Nilagang Baka
May 16th, 2009 by Robert Colinares | 26,413 Views | Print Post
White steamed rice, fish sauce with calamansi, and thai chili peppers for condiments makes this dish a true wonder when it comes to lunch time. A lot of us prefer this dish with just soup bones, but every once in a while we look for something meatier and that’s where this particular version of Nilagang Baka comes in.
I have seen so many versions when it comes to Nilagang Baka. Some of them are very elaborate and sometimes it makes me wonder if using all those ingredients actually over powers the entire dish.
It seems as if you would not be able to enjoy the flavor of the meat. Having said that it inspired me to come up with my personal version of Nilagang Baka. It is very simple and does highlight the true flavor of the beef by simplifying the ingredients. So let’s try another mouth-watering dish by letting the flavor of the beef do the work.
Ingredients:
3½ Lbs. Boneless beef chuck roast cut in 2 in. cubes
2 Medium onions sliced thinly
1 Small Cabbage de-cored and cut in wedges
3 Medium carrots peeled and cut in 2 in. pieces
4 Medium potatoes peeled and quartered
Water for braising (boiling) don’t use beef broth*
8 Whole peppercorns
1 Tbs. Salt
½ Tbs. MSG (vetsin)
Note: * It will alter the taste..
Directions:
In a large pot place beef and cover with water about 2 inches above the meat. Bring it to a rapid boil. Remove the scum as it rises, add the onions, and lower the heat to medium high. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Next add salt, msg, and whole peppercorns. Cover and let it cook for 1½ hours or until beef is very tender. Add water if necessary maintaining the 2 inch water level above the meat. At this time you may add the carrots and potatoes. Cover and let them cook for an additional 15 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are tender. Add cabbage, cover, and let it cook for 3 more minutes. Adjust the taste by adding more salt if necessary. Serve with white rice and the fish sauce condiments. Enjoy!
Translation:
Nilaga = Braised or Boiled
Thai Peppers = Siling Labuyo or Birds Eye Chili
Baka = Beef
This is also good if mixed with corn on the cob.
a ham bone when added will add richness to the soup. yum!
yes, my mother also add an ear of corn and and one or two pieces
of cut saging na saba. oh my, this reminds me of our noche buena in the philippines! i will try your other recipes…..
Thanks for the recipe. A true Filipino comfort food. I added a bit of Beef Soft Tendons (litid) and matched it up with your spicy fish sauce and a few drops of kalamansi (lemon) juice. Appreciate all your help..Keep it up !!
wonderful site! More power!
Mabuhay ka!
Wow! I dig this page…
Photos included, before and after!
This is my first time to visit your log and would surely come regularly to check other stuff around. This page is perfect for cooking dummies like me.
A million thanks and keep it coming with more photos. Loving everything here!
Your version is by far the best i’ve seen! By the way, i came up with my own version … instead of using potato i used kamote he he he~! thx luv your site
i love beef soup. im stoned. i like to eat filipin food in hong kong near wan chai
This is great. I just discovered this site today. I miss cooking. i want to go home an d cook food for my family. I know I have a lot to know about specially coomon recipes which of us just take forgranted. This site is very helpful not only to those who really love to cook but also beginners. I love to teach this recipes to my friens or have them visit this site personally…Keep up the good food fun!!!
This is great. I just discovered this site today. I miss cooking. i want to go home an d cook food for my family. I know I have a lot to know about specially common recipes which most of us just take forgranted. This site is very helpful not only to those who really love to cook but also to beginners. I love to teach this recipes to my friends or have them visit this site personally…Keep up the good food fun!!!
Happened upon your website by accident. I was looking for dishes that I remembered from childhood that the Filipino side of the family used to prepare. I never knew the names of the dishes, just how they looked, smelled and tasted!! With your pictures, I have found most of the one’s I loved. I can’t wait to start cooking. If you have a recipe for lumpia my kids would be in heaven. Thank you so much.
Maria,
I do have a recipe for Lumpia I just have to find the time to post it here. Which Lumpia are you looking for? We have Lumpia called Shanghai and the other one is the Vegetable Lumpia which filled with bean sprouts. I have both recipe and I will post them as soon as I get a chance. God Bless.
-Robert
The lumpia that friends and family used to make had meat with, I think carrots and potato ???? I remember that my Lola made one with raisins in them and were a little sweeter in taste and had ground meat in them. Unfortunately I only met her once when I was a small child and I was more interested in eating them, not how they were made. Thank you for taking the time to answer me.
Maria,
Sorry it took me a little long to respond to your request. I’m back in school and my schedule sometimes does not allow me to have much time for my blog. Anyhow the one that I cook all the time is the meat version known as “Lumpiang Shanghai”. I don’t put raisins in mine. As a matter of fact I never had one that had raisins in them. Anyway I hope you like my version which leans more toward the traditional Lumpia. Here is the recipe.
Mix and marinate the following ingredients for three days before cooking them.
Ingredients:
1/2 Lb. Ground beef
1/2 Lb. Ground pork
1 Large head of garlic, peeled & smashed finely
1/2 Cup finely chopped green onion
1 Medium sized Onion, finely diced
1 Large Carrot peeled and diced finely
1TBS. Ground black pepper
1 TBS. Salt
Cooking oil for deep frying (Corn oil preferably)
Like it says above, mix all ingredients thoroughly, cover, and let marinate in the fridge for three days. Or you may go ahead and wrap the Lumpia, then place it in a sealed container, and let it marinate for three days before freezing or cooking it. Do not skip the marinating process. Marinating it for three days cures the meat and gives enough time to fully blend all the ingredients for your great tasting Lumpia.
Wrapping the Lumpia: Follow the instructions on the back of the Lumpia wrapper. Below is a picture of the brand of wrapper I used.
Cooking Instructions: Deep fry Lumpia on low heat to avoid burning the wrapper before the filling gets cooked. Make sure the meat inside the Lumpia is thoroughly cooked before serving. I usually just cut into one to double check.
-Robert
Hei hei, I’m lorrie and If it’s not too much to ask I just wanted to learn how to cook menudo.. Actually I can’t cook.. And I dint know the whole ingridients for that dish.. I meant the spices??. Thanks to inang s-I-t-a.. She’s popular here too. I learned how to cook.. Somehow.. But I want real more tastier dish.. The real spices.. Hope you’ll response
It is so nice to see a site for some recipes for the comfort foods I grew up with. Thank you so much.
Hi Robert! I love your site a lot. I love that you put pictures and how easy your instructions are. Anyway, I just saw your lumpia recipe. I have my own recipe which all my friends love.
he he. I haven’t tried mixing beef and pork together and i see you marinate yours for 3 days. hmm.. i might try that. I do put carrots and i’ve recently just added green onions in my recipe.