was on the way to the airport). I told him to look at it, and all I got was a forced appreciation. Oh well, I’m glad I was able to immortalize the experience and share it with friends via social media.

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