Tale of Two Tapas

Cured meat may be farthest from todays trends towards eating natural and keeping the freshest taste of food alive but I can tell you one thing, when you want some good ole' tapsilog, theres only one wish, that you have something sweet (or salty) and tangy.

As the by product of two diff provinces, my tongue has acquired a taste for the extreme. The very sweet tooth of the Pampango, and the biting saltiness of the Ilocano.

Here is the sweet version of Tapa, from the kitchen of our long time meat supplier in Cartimar. Why she ever shared this with my mom, I'll never know. The only adjust ment mother made is all the ingredients sans the vetsin.

Tapa ni Amparing

½ kilo sirloin – pound with mallet

1 cup sugar

3 heaping tbsp salt

½ tbsp pepper

½ vetsin (optional)

Mix all dry ingredients

Spread a thin layer of meat on a plate (or marinating dish)

Layer meats and sprinkle dry mixtureover each layer

Ensure all sides are clearly sprinkled

Let sit for 12 hrs outside ref until dark liquid forms immersing the entire dish in this liquid

Refrigerate to store

When frying, use a shallow and flat frying pan and just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Allow to heat, you know the saying, hot oil cold food. As the oil gets hot, gently lay tapa one slice at at a time, allowing it to simmer. put enough slices to cover entire bottom of the pan. It should release liquid and bubble. Don't touch it too much, allowing it to toast somewhat, just moving the tapa slices occassionally to coax the sugar into caramelizing and sticking to the tapa slices. It's ready when the bubbling stops and its just the oil and meat reacting to each other, the brown caramelized sugar sticking to the meat slices that have all but turned black.

With garlic fried rice topped with an egg sunny side up (toasted sides), thats a winner right there.