Nuea Sawan (Heavenly Beef)

I am continually amazed by how foods and cuisines from all over the world are closely intertwined. Take for instance this nuea sawan, with its sweet-salty taste and jerky-like texture, it reminds me of beef tapa, a popular breakfast item in the Philippines.

Like tapa, nuea sawan is traditionally sun-dried but the procedure below will allow preparation of this sweet meat even in moderate climates. The recipe calls for whole coriander seeds, toasted and ground to powder. Since I could not find these seeds from all the stores I visited, I substituted dried cilantro leaves.

Because of the similarity, I served my nuea sawan like Filipino tapa: tapsilog-style with garlicky fried rice and sunny-side up eggs. However, this heavenly beef is also delicious paired with sweet rice balls.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

2 lbs sirloin (or any high quality beef), sliced very thinly
3 tbsps fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dried cilantro
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
2 to 3 cups cooking oil

Procedure

Prepare sirloin. Combine dried cilantro, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey and sugar. Massage mixture into sliced meat and marinate for around 10 minutes.

Heat a wide skillet. Coat surface with oil. Cook beef in a single layer, until sauce is reduced. Remove and set aside.

Heat around 2 to 3 cups of oil. Fry beef in small batches, until slices float to top. Remove and drain excess oil on paper towels.

Recipes with an Asian Flair in The CookMobile Archive

Sauteed Snow Pea Sprouts (Dou Miao)

Chili Garlic Shrimp

Beef is what’s for dinner? Check out these delicious recipes:
Flat Iron Steaks with Grilled Corn & Cumin-Lime Butter
Puffy Tacos stuffed with Ground Beef
Bistek Bulalo
Succulent Pan-Fried Steak

More Good Food!

Written by Lalaine · Filed Under Asian Flair, Beef and Veal

Subscribe to The CookMobile

Enjoyed the recipe? Want fresh meal ideas delivered right in your inbox? Subscribe for free!
I promise to always honor your desire for privacy and to never share or sell your email address. And if you decide in the future that you've had enough of my chatter, you can always unsubcribe and you'll never hear a peep from me again. Please fill the form below and sign up via Feedblitz or use the form on the upper right sidebar to receive updates through Feedburner.

Talk to me, please. Please? I am down on my knees here...seriously.

3 Responses to “Nuea Sawan (Heavenly Beef)”

[eatingclub] vancouver || js on September 4th, 2008 5:31 am

That does look heavenly, especially those crispy, crunchy edges!
Lalaine on September 4th, 2008 3:58 pm

Js,
Garlic fried rice, sunny side-up and spiced vinegar, nuea beef…yummy match from heaven!
iska on December 5th, 2008 9:44 pm

Been reading a lot about beef tapa Philippine-style for quite a while now and I’m green with envy. Looks like it’s time to make some soon