Beef Pares

During my college days in UST, it was said that you’re not a real Thomasian if you’ve never tasted Beef Pares at the Original Pares House along Espana near Maceda St. in Sampaloc, Manila. I remember being first introduced to this place by my boyfriend (now, my hubby) and his friends, and how it became our most frequent dining place. Their beef pares is the best! It has the right blend of sweetness that makes it so delicious!!!

So what is Beef Pares? Beef Pares is a juicy tender stewed beef in sweet brown sauce, which is one of the most famous street foods in the Philippines. It is called pares which means “pair”, because this meat dish is served with a pair of garlic fried rice (sinangag) and beef soup. What makes the beef pares stand out from other beef-and-rice dishes is its very tender meat and its aromatic sweet sauce.

One very important consideration when cooking this is the right cut of meat. Beef brisket for me is the ideal cut for making beef pares. It has lots of ligaments (litid)) which will help achieve a texture that is tender and sticky at the same time.

Beef Pares has become a comfort food to the rice loving Filipinos. Try this beef pares recipe. I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love with it! I included here the procedure on how to make the garlic fried rice & beef soup that you have to serve with the beef stew. After all, it can’t be called pares without the rice & the soup.

Prep Time: 10 mins          Cook Time: ~2 1/2 hours           Servings: 6-8                      

Ingredients: 

For beef stew:

• 2 lbs. beef brisket, uncut
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 3 pcs. star anise
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 stalk green onion,  chopped (for garnishing)
• Salt to taste

For the soup:

• 3 stalks green onions, cut into 2-inch length
• 1 medium size onion, quartered
• ½ head garlic, chopped
• 1 pc beef cube
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 stalk green onions, finely chopped (for garnishing)

For the garlic fried rice:

• 5 cups cooked rice
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure:   
1. Place the beef in a big sauce pan. Add enough water to cover the meat (about 2L) and bring to a boil over medium low heat until scum appears on the surface. Clear the scum off the broth. 
2. Add all the soup ingredients except the green onions for garnishing. Add salt to taste. Cover the saucepan. Adjust heat to low and simmer for 1 to 2 hours or until the beef is tender. 
3. When the meat is tender, remove from the sauce pan and allow to cool down. 
4. Meanwhile, transfer the broth to another sauce pan, leaving about 2 cups of it in the original sauce pan. The broth in the new sauce pan will be the soup. Simmer over low heat until ready to serve.   
5. Slice the beef in cubes and return to original sauce pan.   
6. Add the soy sauce, sugar, bay leaf, star anise, ginger, and black pepper. Season with salt to suit your taste. 
7. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens that is about 15-20 minutes. 
8. Serve with garlic fried rice and the reserved beef soup. Garnish beef stew and soup with chopped green onions.

How to make garlic fried rice:  
1. In a wok over medium heat, saute garlic in olive oil until golden brown. 
2. Add rice and mix well with the garlic. Season with salt to suit your taste.
3. Stir fry on medium heat until the rice is heated through. Remove from heat.  
4. Fill a bowl or cup with rice. Place the bowl or cup upside down on a serving plate, then lift.
5. Garnish with fried garlic on top.
 

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