Today I Learned: The Many Ways to Get Creative with Bulalo

Bulalo is a hearty Filipino dish often served at family gatherings and special occasions. Because of its flavorful broth, it is best enjoyed during colder weather, making it popular in areas with cool climate like Tagaytay. This year, TasteAtlas ranked bulalo as the second most popular soup dish from the Philippines, following sinigang in terms of global recognition. Sinigang is ranked 17th among the 50 Best Soups in the World, while bulalo is ranked 37th on the same list.

At the heart of a delicious bulalo is the meat, particularly the beef shank that includes the marrow within the bone. The dish is, in fact, named after this crucial ingredient, setting it apart from the typical nilaga.

Juddie's Bulalohan's Flying Bulalo Noodles

But did you know that there are a variety of ways one can get creative with bulalo? We discovered this at the Creative Bulalo Challenge held recently at Skyranch Tagaytay. It was the culminating event to this year's Tagaytay Food and Wine Festival. Fifteen restaurants from around the city participated in the challenge namely: Summit Ridge Tagaytay; Jaytee's Filipino Cuisine; Papa Bolo; RSM Lutong Bahay; Pier Clawdaddy's; Juddie's Bulalohan; Hapag ni Maria at Bayani Restaurant; Sol Victoria's Tagaytay; The Kitchen at Kimberly; Diner's Original Bulalo; General Sisig; Dahon at Mesa; Piña Colina Resort Tagaytay; View Site Restaurant; and Binulo Capampangan Kitchen.

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Binulo Capampangan Kitchen's Sisig Bulalo

Chef Myrna Segismundo, one of the judges and a strong advocate for promoting Filipino cuisine on the global stage, said she saw a great deal of creativity required in the competition. This is evident in the use of unique ingredients that redefine the flavors and complexion of the classic bulalo.

Papa Bolo's Bulalo

Hotel Kimberly's take on bulalo features a subtle hint of kamias in the broth, enhancing its flavor profile. Dahon at Mesa infuses a touch of sweetness into the dish by incorporating ubod. Sol Victoria's Tagaytay introduces a Korean twist to their bulalo by adding kimchi.

Segismundo also observed that other restaurants have experimented with unique ingredients such as batuan, cinnamon, and pineapple.

The challenge required a show of creativity, and get creative they did! For instance, Juddie's Bulalohan presented their dish with "flying noodles"—fried egg noodles that appear to hang magically in mid-air, suspended on a pair of levitated chopsticks.

Summit Ridge Tagaytay's bulalo dish won third prize and the People's Choice Award. 

Summit Ridge Tagaytay, which won third prize and the People's Choice Award, retained the essential elements of traditional bulalo—meat and vegetables. But they elevated the dish by first frying the meat and blending the vegetables (pechay, cabbage, and corn) into a thick, flavorful sauce, enhanced with caramelized onions. They steered clear of the traditional broth.

Papa Bolo stayed true to its identity as a brewpub. They blended the Batangas-style goto with Tagaytay's iconic bulalo and infused a molecular twist into the dish. They created vegetable caviar from corn, beans, and bok choy and added a delicate foam to mimic the appearance of beer.

Sol Victoria's Tagaytay adds a Korean twist to their bulalo by adding kimchi. 

Among the 15 versions of bulalo that joined the competition, Sol Victoria's Kimchi Bulalo stood out, ultimately winning the tilt. In preparing the dish, Chef Ben Cruzate starts by boiling the beef shanks first. Once the meat is tender, sauté the onions, garlic, and ginger. The ginger, he says, not only enhances the aroma but also eliminates any unwanted lansa. Chili paste is then added, followed by a splash of broth to dissolve it, and then the kimchi. The beef shank is added next, followed by more broth. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes, then add sweet paprika, sesame oil, and a pinch of cayenne pepper to enhance the flavor even more. Finally, the dish is completed with fresh vegetables like pechay Baguio, green beans or bitswelas, and corn. With its full-bodied, tangy broth, sabaw pa lang ulam na. 

Segismundo highlights the key elements in perfecting bulalo: "The broth is very important and of course the texture of the beef itself and the part that is used and how you present it. It has to be nicely carved, hindi yung naka-chop-chop. Or sometimes it becomes too overwhelming, kulang na lang the whole cow comes out. As for the flavor, sometimes the palatability is dependent on less is more."