Beef Shank Stew or Bulalo

It’s a rainy weather out there and sipping soup is the most delightful way to enjoy the day. I have decided to make bulalo recipe at home since I haven’t prepared it yet. I just don’t have the other ingredients here were I would be delighted to share in the photo if there were more greens. I was talking about petchay and Chinese cabbage (missing in action).

Tasty Bulalo, sorry guys no pechay available here




Anyway that white cabbage did something at least aside from sweet corn that we put also in bulalo, some people would even add banana saba but for me well, I can’t even find saba here.
For the beef shank, well I just added some more meaty parts and beef bouillon to make the dish more tasty. I really have to use the pressure cooker for this one to make it good to the bones. It was indeed a success and it was really oily and I might say that this dish is really not meant for people with high blood pressure or is having hypertension because it is rich in cholesterol, sorry guys.

Well, it’s just only once that I cook Bulalo or Beef Shank Stew and we’re of good health at least to try this meal. Besides, not every day we do this so just the time being that I have the chance to cook and give it a go. It is like cooking beef stew, the only difference is that you include corn cobs here and you select bony parts like the shank and other bone parts of the cow (excuse me if you’re vegetarian).

Actually I did enjoy cooking this recipe because I included lemon grass which most would not like to include in their regular bulalo. But for me, the scent of lemon grass makes it even more appetizing to sip the soup and the smell of your kitchen will also be aromatic and enticing. I don’t see anything wrong if you include lemon grass in traditional bulalo recipe. It’s like infusing something to enrich the taste.

Rich in beefy flavor, rich also in oil


I was able to tenderize the beef bones within 25 minutes of cooking it in a pressure cooker. I turned it off and then added the corn cobs and cook it again for another 7 minutes and the last thing that I added was the cabbage which I just put on top and covered the cooker but the flame was already off because this veggie is just easy to cook, so no need to turn the stove on again.
I just removed the lemon grass stalks so you won’t be able to see it in the pictures that I posted.

What I take as an advantage cooking beef is cheaper since most people here don’t eat beef. Hubby was able to buy those beef bones for only Rs20.00 (like it’s a giveaway) since he already bought some beef meats to go along with the bony parts. I still have more beef meat in the fridge for beef steak but I already showed Bistek Tagalog in my recipe so you can just browse it here again and read the recipe also.

Vietnamese Beef Pho My Own Rendition

Vietnamese Beef Pho (My Own Rendition)

I am not an expert cook, but certainly I do enjoy what I cook and as much as possible I don’t imitate the original version if in case I don’t like the presentation. I have no disrespect to certain cultural food if I render my own version. For me, cooking it alone was already a challenge like the famous Vietnamese Beef Pho.

It is very good to serve this to your family on a cold lovely night. I was able to gather the ingredients online and what I just didn’t follow was the raw meat because I personally don’t like to eat beef meat which is just going to be cooked because of the hot soup. So pardon me if you’re an authentic Vietnamese Chef, I just want it my way so I cook it based on my own pallet.

It was really herbal because of the mint, coriander and lemon grass ingredient. The taste of lemon has given it a new twist and you would surely love the smell of freshly cut onion springs as you sprinkle it on your soup. Here is the sample of the soup I made.

Here is the sample ingredient for cooking Vietnamese Beef Pho

½ kilo Beef -shin bones
1 ginger root -cut into thin slice ( I prefer oval)
Salt - as per your taste
Blk. Peppercorns -ground
Onion - ¾ size for slice
Onion spring - for garnishing
Lemon grass -1 stalk is enough
Rice noodles - 350 grams
Fresh mint leaves -for garnishing
Fresh coriander leaves – for garnishing
Hoisin sauce - 2 tablespoon
Mongo sprout - for toppings
Lime or lemon - for garnishing
Chili sauce - for garnishing

What I did was I did boiled my beef to make the meat tender and juicy to eat but in the real Vietnamese Beef Pho, they serve it raw meat. So back to what I am saying, I boiled the meat and put together the ingredients like onion (big sliced one) ginger root, ground pepper, salt, lemon grass and keep it boiling till you see the meat tender.



On a separate cauldron just boil water for your rice noodles, once its done, drain it and keep the noodles handy. What I did on the mongo sprout is that I sautéed it with butter, but the original recipe is raw veggie so it’s up to you if you want it raw or not.



Once your soup is done with your beef, you can now put the rice noodles and mix the hoisin sauce and then put the other toppings like mongo sprout and just design your garnishings like the fresh mint, fresh coriander, spring onion and the lemon or lime wedge.

Another sample photo for you, isn’t that lovely? It was our dinner and was really grand and wow, truly Asian cuisine. I’d be sharing more here on my blog and just leave me a message if you have any questions.