Nilagang Baka (Boiled Beef Stew)

The weather is still gloomy as yesterday thanks to the low pressure area here in the Visayas. We live at the beach side so you can see the gigantic waves plus the strong wind that comes with it. During this kind of weather, it's just nice to sit back and enjoy a bowl of hot soup. So I've come up with a menu for dinner and that's definitely good ol' Nilagang Baka.  


Nilagang Baka or Boiled Beed Stew is literally boiling beef and adding vegetables that go with it. It's a no-brainer recipe and I strongly suggest this to beginner chefs, all you will need is the patience to tenderize the beef.


Ingredients:


1 kilo beef, cut into cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 whole head of garlic, pierced using a knife
10 black peppercorns
4 tablespoons of fish sauce (patis)
1 beef bullion ( I used knorr beef cubes)
4 large potatoes, cubed
1 bundle of pechay (Bok Choy)
1 liter of water
2 chili (mahabang sili)

Procedures:


In a large pot, heat the cooking oil and sauté garlic and onions.


Toss in the beef, peppercorns, water and fish sauce. Bring to Boil and simmer for 1 and a half hour or until the beef is soft.


Add the potatoes. At this time, you can add more water if the soup has evaporized. You can adjust the flavor of the soup by adding the beef cube. Please taste the soup first so you'll estimate how much beef bullion you will need to put.


When the potatoes are ready, add the chili and turn off the stove.


Toss in the pechay and cover for 4 minutes. (I do this so the pechay will retain it's crispiness.)


Serve hot! 

Mini Leche Flan Recipe

I wanted to eat leche flan yesterday but too bad that it was one rainy monday afternoon. So instead of going out to grab a delicious dessert for me and my family, I decided to make my own leche flan with the ingredients available in my pantry. 

My toddler, a three-year-old girl, would soon come home from school and she's in for a big surprise when she sees the little treat that I have for her. Normally, I would first caramelize the sugar for the syrup but with little time  (and laziness) I decided to skip that part. Another reason for that is, it's hard to wash the llanera with all those dried syrup afterwards. On the other hand, I used my maple syrup in behalf of the caramelized sugar (I'm pretty much sure honey and molasses would be a great substitute too!) The top of the leche flan will turn out shiny.

As for my mini-molder, I used hard plastic molds (the colorful ones used to make puto) because it would look cute and more attractive than the regular oval llanera. It's also cheaper coz it only costs P2.00 each and the fact that it can be found in the baking section of most grocery stores and the wet markets as well. 

So to start things, here's what you will need for the mini-leche flans:

4 egg yolks 

3/4 cup evap milk (you can also use fresh milk)

1/2 cup condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon of calamansi extract (better if you have lemons instead of calamansi for stronger aroma)

5 teaspoons of maple syrup

Aluminum foil

Procedures:

Fill in the bottom of your plastic molds with half a teaspoon of maple syrup.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly. This will prevent bubbles from forming and a chance of soggy leche flan, so please don't over beat the eggs. 

Pour in the evaporated milk and condensed milk. Stir until well blended. Now add the calamansi (or lemon) extract. Stir for a couple of times. Next, strain the mixture using a fine cloth.

Now fill each mold with the mixture until it's almost full. Cover each mold with aluminum foil.

Steam for 20-25 minutes. To check if it's ready, stick a knife or a toothpick on top, if it comes out clean then you're good to go.

Remove from the steamer. Let it cool for 5 minutes, then refrigerate before inverting. Best serve cold.

Makes 7 small servings.

Enjoy!