Beef Tapa
I tried. And I failed…
I was so keen to make beef tapa the other week because friend Vi served us her version of it and it was delicious! Syempre, I wanted to try it for myself. But being a proud person, I did not ask Vi for the recipe. Instead, I scoured the web.
I came across Market Man’s version and immediately undertook the task of preparing it. I did not have the same amount of meat so I took it upon myself to estimate the right proportion. Or so I thought! 
After two days of curing in the ref, I finally took it out on a Saturday morning to cook what else but Tapsilog. The excitement was building up as I saw it cook to visual perfection.
It does look yummy, doesn’t it? But sadly, I couldn’t say the same taste-wise. It was way too salty! And as I look back, I realised I did deviate a little from the original recipe by using iodized salt instead of rock salt. Silly me!
Oh well, I learned the hard way. I am still setting my sights on perfecting it. Also, alternative or new ways of approaching the dish would be helpful. Care to share your ideas?
11 July 2006 at 1:30 am
Hey, I think I’ll buy beef strips next week when we go to the grocery.
You know, as much as I can manage, I cook Pinoy food. My tastebuds like bread and pasta on occasion but it’s still rice that I consider my main diet. So beef tapa is very much welcome!
But maybe when I make it, I’ll add some chili sauce (Tabasco maybe) to make it more spicy. That or I add some drops of spiced vinegar to the marinade. I like my food with a kick!
Thanks for sharing, Leah!
12 July 2006 at 11:47 am
Hi Malou!
Congrats for being the first poster in this blog!
I appreciate your thoughts on this. I have not yet tried making beef tapa once again. Parang na-trauma yata ako. Hehe! 
Do let me know how your tapa goes and please share with me your recipe here.
2 August 2006 at 10:32 pm
Hi Leah,
Read through this post and was bummed to hear your beef tapa didn’t turn out right, considering you used as a base the recipe on Marketmanila. It’s actually one of the easiest pinoy viands to make so perhaps I can help a little… First, start with reasonable quality meat and pound it silly. If you use cheap meat, you’ll get tough tapa. Second, and perhaps the fatal flaw is the use of iodized salt. Particularly if it was the fine table salt. Iodized salt has iodine and an off taste for marinated meats. Worse, iodized salt in the same measure, say 3 tablespoons is WAY SALTIER than 3 tablespoons of kosher salt or even rock salt. The reason being the crystals are formed a different way and if you weighed the fine salt vs. the kosher salt you would find you put far more salt with the fine iodized salt…hence the outrageously salty outcome. Try it again and keep to the original proportions; once you get it right you can adjust the recipe downwards. I hope that helps…
4 August 2006 at 12:10 pm
Thanks marketman! I really appreciate your feedback on this.
I really am a newbie at all this so am quite naive when it comes to those details. LOL. 
Will let you know how it goes.
29 September 2006 at 2:49 pm
Hi Leah,
I just want to say that I have heaps of fun reading your blog =)
homesick ) that I am able to cope up with our new life here.
I am also new here in Australia, me and my husband migrated from our beloved country last Jan of this year. We don’t have a baby yet, still enjoying
our early stage of marriage. .. Well, all the adjustments of settling in- phew!
Am glad (althou still
I am not an expert cook, infact I recently just learn how to use the oven ..hehe
I want to share how I make Tapa for my hubby =)
Ingredients: 1 kilo Rump Steak
3-4 Cumquats (or calamansi)
¼ cup of soy sauce
4-5 tablespoon of sugar
Actually the cumquats, soy sauce and sugar, it’s up to you how much you would like coz it will depend on your own taste.
Cut Rump Steak into small pieces.. Marinate with cumquats, soy sauce and sugar (Tip: taste ur marinade- if it’s too sour or if needed more sugar so that it won’t be too salty)
Refrigerate in a day or two.. then fry in ur pan..
Enjoy cooking.
16 October 2006 at 10:19 am
Thanks Glenda!
I am beginning to feel some homesickness too. Pero such is life.
I will try your version of beef tapa soon… Soon meaning when I am able to stand the smells of the kitchen na.
Thanks though for sharing it with me.
16 March 2007 at 8:58 pm
I really like tapa, when I go out I must really like to eat the tapa, even if we go mall and together with my family. that’s why i search how to make it, when I was in Pasig now, sobrang sarap tapos juice siya, kumain kami dun sa malapit dun kaya kahit sa malayo kami dun parin ako kumakain….
5 July 2007 at 6:30 am
Here is my Tapa recipe that u may want to try. I was experimenting and I found this to be very very delicious. Hope u like it as well …
1 kg Rump roast beef (good quality) sliced thin 1/8 inch
4 tablespoon granulated sugar / brown sugar -individual preference
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp cracked pepper
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
100 ml water
Slice beef thin (place in freezer for 112 hours for easy cutting), pour into mix and marinate for 24 hours in fridge.
Fry in olive oil for 2 minutes each side, serve with garlic fried rice and tomatoes with green onions or cilantro
Great for BBq too, grill 2-3 minutes each side – enjoy
5 July 2007 at 6:41 am
Here is my Tapa recipe that u may want to try. I was experimenting and I found this to be very very delicious. Hope u like it as well …
revised version :
1 kg rump roast beef (good quality) sliced thin 1/8 inch
4 tablespoon granulated sugar / brown sugar -individual preference
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp cracked pepper
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
100 ml water
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp soy sauce
Slice beef thin (place in freezer for 112 hours for easy slicing), pour into mix and marinate for 24 hours in fridge and hand toss for even marinating
Fry in olive oil for 2 minutes each side, serve with garlic fried rice and tomatoes with green onions or cilantro
Great for BBq too, grill 2-3 minutes each side – enjoy