"TAPASTEK"

'Tapastek'

Beef Tapa and Bistek Tagalog (or famously known as 'Bistek') are just two of my favorite food to eat.Traditionally, Beef Tapa is a Filipino breakfast best served with sunny side up eggs and garlic rice collectively known as "Tapsilog" But Filipinos, with their love for food, they can have this one breakfast dish any time of the day. Beef Tapa is almost similar to Beef Jerky. Thinly sliced beef cured with salt and dried directly in the sun, though most Filipinos don't do drying because it takes so much time. And then marinated with garlic and soy sauce and then fried to almost a crisp. Bistek on the other hand is beef steak with a Filipino twist. You can search it on google.

We had beef tapa in the fridge and i was craving for bistek. So, I thought, how about mixing them. Besides, bistek is only beef strips cooked in boiling soy sauce mixture with onions and garlic and pepper and brown sugar. And viola! You have Tapastek!

What I did was, since tapa is a little bit firm, I cooked the tapa in oil a little bit until brown on both sides or at least you see some crusts forming. And then I put some water and let it simmer to somehow make the beef tender. Keep adding water until you feel like the meat is tender. You can taste it just to make sure. Then when all the water evaporates, add some more water and then soy sauce and let it boil a little. When it starts boiling turn  the heat to low and add the garlic and the onions. Let it simmer. Add more water if you have to, just a little bit. You can also add a little bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. You can even add cream to make it creamy. But it's your choice. And finally, to make it sweet, add about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Brown sugar and not white sugar. 

Then you can now start plating. Enjoy!

SHRIMPS WITH HERBS AND AROMATICS

For days I've been craving for something with shrimps. I was thinking of making shrimp pasta, but the thought of cooking pasta was making me lazy. I want something simple and something easy. So I thought, why not just fry the shrimp? So boom! It became koko crunch.

I don't want you guys to expect something really crazy with this recipe. Its a simple shrimp dish. No artsy fartsy fancy whatever. I pretty much know that anyone reading my blog would definitely get this dish like a pro. Again, I just made use of all the things I had in my pantry. Got the herbs, the spices and the aromatics.

SHRIMPS INFUSED WITH HERBS AND AROMATICS

INGREDIENTS:

10 Medium Sized Shrimps (or as much as you want; skinned and deveined)

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper

Paprika

Fresh Basil Leaves; sliced into strips

Rosemary; a stalk and some minced 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Small Onion, minced

Garlic; minced (lots and lots of it if you love them. Plus it flavors the shrimps)

Lots of Lemon Rind (or Orange Rind)

3 tbs Lemon Juice (or Orange Juice)

OPTIONAL ITEMS:

Butter (Unsalted)

PROCEDURE:

1. Get your shrimps from the fridge, thaw them. Once thawed, wash them with cold water. I don't know why cold water. I just thought there's something special with cold water.
2. After washing them, remove the heads of the shrimps, peel the skin and start deveining the shrimp. You can watch videos from youtube how to devein a shrimp.
3. Wash them again and place them on a paper towel to dry. You can pat them dry if you want.
4. After drying, put them in a bowl, season them with salt, paprika, pepper and if you want it spicy, you can actually add pepper flakes or minced chili. Toss them. Then add the fresh basil, minced onion and some olive oil. Then add the minced rosemary and the lemon (or orange) rind. Toss them again. Set aside for 20-30mins. This way, the flavor of the seasoning and the basil with olive oil is infused with the shrimp and the aroma of the rosemary and the lemon rind is intoxicating.
5. Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.
6. Then drop that stalk of rosemary on the oil. Let it sizzle. The oil will then release the flavor and the aroma of that rosemary.
7. Drop everything on the skillet and saute the shrimp 2-3 minutes each side or until the shrimp turns pink on both sides.
8. Before taking them off the pan, pour the lemon (or orange) juice. Let it simmer for about a minute
9. Get them off the pan. Plate them.
10. Take a pic, post it on INSTAGRAM
11. Serve it warm

My shrimps were served with my fried rice but I think its also good with any pasta. Depends on your mood. You can tweak it, play with it. I don't care. The most important thing is you enjoy the food.

I can't guarantee that this dish is perfect. No I don't. I believe that each and everyone of us has different perception of taste. What tastes good for me may not taste good for you and vice versa so I encourage you to experiment, add some ingredients or you can omit some things that you don't like.

Bon Appetit'!