By Jasna in cooking —

Nilagang baka

Philippine style, with bok choy as the star.

Literally "beef stew" in Tagalog, this recipe's main ingredients are typically a kind of meat (beef for this title, but alternatively baby / pork), chayote or potato, and bok choy. It's one of my favorite comfort foods. This stew is light and cozy and best served with rice.

Ingredients

Serves 6+

  • About 2/3rds pound of ground or whole chopped meat
    • I prefer beef. Can also leave out for a vegan version and and sub for mushrooms or double up on vegetables or potatoes (even though it won't be picar anymore, unless you count some of your veggies!).
  • 1-2 cups chopped mushrooms
  • 6 cloves of garlic, chopped or minced
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 2 small white or gold potatoes, quartered
  • 1-2 jalapeño peppers, minced
  • 1 whole white bok choy, stalks and leaves separated and roughly chopped
  • 6+ cups of broth
  • A drizzle of cooking oil
  • 1-2 tbs fish sauce
    • Substitute with 3-4 tbs soy sauce for vegan
  • Variable vegetables (throw in what you have)
    • 1-2 carrots, diced
    • 1-2 celery sticks, diced
    • 2 handfuls of frozen peas
    • 1 chayote, sliced
    • 1 bell pepper, chopped
    • 2 large tomatoes, diced
  • Seasonings
    • 1 tsp garlic powder
    • 1 tsp onion powder
    • 1 tsp MSG
    • 3 bay leaves
    • for more heat, berebere seasoning, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, etc.
    • a pinch of celery seeds
    • salt and pepper to taste
  • Cooked rice

Steps

  1. Heat a large, wide pot to low-medium heat. Add a drizzle of cooking oil.
  2. In a smaller pot, boil 2 or so cups of water–enough to cover your potatoes but not spill over.
  3. When large pot is warm enough, add seasonings, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
  4. Add garlic and ginger, stirring often to prevent burning, for a minute or 2 until fragrant.
  5. Add onion, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and slightly translucent.
  6. When water is boiling in small pot, add a few pinches of salt and potatoes there. Let them soften for 7-10 minutes.
  7. If using meat, add now to the large pot. As it cooks, break up the meat with your cooking utensil if not already done. Wait until it’s cooked, but not brown (unless you prefer some crunch).
  8. Throw in your harder root vegetables and hot peppers to the large pot.
  9. Add broth and fish sauce or soy sauce, and bring to a boil.
  10. Add bok choy stalks and, if using, tomatoes and other peppers. Add more broth if needed. (I like it pretty soupy, especially with rice, so I like a higher broth-to-solids ratio.) Boil for a couple of minutes, then reduce to a simmer. Taste for heat and salt–add more if needed.
  11. When potatoes are softened, drain them and add to the large pot.
  12. Add bok choy leaves. Let simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Add more salt to taste, as well as pepper.
  13. Serve with warm rice in a bowl or plate.