Beef nilaga
Two packs of soup bones
Massel beef-style powder
Filipino
Beef nilaga
Beef soup bones, corn, potato, and cabbage in a clear broth. Rice, and fish sauce with calamansi.
Beef soup bones, corn, potato, and cabbage in a clear broth. I use Massel beef-style stock powder, and I put it in at the start with the bones. It still tasted right. If I am short of time I stop the bones at an hour to an hour and a half. The powder carries the shorter cook. The cover is the pot, still simmering, before the vegetables. The photograph shows two packs, 1.116 kg and 1.139 kg. The pot I wrote is one of those.
Before you cook
Nilaga means boiled. It is the clear Filipino soup of beef or pork bones, corn, potato, and cabbage, eaten with rice. The broth is the point, so the first boil is thrown away. That is what keeps it clear. A pinch of sweet potato can stand in for plantain if you want it sweeter. I did not put that in this pot.
- Serves
- 6
- Time
- 150 min
- Level
- Project
- Energy
- 280kcal
- Project
Contains fish.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Ladle
- Knife and board
Each serving
An estimate from average ingredient values, not a lab test.
- Energy
- 1172 kJ
- 280 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Carbohydrate
- 16 g
- Sugars
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
- Salt
- 1.6 g
- Sodium
- 640 mg
This batch, 6 servings, is about 7029 kJ (1680 kcal), with 24 g sugars and 9.6 g salt.
Ingredients
Tick them off as you go. They reset when you leave.
Shops near you
Use where you are, including when you travel. Nothing is sent until you tap. Or type a suburb. Prices are not listed, because they change every week.
Bagoong, Mang Tomas, Mama Sita’s, and fresh curry leaves are often missing from the big shops. A Filipino or Asian grocer is the backup. Do not swap bagoong for plain salt and expect the same dish.
Method
- 01
Cover the bones with cold water. Bring them to the boil. When the foam rises, tip the water away and rinse the bones and the pot.
- 02
Put the bones back with the fresh water, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, and the stock powder.
- 03
Simmer uncovered for 1½ to 2 hours. Skim now and then. If the water drops, top it up with hot water. If you are short of time, 1 to 1½ hours is enough.
- 04
Add the potatoes, carrots, and corn. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are nearly tender. Corn in the husk can go in for the aroma, then be peeled halfway.
- 05
Add the cabbage and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is soft but not mush.
- 06
Taste it. Fish sauce, or a pinch more powder, if it needs it. It should be savoury and still clean.
Times are a guide. If it needs another minute, give it another minute.
To serve
Hot, in a bowl, with rice. Fish sauce and calamansi, or lemon, in a little dish for dipping.
Keeping it
Cool it and keep it in the fridge for 3 days. The broth and the meat freeze well. Leave the cabbage out of the freezer and add a fresh wedge when you reheat.
Leftovers
- Nilaga, the next day
For a parent, a student, or anyone who cooked yesterday.
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Hungry Alan
Beef nilaga
Serves 6 · 150 min
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ kg beef soup bones, from 1.1 to 1.2 kg
- 1 onion, halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp Massel beef-style stock powder
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 4 baby potatoes, or 2 regular potatoes, halved
- 2 corn cobs, cut into 3 pieces each
- ½ head of cabbage, cut into large wedges
- 3 L water, from 2.5 to 3 litres
- fish sauce, to taste, optional
Method
- Cover the bones with cold water. Bring them to the boil. When the foam rises, tip the water away and rinse the bones and the pot.
- Put the bones back with the fresh water, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, and the stock powder.
- Simmer uncovered for 1½ to 2 hours. Skim now and then. If the water drops, top it up with hot water. If you are short of time, 1 to 1½ hours is enough.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, and corn. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are nearly tender. Corn in the husk can go in for the aroma, then be peeled halfway.
- Add the cabbage and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is soft but not mush.
- Taste it. Fish sauce, or a pinch more powder, if it needs it. It should be savoury and still clean.
To serve
Hot, in a bowl, with rice. Fish sauce and calamansi, or lemon, in a little dish for dipping.
Keeping it
Cool it and keep it in the fridge for 3 days. The broth and the meat freeze well. Leave the cabbage out of the freezer and add a fresh wedge when you reheat.