Nilagang Baka

Nilagang baka is a Filipino boiled-beef dish with a mild, savoury broth. Vanjo Merano’s selected version uses cubed beef sirloin, Saba bananas, potatoes, bok choy and cabbage, with salt and pepper seasoning the finished pot.

Water and beef broth come to a boil with halved white onion, chopped celery and optional star anise. After the aromatics have boiled under a lid, they are lifted out with a skimmer or strainer.

The beef simmers in the remaining broth until tender, with more water added if needed. Halved Saba bananas and quartered baking potatoes follow and cook with the meat.

Bok choy and cabbage enter near the finish, together with salt and pepper. The pot is covered and the heat turned off, allowing the vegetables to finish cooking before the soup is transferred to a serving bowl.

The beef broth’s restrained seasoning is central to this version. Rice can accompany the bowl, and Merano suggests a separate small saucer of patis and calamansi for an additional salty, citrus finish.