Nilagang Baka

Aside from Adobo, Filipinos are also famous for cooking the best versions of Nilagang Baka, which is boiled beef short ribs with various vegetables. Mama has a lot of versions of this dish. One version is beef short ribs with cabbage and sigarilyas. Another version includes saging na saba and another version includes squash. She even has an east-meets-west version of Nilagang Baka which has fresh button mushrooms and broccoli in it.

Mama's different versions cater to the different tastes and cravings of the members of the family. Kei likes the beef-squash tandem while I like the beef-saging na saba combination. Papa digs the east-meets-west version. But for lunch, I gave Mama's Nilaga my own touch. The new addition to the bunch is the famous Japanese Corn. For someone who lives along Katipunan, it's very easy for me to find this variety of corn. No sweat.

At first, I was a bit hesitant about the corn fearing that it may affect the overall taste of the dish since it has quite a strong flavor but still I tried. Poof! The result? Papa loved it! Of course, he's also a Japanese corn fan. The strong flavor of the corn was indeed an asset, not a liability. It really worked with the rest of the group. Upon putting the soup in the bowl, Papa took the first bite of the corn. The flavor of the corn even made the dish smell heavenly.

Meet the bunch: beef, corn, cabbage and squash


Still smoking hot!


A closer look at Philippines' famous Nilagang Baka

Nilagang Baka Overload

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg. beef short ribs
• squash, sliced into bite-size pieces
  
• cabbage
  
• Japanese Corn, sliced into smaller pieces
  
• water
• half a piece of onion, sliced
  
• ginger, sliced
  
• fish sauce
• Maggi Magic Sarap

Boil beef and corn in a pot with enough water to cover the meat. If the meat is not yet tender and most of the liquid has already evaporated, add more water. (You can also use a pressure cooker to tenderize the beef.)
Once beef is already tender, add the onions and ginger. Boil for another 10-15 minutes.
Add the cabbage and squash.
Add fish sauce to the sauce bit by bit. (The amount of the fish sauce to be added depends on your taste as long as it's not too salty.)
Sprinkle some Maggi Magic Sarap to add flavor. (It really works like magic!)
Serve while hot with rice.

This is worth all the wait! Certified Pinoy taste!