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You can easily prepare this Beef Papaitan or papaitan baka recipe at home. You can now enjoy this famous Ilocano soup dish even without bile!

It’s one of my husband’s favorite soup back in college. According to him, it’s a great as hang-over remedy after a night of drinking. He’s been asking me for as long as I remember to make one but I can’t find bile or “apdo” that gives the dish its bitter taste. Luckily, I discovered a secret ingredient as a substitue.

I personally haven’t tasted it but heard that it’s really good. So, for this recipe I had to rely on my husband to taste and make sure I get it right. After a few tries and a seal of approval from my hubby, ladies and gentlemen, I give you my No-bile Beef Papaitan recipe! Enjoy!

What Is Papaitan?

Papaitan is a Filipino soup dish that is a specialty in the northern part of the Philippines. The name papaitan describes one of the dish’s prominent flavors: bitter or “pait”. The stew or soup mainly consist beef innards or goat innards like liver, pancreas, small intestines, kidney, and tripe.

The bile juice or apdo is a digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. This gives the dish its pleasant bitter flavor along with a bit of sourness and heat from the chili.

What Does It Taste Like?

Papaitan of the Ilocos region is rich and flavorful. It’s has a savory broth and gamey taste because of the beef or goat innards. The soup is bitter and sour with some spice coming from the peppers. Personally, I would say it’s an acquired taste because it gets better the more you try it.

Making Papaitan Without Bile

Bile or apdo is one of the ingredients that you can’t easily find especially if living abroad. That being said, this should not discourage you from making beef papaitan especially if your craving for it. This recipe will guide you make papaitan that is quick and easy without using bile.

I used lime peel and zest as the bittering agent for the dish to replace bile. You can also use lemon peel if you have some already. Other recipes use bitter gourd but this adds more steps because you need to boil, blend and lastly extract the juice from the bitter gourd.

Cooking Tips

Do not include the liver when boiling the other beef innards. Liver cooks quickly and can get break down when boiled with the other ingredients. Sauté it in the later process of cooking.
If you’re including beefkidney, it’s better to boil it first to remove the pungent smell. Clean small intestines well before boiling and slice into smaller pieces when tender to make it easier.
Do not remove lime peel after cooking the dish. Leaving the peel even after done cooking will boost the bitterness of the the dish.
I used lime juice to make the soup sour but you can also use lemon juice or tamarind mix.
Green finger chilies adds heat to the dish and can be adjusted to your preference. You can also use red chili pepper if you fancy.
Onion, garlic, ginger are essential ingredients for making the soup base. Add more if you want.
Aside from salt, I added fish sauce or patis for more umami. You can skip one of the two or adjust accordingly if needed.

How To Serve And Store

Serve papaitan in a serving bowl while warm as beer-match, with steamed rice or on its own.
Store leftovers if any in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
To reheat, place in a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave until warm or in reheat in a clean cooking pot over a stove top until simmering.

Beef Papaitan

You can easily prepare this Beef Papaitan or papaitan baka recipe at home. You can now enjoy this famous Ilocano soup dish even without bile!

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Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Filipino

Keyword: papaitan, papaitan recipe

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 1 25

Total Time: 1 30

Servings: 12

Calories: 242kcal

Author: Mia

Ingredients

Boiling ingredients

200 grams beef tripe (cut into 1 inch strips)
200 grams beef intestines (boiled whole then cut into bite-sized pcs)
100 grams beef kidney (cut into cubes)
1 thumb-sized ginger (sliced)
1 stalk lemon grass
4 pcs bay leaves
1 tbsp rock salt

Sautéing ingredients

2 tbsp cooking oil
150 grams beef liver (cut into 1 inch strips)
1 thumb-sized ginger (julienned)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 medium onion (sliced)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 whole lime peel or skin
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
3 green chilis (1 pc sliced, 2 whole)
6 cups water

Instructions

Boiling beef innards

Scrape skin of lime with a fine grater, cut in half and extract 1 1/2 tbsp of lime juice.
1 whole lime peel or skin, 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
Extract remaining juice from lime then cut the peel into small pieces. Set lime zest, juice, and peel aside for later use.
In a large pot, pour enough water and tip in rock salt, ginger, lemon grass, and bay leaves.
1 thumb-sized ginger, 1 stalk lemon grass, 1 tbsp rock salt, 4 pcs bay leaves
Add beef tripe, intestines, kidney. Cover with lid and boil for 50-60 minutes or until soft and tender. Skim off scum that rises on top of the pot occasionally.
200 grams beef tripe, 200 grams beef intestines, 100 grams beef kidney
Remove from heat then cut beef intestines into bite-sized pieces.

Making the dish

Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Sauté ginger until fragrant then sauté onion and garlic until onion is wilted.
2 tbsp cooking oil, 1 thumb-sized ginger, 3 cloves garlic, 1 medium onion
Mix-in boiled beef innards then add lime peel and zest. Stir to incorporate ingredients.
Add fish sauce, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Mix until fully incorporated.
1/4 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Add beef liver and cook while occasionally stirring for 4-5 minutes or until livers or browned.
150 grams beef liver
Pour-in water and stir-in green chilis. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until soup is slightly reduced and lime peel is tender.
6 cups water, 3 green chilis
Remove from heat and transfer in a serving bowl. Enjoy while warm. Bon appetit

Video

Nutrition

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