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Tapsilog: The Filipino Breakfast Worth Waking Up For

27 September 2026 by
Tapsilog: The Filipino Breakfast Worth Waking Up For
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Tapsilog is a Filipino breakfast built from three simple parts: tapa (cured or marinated beef), sinangag (garlic fried rice), and itlog (a fried egg). Put the three together and you get one of the most-loved combinations in Filipino home cooking, and one of the easiest to make yourself.

The tapa

Traditional beef tapa is marinated in a sweet, garlicky blend and pan-fried until caramelised at the edges. Malen's Beef Tapa (500g) follows the same family recipe, made in small batches with real ingredients. If you'd rather use pork, our Pork Tapa (500g) works just as well — it's the same style of marinade, just a different cut.

The sinangag

Garlic fried rice is what pulls the whole plate together. Day-old rice works best, since it fries up drier and doesn't clump, fried in oil with plenty of minced garlic until golden and fragrant.

The itlog

A fried egg, sunny side up, so the yolk runs into the rice when you cut into it. Simple, but it's the finishing touch that makes the dish.

Bringing it together

Serve all three on one plate, and you've got tapsilog, a dish eaten across the Philippines any time of day, not just breakfast. It's also one of the easiest ways to introduce someone to Filipino food for the first time.

Malen's Beef Tapa and Pork Tapa are both made from family recipes, in small batches, and delivered NZ-wide.

Tapsilog: The Filipino Breakfast Worth Waking Up For
27 September 2026
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