Bulalo Recipe: How to use the Pressure Cooker to Make It

Bulalo Recipe is a hearty traditional Filipino soup dish made out from beef shanks. It is simmered slowly until beef meat is tender and different vegetables are added to give this dish the nutrients it needs. It may sound sinful but in a cold rainy weather you will surely love it.

I think bulalo is one of my dad’s favorite dish. He often request for it and he loves gulping its warm delicious broth. I can’t blame him since it is really delicious. Though, one should not take it lightly because it is really fat and sinful.

This dish is similar to Nilagang Baka but instead of using beef meat, the flavorful shank is used. Then potatoes, corn and different green leafy vegetables are added like cabbage, Chinese cabbange, bok choy and the likes.

So why the corn? Specifically, the yellow Japanese corn. You see, the corn gives this dish a nice and subtle sweetness which really compliments the savory flavor of the broth. One thing I like about this bulalo recipe is it really compliments a nice and crispy fried fish. Trust me it does.

Traditionally, it can take 3 to 4 hours in cooking this dish. The beef shanks are simmered over really low heat until the meat is tender and the fat oozes out from the shanks. A live charcoal or wood fire is ideal in cooking this dish over low heat. And cooking it on top of the stove is really a waste of gas my friend. Thankfully, we have our most trusted pressure cooker which reduces the time from 4 hours to just an hour.

Tips

This bulalo recipe will generates lots of beef fat at the end of the simmering process. You simply scoop it out but do not throw it. That fat you scooped out is really flavorful. You can use it in sautéing vegetables and other stuffs.

If you are planning to do cook it a head of time, what you can do is simmered the beef the night before. When the meat is tender simply switch of the heat and cool it to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. Then, you can easily scoop out that frozen sleeping beef lard.

A nice dipping sauce of patis, calamansi and chili will surely give you the kick you need and you’ll surely ask for more rice.

You can also use this method in cooking the Bulalong Goto Recipe I cooked before.

Ingredients

1kg	Beef Shanks
6 cups	Water
1 head	Garlic, chopped
2 bulbs	Onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons	Whole Black Peppercorn
1/4 teapsoon	Ground Black Pepper
1 piece	Beef Bouillon Cube
4 Tablespoons	Patis or Fish Sauce
2 cups	Water
2 pieces	Corn, cut into 4 parts
2 pieces	Potatoes, quartered
1/2 piece	Large Chinese Cabbage, cut into 3 parts
1/4 cup	Chopped Onion Chives
	Fish Sauce to taste

Procedure

Combine beef shank, water, garlic, onion, whole and ground black pepper, beef bouillon cube and patis in a pressure cooker. Boil and cover pressure cooker. Adjust heat to medium low and pressure cook for 1 hour.

Remove the cover of the pressure cooker ensuring that you let out the steam and pressure before doing so for safety purposes. Add the corn and potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes.

Lastly, add the Chinese cabbage and onion chives. Season with fish sauce to taste. Simmer for another 3 minutes.