Beef Bulalo is a type of Filipino beef shank soup with either regular cabbage or Napa cabbage. This recipe is an enhanced version because of the addition of sweet corn. Aside from providing a bit of sweet taste, it also makes this Filipino soup dish taste even better.
Traditionally, beef bulalo takes a few hours to cook because the shanks need to be tenderized by slow cooking. However, I tried to cut the time shorter in this recipe by using a pressure cooker. It might not be the way authentic bulalo are prepared, but it is a good way to tenderize meat quickly for dishes such as this.
How to cook Beef Bulalo:
Pressure cooking the beef:
This recipe will require a pressure cooker so we can get our beef shank perfectly tender. And so to start things off, we will put 4 cups of water in our pressure cooker pot. Proceed to let this boil by applying some heat. When it has begun boiling, that would be your signal to place 2 to 3 lbs. of beef shank inside, 1 tablespoon of whole peppercorns, 2 ears of sweet corn you’ve sliced, and 1 piece of beef bouillon.
Now put the cover on top, and pressure cook this for 25 minutes. When it is done releasing pressure, you can take the cover out. Then add some more water, which would be about 4 to 6 cups more. Wait for this to boil again. And once it does, you should pour in 2 to 3 tablespoons of fish sauce. Stir this into your mixture, and then let it cook for 2 more minutes.
Arranging our dish, and putting all of the components together:
As we wait, we can start placing fresh layers of cabbage in a large bowl. For this, you will need half of a cabbage with the center portion taken out. Arrange this well, and then incorporate your delicious beef shank and corn. Then you can pour your warm, comforting broth over the beef shank and the corn. And there you have it— some homemade Beef Bulalo that is perfect for 4 servings! Eat this with some rice, and you have a perfectly filling meal.
The thing about Beef Bulalo is that it is something we often crave more during the colder season. Nothing beats a steaming hot, meaty stew to remind us of home when it’s rainy out, or when you’re having a sick day. Let me introduce you to a couple more recipes that give off that feel of comfort as you chow down on it.
Other Filipino stew recipes to cook up:
Filipino Pork Nilaga Soup
This mild, soothing vegetable and pork stew has the perfect blend of flavors. And we get these from simple components like beef broth and yellow onions. Baby bok choy also plays a big role in giving some nice texture and nutrition to our Filipino Pork Nilaga Soup. This recipe often gets compared to Beef Bulalo because they both have a clear stew. And they both let the meat take the spotlight with its savory, tender taste. Definitely try this Pork Nilaga out if you are craving an appetizing stew with a good deal of greens and meat!
Chicken Pochero
Unlike our previous dishes, Chicken Pochero is tomato-based, and may have a bit of a stronger taste. If you want something a bit more flavorful with its vibrant arrangement of ingredients, this dish is definitely the way to go! We have the likes of chorizo de bilbao, saba bananas, chickpeas, long green beans and even more to liven up our soup. This also does not take too long to make. Once you have already prepared your ingredients, you have less than an hour of cooking time.
Chicken Tinola
What is a Pinoy household without its fair share of tasty Chicken Tinola every once in a while? This is definitely one of the staples of Filipino cuisine, and is indicative of just how rich in crops we are in the country. Tinola is highly reliant on vegetables to provide its overall taste and texture with ingredients like chayote, ginger, malunggay and more. But of course, we also have our scrumptious chicken to make the meal feel more complete and satisfying.
If you haven’t tried this, it definitely is a dish worth a try! You get to enjoy a bunch of nutritious ingredients in a warm, light stew. But should you prefer a bit more spice in your dish, you also have the option of adding long green chilis. This can really enrich the flavor of this dish, and makes it even more fitting for the chilly season.
Beef Mechado
Beef Mechado is yet another rich, tomato-based dish that can give a lot of comfort with its thick, hot stew and mix of ingredients. You can enjoy the smoothness of potatoes with your sliced beef chuck in this beautifully seasoned dish. Soy sauce, bay leaves, lemons and more play a role in providing a hint of zest and saltiness in our recipe.
Beef Mechado is another dish that gets likened to other Filipino classics like Kaldereta. But the latter uses the flavor of liver spread, while the savor of Mechado is largely sourced from soy sauce.
Those are some of my Speedy Recipes for you! Let me know what you thought of this Beef Bulalo dish through the comments section. And if you want to see more recipes, whether it be Filipino or from other cuisines around the world, simply suggest them below!
Beef bulalo is best served hot. The broth should be hot enough to cook the fresh cabbage in the bowl. We all enjoyed this with a condiment of spicy fish sauce.
Beef Bulalo
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. beef shank
- 10 cups water
- 1 beef bouillon
- 2 yellow onion, wedged
- 2 ears sweet corn, sliced
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- ½ head cabbage, center portion removed
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
Instructions
- Pour 4 cups water in a pressure cooker pot. Let boil.
- Add the beef shank, peppercorns, corn, and beef bouillon. Cover and pressure-cook for 25 minutes.
- Remove the cover once the pressure is out. Pour additional water. Let boil.
- Add fish sauce. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Arrange fresh layers of cabbage in a large bowl. Top with beef shank and corn. Pour the piping hot broth over the corn and shank.
- Serve hot with rice.
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