Goto (Filipino Beef Congee)

Ingredients:

• 300g cooked beef brisket, sliced
• 250g cooked beef tripe, sliced

• 1 1/2 cup glutinous rice (malagkit)
• 5 cloves garlic, finely crushed
• 50g ginger, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 5 tbspn cooking oil
• 2 litres of homemade beef stock
• 500ml water
• 1/4 tspn ground turmeric
• 1/4 tspn ground black pepper
• 50ml fish sauce

 Procedures:

1. Heat your cooking oil and deep fry your garlic till golden brown.  Remove the pot from heat to avoid burning your garlic.  Scoop your fried garlic with a ladle and drain well before placing in a bowl lined with kitchen paper towels, set aside for “Toppings”.  Leave the hot oil in the pot and put back to your stovetop.  Sauté  your ginger and onions till translucent in medium-high heat.
2. Add in your sliced Beef Brisket and Tripe, stir it a couple of times and then place in your turmeric and pepper.  Stir in your fish sauce and let the mixture simmer for 15 seconds.
3. Stir in your rinsed/drained glutinous rice.  Make sure the rice soaks up the liquid in the pan.  Pour in your beef stock and water.  Stir to evenly disperse the rice and brisket/tripe, make sure you scrape the bottom of the pot to unstuck anything that is stuck.  Bring to boil, then lower the heat to simmering stage,  dispose the scum that accumulates on the surface.  Keep stirring the sides and bottom of the pot to prevent burning your Goto.
4. It’s done once the rice starts to crumble and blend with the liquid.  Turn off the stove and let the pot sit there for awhile, while you prep for the toppings.

Recommended Toppings:  Fried onions/garlic, , Chopped Fresh Chives or Shallots, Sliced Cooked Beef Tendon/Brisket/Tripe, Whole Boiled Eggs and crushed Chicharon (Pork Crackling).  Crispy Fried Tofu Cubes would be great as a topping too to add more texture to your Goto.

Best With:  Tokwa’t Baboy, a good squeeze of half of a calamansi or a small wedge of lemon and for good measure, fish sauce & ground pepper on the side for individual seasoning.  In Malabon, we traditionally order a side plate of 1-2 pcs of Sumpia (Vegetable Medley Spring rolls) along with our Congee.

Lengua in Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 pc Lengua
• 2 White onions, quartered
• 2-3 Laurel leaves
• Whole peppercorns
• Salt
• 2 Cans cream of mushroom soup (I like using Campbell's)
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons Knorr liquid seasoning or soy sauce
• 1 Large can whole mushrooms, drained
• 1/2 Stick of butter

Procedures:

1. In a large stock pot, place the lengua and cover completely with water (do not season), boil until the white filament becomes more visible and easy to peel. This would probably take 30 minutes to 45 minutes depending on the size of your lengua.
2. Remove the lengua from the boiling liquid. Discard the liquid.
3. Cool the lengua but never, ever, immerse in cold or running water. It will toughen the meat because it will abruptly stop the cooking process.
4. Once the lengua is cooled, peel off the white filament. Discard filament. This is a very important step, please take time to do the first four steps before proceeding.
5. Once the filament has been removed, boil water, onions, laurel leaves and peppercorn in a large stockpot or pressure cooker. Add the lengua to the boiling water. Season with a little salt.
6. If using a pressure cooker, it will take about an hour to an hour and a half. For a slow boil in a regular stockpot, it will take maybe three hours or so, depending on the size of the lengua. I like it very tender so I tend to boil it longer.
7. When the lengua is tender. Turn off heat. Remove the lengua from the broth, cool and carefully slice in discs, set aside. Do not discard the broth yet.
   
8. In a separate pan, mix two cans of cream of mushroom soup and the equivalent of one to one and a half cans of hot broth from the lengua. Mix well until there are no more lumps. Simmer.
9. To the mushroom mixture, add Knorr seasoning or soy sauce. Mix well.
10. Carefully add the lengua to the mushroom mixture.
11. Add the mushrooms and simmer in low heat. If the sauce is too thin disperse a tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water and add to the sauce while simmering. Do not simmer for too long, the sauce might burn.
12. Add butter and turn off the heat. Mix slightly until the butter melts.

Other variations of this dish include adding water chestnuts and/or cashew nuts, in lieu of the mushrooms.

For Pastel de Lengua variation, just add diced carrots and potatoes after you have added the Knorr seasoning to the cream of mushroom soup, simmer until the vegetables are tender and ONLY THEN, will you add the sliced lengua. Place the above mixture in a pie pot, cover with pie crust, seal the edges, poke a few holes in the pie crust to let out steam, brush with egg wash and bake until golden brown.

Kare-Kare

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo beef (round or sirloin cut) cut into cubes
• 1/2 kilo oxtail, cut 2 inch long
• 3 cups of peanut butter
• 1/4 cup grounded toasted rice
• 1/2 cup cooked bagoong alamang (anchovies)
• 2 pieces onions, diced
• 2 heads of garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons atsuete oil
• 4 pieces eggplant, sliced 1 inch thick
• 1 bundle Pechay (Bok choy) cut into 2 pieces
• 1 bundle of sitaw (string beans) cut into 2″ long
• 1 banana bud, cut similar to eggplant slices, blanch in boiling water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 8 cups of water
• Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. In a stock pot, boil beef and oxtail in water for an hour until cooked and tender. Strain and keep the stock.
2. In a big pan or wok, heat oil and atsuete oil.
3. Sauté garlic, onions until golden brown, then add the stock, toasted rice, beef, oxtail and peanut butter. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.
4. Add the eggplant, string beans, pechay and banana bud. Cook the vegetables for a few minutes. Be careful not to overcook the vegetables.
5. Serve with bagoong on the side and hot plain rice.

Beef Broccoli

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo sirloin or flank beef, sliced thinly into strips
• 1 medium size broccoli, cut into serving pieces
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small ginger, chopped
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon or calamansi juice
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 3 tablespoon cooking oil
• sugar and salt to taste
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoon sesame oil(optional)
• 100 grams golden mushrooms, cut in half(optional)
• 1 carrot, sliced thinly into strips(optional)

Procedures:
Part 1

1. In a bowl, mix beef together with soy sauce, lemon juice, cornstarch, salt, ground pepper, sesame oil and marinate for 15 minutes.

Part 2

2. In a wok or skillet, heat cooking oil and stir fry beef until color change to brown and start to sizzle. Set aside.

Part 3

3. In the same wok, heat cooking oil and saute garlic, onion and ginger.
4. Add in the broccoli and stir cook for 3 minutes
5. Add in beef, water, oyster sauce and sugar. Stir cook for another 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.
6. Season with sugar and salt according to taste. Serve hot.

Notes:

1. To slice beef very thin, freeze it and slice before it is completely thawed.
2. You may also add 1 carrot sliced thinly into strips and 100grams golden mushrooms cooked together with broccoli.

Beef Mechado

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo beef with fat, cut into cubes
• 2 cups tomato sauce or 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 2 onions, quartered
• 3 bay leaves(laurel)
• 4 medium potatoes, quartered
• 2 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 cups beef stock or beef cubes dissolved in water
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 carrot, cut into cubes(optional)
• 1/4 cup vinegar(optional)

Procedures:

1. In a saucepan, combine the beef, onions, tomato sauce, soy sauce, bay leaves and beef stock.
2. Boil until beef is tender, Add water as needed.
3. Add vinegar and boil again for 2-3 minutes. Do not stir.
4. Add potatoes, carrot and bell pepper. cook until vegetables are tender.
5. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper according to taste. Add sugar if you prefer.
6. Remove from heat, serve and enjoy!