Traffic's bad, the rain is heavy, and you're hungry. You stop by a roadside carinderia and order a serving of beef pares. The lady gives you a plate of hot rice with a side of tender beef coated in a dark sauce. Then you get a bowl of plain soup, which she says you can refill if you want. With every bite of the beef, your patience thickens; with every sip of the soup, your body heats up. And you go back to the road a different person.
There's no better beef pares than the one sa kanto. But this homemade version delivers the same nourishing comfort, promising flavorful, fall-off-the-bone meat and a not-too-sweet asado sauce.
Ingredients
Beef Broth
- 900g beef bones, knuckles and bone marrow
- ½ cup oil, divided, for searing
- 500g beef shank
- 900g blade clod (kalitiran), cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ½ medium white or yellow onion, quartered
- ½ inch ginger, sliced
- 1 bulb garlic, halved
- 15–16 cups water, cold
- salt, to taste
- 2 tbsp sibot
- 3–4 pcs bay leaf
- ½ tbsp black peppercorns
Beef Pares
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 ½ tbsp ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 2–3 tbsp white onion, minced
- 1 ½ cups reserved broth
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2–3 pcs star anise
- pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch, optional
- 4 tbsp water, optional
For Serving
- fried garlic
- spring onions
- garlic rice
- calamansi, halved
- chili garlic oil
Make the Broth
Roast beef bones: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lay beef bones on a tray and roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until browned.
Sear beef: Add ¼ cup oil in a large pot over high heat. Add beef shank and sear until browned on both sides. Set aside. Add the remaining ¼ cup oil into the same pot and sear blade clod or kalitiran until browned on both sides. Set aside.
Make broth: Add onion, ginger, and garlic to the same pot. Cook, stirring constantly, until aromatics are browned. Add roasted beef bones and seared beef into the pot. Cover meat with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 hours, checking every 15–20 minutes to remove scum and fat build-up on the surface of the broth.
Finish broth: Season broth with salt, sibot, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Once done cooking, remove bones and meat. Break the meat into 1-inch pieces and set aside. Strain the reserved broth to remove the aromatics. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Make the Beef Pares
Add oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Cook ginger until fragrant, then add garlic and onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until aromatics are slightly browned. Pour 1 ½ cups reserved broth, soy sauce, sugar, and star anise. Season with pepper.
Optional - add slurry: Combine 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch and 4 tablespoons water in a separate bowl to make a slurry. Stir into the sauce for a more velvety texture.
Add beef: Add sliced meat and stir in the sauce until each piece is evenly coated.
Serve: Garnish beef pares with fried garlic bits and spring onions. Serve hot alongside garlic rice and a bowl of broth, plus calamansi and chili garlic oil if desired.
