Beef Afritada
Topic: Beef
Afritada is a meat stew with green peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. You can add carrots to have more colors. Since it is a stew, the best part to cook is the shanks.

Ingredients:
500 g beef shanks, sliced
1 carrot, cubed
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 onion, whole
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp. ginger, shredded
1 ripe tomato, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
3 tbsp. cooking oil
salt to taste

Directions:
1. Put the beef, 1 bay leaf, peppercorns and whole onion in a pot. Add salt and water to cover the meat. Boil and simmer for 1-2 hours or until tender. Drain, reserve 2 cups broth.
2. Heat oil in a skillet, saute garlic, slice onions, ginger and tomatoes until the ginger are aromatic. Add beef, potatoes, carrots, bay leaf and broth (add more water if desired). Bring to a boil, add tomato sauce. Simmer until the vegetables are half done.
3. Add soy sauce, fish sauce,oyster sauce, black pepper powder and bell pepper. Cook until the vegetables are done. Season with salt and pepper.

Boiled Beef (Nilagang Baka)
Topic: Beef
Our favorite part of the beef for boiling are the ribs and shanks since it gives a very delicious soup. Younger cows are the best, very tender and takes shorter time to cook. When boiling beef, usually vegetables are added and my favorite vegetables to add are the one that doesn't distract the taste of the beef broth. Some vegetables have strong taste, so if you want a very beefy soup, try adding vegetables like carrots, potatoes, cabbage, sweet corn on cob, lettuce,etc.
In this recipe, I add lemon grass since the beef we bought was not quite young and I am not satisfied with its taste so I find a way to make it better. Moreover, influenced by his Thai friends and classmates, my hubby likes lemon grass added in a clear soup, that's why sometimes I add it to the meals I cooked.

Ingredients:
500 g beef short ribs, cut into serving pieces
1 large carrot, cut into cubes
2 medium potatoes, quartered
1 small bunch of lettuce
1 whole onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
1 cube beef bouillon (optional)
1 tsp. sugar
1 thumb size ginnger, slice into strips
1 stalk lemon grass, cut diagonally
1 stalk green onions, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Boil beef, onion, garlic, beef cube (optional),ginger and peppercorns in a pot with enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, skim off the scums when it rises. Lower the heat,add the lemon grass and few salt, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beef is tender. Check water occassionally, add more if desired.
2. When the beef is cooked, take it out from the broth and transfer to a bowl, set aside.
3. Strain the broth, discard the spices to have a clearer soup.
4. Return the broth to the pot and season with sugar, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the carrots and potatoes, boil until done.
6. When the vegetables are done, return the beef to the broth and bring to a boil. Add the lettuce cover and simmer for 20-30 seconds. Remove from heat and serve sprinkled with choped green onions.