The Happy Home Cook: Beef, Tripe, and Ginger Soup with Bitter Beer (IPA Papaitan)
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Papaitian (Photo courtesy of Marvin Gapultos)
The most hardcore versions of Papaitan are usually comprised of the organ meats found within a goat, or cow, such as stomach and intestines, as well as bitter bile (see sidenote). But the more common household versions usually only feature beef and tripe, which is what I use in this recipe.
Although beef bile can be easily found at Asian markets, I realize that’s a hard ask for even the most adventurous cook. But not to worry, you can make a deliciously bitter Papaitan at home by simply reducing a bottle of bitter IPA beer in the soup! And while bitterness is definitely the hallmark of a good Papaitan, it’s also an incredibly complex dish. Spicy and fragrant with ginger and chilies, packed with umami and saltiness from fish sauce, and bright and tart after a finishing squeeze of citrus, Papaitan can bring about a new world of flavors and textures to those brave enough to try it.
Mabuhay! Tagay! Agbiag!
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
1 lb. (500 g) beef honeycomb tripe
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 lbs. (1 kg) whole boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 2 steaks
Coarse sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 onion, diced
One 3-in (7.5 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
One 12-oz. (375 ml) bottle of beer, preferably an India Pale Ale
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 bay leaves
1-2 Thai chili peppers, split in half lengthwise with stems still intact
1-2 tablespoons beef bile (optional)
Freshly squeezed calamansi juice, or lemon juice, to taste
For serving:
Sliced Thai chili peppers
Calamansi limes, halved, or lemon wedges
Sliced green onions (scallions)
Procedure
Slice the tripe into small, thin strips about 1-inch in length by 1/2-inch in width. Place the tripe in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, then simmer for 10 minutes. Drain the tripe in a large colander set in the sink and rinse with cold running water. Set the tripe aside. Wash and dry the pot.
Heat the oil in the cleaned pot over moderately high heat. Season the beef on all sides with salt and pepper, then, working in batches, add the beef to the pot. Cook until the meat is brown and crusty, 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer the browned beef to a platter and set aside.
Add the onions to the pot and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, and dried red pepper flakes, and cook for 2-3 minutes more until fragrant. Pour in the bottle of beer, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring the beer to a boil and continue cooking until the beer is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the beef into bite-sized ½-inch (1.25 cm) cubes. Return the beef and the tripe to the pot, then add enough cold water to cover everything by an inch (2.5 cm). Stir in the fish sauce, bay leaves, and the split chili peppers. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 2-3 hours until the beef and tripe are tender.
Stir in the beef bile, if using, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste the soup, and season with salt, black pepper, and calamansi or lemon juice as desired. Serve immediately with sliced Thai chili peppers, calamansi limes or lemon wedges, and sliced green onions (scallions) on the side.
Uminom
A big, bold, and bitter IPA is just the beer that can match the intensity of this soup. Be aware though, that the hop bitterness in the beer can magnify the heat and spice from the chili peppers.
To contrast the bitterness in the soup, and for something a bit more cooling, you’ll do just as well with an icy Filipino lager in your hand.
Sidenote:
The Green Bile
Beef bile, as pictured above, can be found frozen at many Asian markets and Filipino markets.
Biologically speaking, bile is a greenish fluid that is secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder to aid in the digestion of grass (that’s why beef bile is green). Culinarily speaking, it’s bitter as hell. A spoonful of beef bile is a nuclear bomb of bitterness, so a little goes a long way.
Using animal bile as a bittering agent in food is not exclusive to the Philippines, as it is also used in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.
Recipe from the cookbook Pulutan! Filipino Bar Bites, Appetizers and Street Eats by Marvin Gapultos (Tuttle Publishing).
Marvin Gapultos is the author of the celebrated food blog, Burnt Lumpia (www.burntlumpiablog.com), and was the founder of Los Angeles’ first gourmet Filipino food truck, The Manila Machine. His first cookbook entitled, "The Adobo Road Cookbook: A Filipino Food Journey--From Food Blog, to Food Truck, and Beyond" is available for sale at Barnes and Noble bookstores, as well as from Amazon. Check out his Amazon site: http://amzn.to/TGDEAP
More recipes from Chef Marvin Gapultos