I will be honest-- I didn't know that Beef Salpicao was actually a Filipino dish. I've always thought it was a spin-off of some Spanish food that was adapted to suit the local palette. Turns out, 'salpicao' could be from the Portuguese word 'salpicão', which is traditionally a beef-and-pork loin sausage seasoned with red or white wine, salt, and sweet or spicy paprika.
In Brazil, the same term refers to a salad that contains chicken and shoestring potatoes. From another theory, 'salpicao' could be a derivative of the Spanish term 'salpicado', which is the past participle of 'salpicar' meaning to 'to sprinkle' or 'to scatter'. It could be named so because of the amount of garlic that is added on the dish (beef is marinated and cooked with garlic, then garnished with crisp fried garlic bits).
Beef
Salpicao with
Herbed Mashed Potato
As debatable and confusing as its origins and etymology may be, it cannot be denied how satisfying it is. And with just a handful of ingredients, this salpicao enables me to whip up something that even a picky-eating carnivore like my teen bro could appreciate.
Based on my "expert" Googling, I found that my salpicao looks different from the traditional Filipino sort that's brown all over from being braised in soy and stir-fried with a generous amount of finely minced garlic. The 'real' beef salpicao is usually just the cubed beef and garlic stir-fried in butter and seasoned with oyster sauce and Worcestershire sauce. I didn't like that approach because I'm worried about the beef being too tough to eat, so I added the step of simmering the beef in beef or chicken stock. If you'd like to stick with the classic style, you could skip that step and the bell peppers altogether and add sliced mushrooms instead (a small can's worth).
Ingredients
1/3 kilo beef strips (sirloin, tenderloin, or beef chuck)
1 whole bulb of garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 medium-sized green bell pepper, deseeded and sliced into small squares
1 medium-sized red bell pepper, deseeded and sliced into small squares
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I used Bull dog brand)
1 tbsp oyster sauce (I used Lee Kum Kee Panda brand)
1/3 cup beef or chicken stock
salt and pepper
1 tsp paprika powder
2 cups of water
200 g. sour cream
1/4 cup grated cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a combination of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Emmental)
chopped chives (if unavailable, use 1 1/2 tsp Italian spices)
salt and pepper
3/4 stick of salted butter
Directions
1. In a clean bowl, marinade the beef strips by adding 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, olive oil, 1/2 tsp paprika, and half of the finely minced garlic. Mix the seasonings and until the beef is well-coated. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. While the beef is steeping in the marinade, boil the potatoes in 2 cups of water until soft and easy to mash (around 15 minutes on high heat).
3. When the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and put them back in the pot. Mash the potatoes with a laddle or potato masher. Season with salt to taste and gradually add the butter.
4. After the butter had been incorporated, add the sour cream and mix well into the mashed potatoes. Add the chives or Italian spices and the cheese.
5. When the mashed potato is finished, transfer onto a serving dish and top more cheese and chives if desired.
6. On a clean skillet, cook the marinated beef strips on medium heat. Stir-fry until browned. Add 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce and half of the beef stock. Simmer until the liquid is reduced.
7. When the liquid is reduced, add the rest of the Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, the oyster sauce, and 1/2 tsp paprika. Stir the beef in the sauce. Cook for another 3 minutes until the liquid is reduced again.
8. Add the butter and bell peppers. Stir well until the butter melts. Cook for another 3 minutes to cook the bell peppers.
9. Fry half of the finely minced garlic in a separate pan in olive oil until they turn golden brown and crispy. Drain the excess oil and spinkle on top of the finished beef salpicao.
Ta-da~! It's done~ (^_^) I love serving it like how it looks like in the photo, but my teenage bro likes to take the carbohydrate intake up a notch and eat the beef with rice and the mashed potatoes. Oh, teenagers~
It's been a while since I updated my blog. Sorry for the long wait! To make up for it, I'm sharing one of my favorite comfort foods with you (second to my Ham Katsu and Marinara Pasta). I was planning to post this for my LJ friend, Eva's birthday, but I stumbled upon a bit of a writer's block and wasn't able to put it up on time.
Happy Birthday, Eva~
There's no cake this time, but it's gluten-free :)
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