In case you haven’t noticed, I love tacos. For me, the completeness of one bite makes this dish one of the best inventions on earth. Authentic or not, it’s always fun to assemble your own and to share with family and friends.
So when my friend sent over some tapa flakes from an online seller called Tapzilla, I went beyond the usual tapsilog and ate it in taco form. The shredded beef reminded me of carnitas, and that’s how I ended up making some delicious tacos out of the tapa. The tapa is already fully cooked, so all you have to do is reheat it. I actually just sautéed it with a bit of oil—no garlic, no onions, nothing! I love how convenient it is—and I love the fact that it has no preservatives, unlike other frozen stuff you can buy from the supermarket.
The tapa is a little bit on the sweet side, so for the tacos I made some salsa to balance the taste and loaded each taco with queso blanco and cilantro cream. Now, this cilantro cream is a really simplified version and I want to talk about it a bit. My friend and fellow foodie, Nines, tagged me on a discovery she had, which was Morfe’s Kitchen—another home-based seller making dressings and sauces. They have this most amazing cilantro dressing that goes well with absolutely anything! You guys know that I love cilantro more than anything and so I definitely had to try it!
For this recipe, I simply mixed Morfe’s Kitchen’s Cilantro Dressing with sour cream (equal parts)—no olive oil, no yogurt, no extra seasoning. I really wanted something quick and delicious—and this was both! Feel free to play around with the ratio depending on your preference. I personally want more cilantro flavor but the dressing is quite runny, and it would wet your tacos too much if you put too much. Thus, I also used fresh cilantro as toppings.
Anyway, enough with the long intro! Let’s get cooking!
Beef Tapa Tacos with Cilantro Cream
Makes 8
Ingredients:
300g beef tapa flakes (I used Tapzilla’s tapa)
queso blanco (I used Apetina)
sour cream
cilantro dressing (I used Morfe’s Kitchen)
8 tortillas (from the grocery, sadly—but I should've used Manila Tortilla)
2 to 3 tomatoes, chopped
½ to 1 white onion, chopped
sugar, to taste
salt, to taste
1 cup chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lime
lime wedges
optional: cayenne pepper
Procedure:
1. In a small bowl, mix together equal parts of sour cream and cilantro dressing. Set aside.
2. Prepare the salsa: in another bowl, mix chopped tomatoes and onions with ½ cup chopped cilantro, lime juice, a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon or two of sugar. If you want it spicy, add a dash of cayenne pepper.
3. Sautee the tapa flakes.
4. Assemble the tacos: on each tortilla, put a spoonful of sautéed tapa and top with salsa fresca and crumbled queso blanco. Add as much cilantro cream as you prefer and top with more fresh cilantro. Squeeze some lime before you bite! Eat with a Michelada, as shown in the photos. :p
Do you love tacos? What do you think of this recipe?
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