Tapsilog and Tocilog

Two plates of delicious Tapsilog and Tocilog on a wooden table.

Adapted by Kyle Libramonte

Prep Time: 20 min (plus overnight curing) • Cook Time: 35 Min

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Tapa (Beef)

  • 1 lb beef sirloin, sliced thin across the grain (sub bottom round — cheaper, but see the note in Step 4)
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp calamansi juice (sub lemon, lime, or a splash of white vinegar)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Neutral oil, for cooking

For the Tocino (Pork)

  • 1 lb pork butt (kasim), sliced ¼-inch thick — Boston butt has the right fat-to-meat ratio; tenderloin runs too lean and belly too fatty
  • ½ cup sugar (white or brown, both work)
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • 1½ tsp garlic powder
  • Pepper, to taste
  • 1–2 drops red food coloring, optional (sub 1 tsp atsuete powder or a couple tablespoons banana ketchup — it's for color, not flavor)
  • ½ cup water, for simmering
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil, for caramelizing

For the Sinangag (Garlic Fried Rice)

  • 4 cups cooked white rice, cooled — day-old from the fridge is best
  • 10 cloves garlic, minced (yes, ten — this is the whole point of the dish)
  • 3 tbsp neutral oil
  • Salt, to taste

For the Itlog (Eggs)

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil or butter
  • Salt and pepper

To Serve

  • Sliced tomatoes, or fresh tomato and salted egg salad
  • Spiced vinegar (white vinegar, crushed garlic, chile, a pinch of salt)
  • Atchara (pickled green papaya), if you have it

Instructions:

  1. Marinate the Tapa (the night before): Stir the soy sauce, calamansi juice, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper together in a non-reactive bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add the beef and massage it so every slice is coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Don't push it much past that — the acid keeps working, and too long turns the texture mushy rather than tender. Drain the meat before cooking.
  2. Cure the Tocino (the night before): This one is a dry cure, not a marinade — no liquid goes in yet. Combine the pork, sugar, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and coloring in a bowl and massage until the mixture is evenly distributed and the meat is uniformly tinted. Transfer to a covered container or zip-top bag and refrigerate overnight. Three days is the outer limit in the fridge; freeze anything beyond that.
  3. Cook the Rice Ahead (the night before): If you don't have leftover rice, run a batch on the White Rice setting the night before, using slightly less water than usual so the grains finish a little firm. Spread it on a tray and refrigerate uncovered overnight — cold, dried-out grains are what keep sinangag from turning to paste. Wash and dry the pot before the morning cook.
  4. Cook the Protein: Set the pot in the base and run Sear/Sauté on high, giving it a couple of minutes to come up to temperature before adding oil.
    1. For tapa: add about a tablespoon of oil, then lay the drained beef in a single layer — work in batches rather than crowding it. Cook 3–5 minutes, turning, until the liquid the meat throws off has mostly cooked away. Add another tablespoon of oil and keep going until the edges brown and caramelize. If you went with bottom round instead of sirloin, add about a cup of water first and simmer until fork-tender before you crisp it in oil.
    2. For tocino: add the cured pork along with everything clinging to it, plus enough water to just cover. Bring to a boil, then cover and let it cook down until the meat is tender and the liquid has nearly cooked off, adding water back in ½-cup increments if it runs dry early. Once the pot is nearly dry, add the tablespoon of oil and cook, stirring often, until the sugars caramelize into a sticky glaze. Watch it closely here — sugar goes from caramelized to burnt fast. Transfer the meat to a plate and tend with foil.
  5. Make the Sinangag: Wipe out the pot but leave the browned bits — that fond is free flavor. Still on Sear/Sauté high, heat the oil, stir in a good pinch of salt, then add the garlic. Cook it down until golden and crisp, watching carefully; garlic goes from golden to bitter in seconds. Pull out about a third of it to scatter over the top later. Add the cold rice, breaking up any clumps with the wooden spatula, and fold it through the garlic oil. Let it cook 4–5 minutes, tossing occasionally so some grains catch and toast against the bottom. Season with more salt to taste. Scoop the rice out and set it aside.
  6.  Fry the Itlog: Wipe the pot again, add the oil or butter, and crack in the eggs. Let them cook undisturbed until the whites are set and opaque but the yolks are still liquid, 3–4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and slide them out as they finish.
  7. Assemble & Serve: Return the rice to the pot, top with the tapa or tocino, and lay the fried eggs over everything. Scatter the reserved crisp garlic across the top and bring the pot to the table. Serve with sliced tomatoes and a small bowl of spiced vinegar for dipping the meat.

Notes: 

  • Make both proteins and you've got tapsilog and tocilog on the same table — cook the tapa first, since the tocino's sugar glaze is the messier of the two.
  • Both cures scale up well. Portion the raw marinated meat into freezer bags: tapa keeps up to 6 months, tocino up to 3, and the tocino goes straight from freezer to pot without thawing.

 

Two plates of delicious Tapsilog and Tocilog on a wooden table.

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