Filipino Beef Stew (Nilagang Baka) ...and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Having grown up in the Philippines, I have learned that food means love. My mom was the 3rd to youngest of 13 brothers and sisters, all of whom could cook amazing traditional Filipino food. Whenever we got together at my grandmother's house, my aunts and uncles were always in the kitchen, cooking more food than anyone could eat. They would cook all morning long, we'd eat lunch, and then they'd go back to cooking all afternoon for dinner. This happened every day. I remember one of my favorite dishes -Nilagang Baka, which when directly translated means "Stewed Beef". When I'd visit my cousin in Houston, she would make me this and it would remind me of home.

I decided to cook this up this weekend. It's super easy (and tasty) and comforting with the cold weather approaching. There are no measurements. You kind of just throw everything in and make it according to your taste. Enjoy!

First you saute onions, ginger, and beef in a little bit of oil (I added stew meat and beef ribs, just because the bones add a lot of flavor to the broth). You don't want to add too much oil because the fat from the meat will add to it when it sautes. After the beef browns a bit, add crushed peppercorns and Filipino fish sauce (they have it at any Asian market). Make sure it's "Made in the Philippines" because there are so many different kinds of fish sauces. Then add water to fill half of the pot. Let it boil for at least an hour till the meat gets tender. I boiled mine for about 2 hours. My aunts would boil it all day long. My mom would sometimes use her pressure cooker. The water is going to evaporate so keep adding hot water and taste it to see if you need more salt. If there's a film of fat and froth at the surface of the pot, scoop it out and toss it. A trick I found is to rinse the meat off with cold water before sauteing it so that no froth builds up. You might still need to skim off the fat though.

Then, after the meat has tenderized, add the vegetables! You can add pretty much whatever you want. Usually, it's cabbage, string beans, corn, and potatoes. Sometimes my aunts would add plantains to it to sweeten the broth. If the thought of bananas in your soup grosses you out, just stick to the corn. :) It pretty much sweetens it, too. Keep tasting the broth. If it's too salty, add more hot water. If it's too bland, boil it down.

And that's it! Fresh ingredients, nothing canned. Make sure to serve it with white rice. :)

Now for dessert! You can't have a delicious meal without a treat at the end! As I was waiting for the meat to tenderize for 2 hours, I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies from scratch. If you know me well, you'll know I don't like to bake. Once, I put baking soda instead of baking powder in my blueberry cobbler, it tasted like salty cake. :( But I found this recipe online and it's super easy: 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/best-chocolate-chip-cookies/detail.aspx 

I replaced another cup of chocolate chips for the nuts. I wanted to go the traditional chocolate-chip-cookie route.

Not too bad, I should say! :) Happy cooking (and eating)! Thanks Mika for letting me post on your blog! <3