Tapa, a popular Filipino breakfast dish made vegan. This vegan Filipino tapa is made with marinated soy meat, pan-fried to perfection, and best served with garlic fried rice and spiced vinegar. The perfect dish for anyone who prefers a flavorful and savory breakfast. You won't even tell it's vegan, I mean look at it! It's just as delicious as the traditional, and it definitely curbed my cravings.
This dish brings a lot of nostalgia for me. I ate a lot throughout my college days, and even though it's usually a breakfast meal, it was another dish that I ate a lot as late night meals. You know, late-night meals just hits differently. Anyone else agree?
Not only was this a basic college meal for me, but it's also what my grandma is famous for. She made THE BEST tapa in the entire world, not even my mom can make it the way she can. Everytime I would visit her, she would always have tapa ready for me because she knew I loved her cooking. She would definitely fatten me up with her cooking. So I wanted to dedicate this recipe to my grandma, even though she is not with us anymore, I hope I made her proud.
What is Tapa?
Not to be confused with Spanish Tapas, Filipino tapa is a type of cured and thinly sliced beef. Tossed in a soy-sauce based marinade, and then either pan-fried or grilled. A popular breakfast dish, normally served with eggs, atchara, tomatoes, and garlic rice. This combination is actually called “tapsilog”, which is basically tapa and eggs (itlog in Tagalog). Depending on the region, you can either find "saucy" tapa or a "dry" tapa. That just means you can either find it covered in a thick sauce or cooked until the marinade has evaporated. Personally, I love the "dry" tapa, as it gets kind of crispy and the sauce caramelized around the meat. This is the way my grandma would cook it for us and it's the only way I would have it.
How do you make vegan tapa?
Unlike the original, we are not going through the curing process. This recipe is way more simple, and all you need to do is to marinate some soy meat. The key is to marinate for 8 hours or longer. You get the most flavor, and you also get the nice dark color on the soy meat. Since soy meat really has no flavor, it soaks up the marinade like a sponge. Then cook until the “meat” has been caramelized. That’s really it, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to make. Prep it the night before so you can cook it up for a delicious breakfast!
If you tried this recipe, let me know what you think in the comments below. You can also share it with me on Instagram, just tag @flouredframe. I would love to see your recreations! Happy cooking!
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Filipino Tapa
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Mesh Sieve
- Large saute pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup soy curls ()
- 1 cup hot water (or vegetable broth)
- 2 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base (skip if using broth )
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegan oyster sauce ()
- 2 teaspoon calamansi juice
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Filipino Style Spiced Vinegar (Optional):
- 3 cups white vinegar
- 15 - whole Thai chili peppers
- 1- inch nub of ginger (thinly sliced)
- 1 head of garlic (peeled and sliced)
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- ½ onion (thinly sliced)
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine hot water and Better Than Bouillon Vegetable paste together. If using broth, heat in a microwave or stove.
- Add the soy curls and toss in the broth, and set aside for 15-20 minutes to rehydrate.
- Meanwhile, make the marinade. In another bowl, mix the minced garlic, soy sauce, vegan Worcestershire sauce, vegan oyster sauce, calamansi juice, white vinegar, and brown sugar, until well combined.
- When the soy curls are properly rehydrated, drain the excess broth and save it for later!
- Add the soy curls to the bowl of marinade. Toss until each piece is fully coated in the sauce. Cover the bowl, and allow the soy curls to marinade 8 hours - overnight. The flavors will develop better the longer it sits in the marinade. I like to toss the soy curls occasionally so that each piece can marinate properly.
- When you are ready to cook, add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large pan, and heat it over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is ready, add in the soy curls along with the marinade. Cook until most of the sauce has evaporated, and the soy curls have slightly caramelized. Remove from heat and serve with some garlic fried rice and dip with some spiced vinegar!
Filipino Style Spiced Vinegar:
- In a clean large glass jar, combine the vinegar, Thai chili peppers, ginger, garlic, onions, and peppercorns. Loosely cover or cap the jar and let sit at room temperature in a dark place for 48 hours.
- Transfer the jar to the refrigerator. The flavors will develop overtime. Use it as you please!
Notes
- When I first made this recipe, I used a mock meat for it. However, I had to marinate it for 24 hours. If you want to use mock meat for this recipe, you will need to do the same. Most mock meats have their own flavor, so to get rid of it, the best way is to marinate it long. The mock meat I used to use was Morningstar Steak Strips, however, I believe they discontinued that product. Try to find the best thinly sliced mock meat for this recipe.
- I found my mushroom oyster sauce at my local Asian market.
- I prefer my tapa "dry", but if you like it "saucy" cook it on medium heat, and until the sauce gets a bit thick. You won't get the caramelization when you do this.
Darlene says
What’s the soy curls brand? The link is broken 🙁
Thanks!
Floured Frame says
I just updated the link!