This Garlicky Mushroom Tapa is my vegan take on Filipino beef tapa. This vegan version is made with oyster mushrooms marinated and cooked down in a savoury, sweet, and tangy sauce paired with chilli oil fried garlic rice, fresh tomatoes, and red onion chili vinegar. It’s topped with irresistibly crunchy crispy garlic.
Growing up in the Philippines, I would have garlic rice or ‘sinangag’, as we call it, with ‘ulam’ or viand for breakfast. This usually pairs well with some fried or scrambled egg, that was one of my staples growing up. Tapsilog is a very famous Filipino dish. Tapa (‘tap’), usually cured meat, is served with sinangag (‘si’) or garlic rice and an egg (‘itlog’ = log).
WHAT IS TAPA?
Filipino Tapa is traditionally made by curing beef with salt and letting it dry and cooking it until crisp.
It’s usually paired with seasoned vinegar and a side of fried garlic rice and a fried egg for what we like to call Tapsilog.
THIS VEGAN MUSHROOM TAPA
For this mushroom version, I simply pan fried mine until the marinate reduces and the mushroom is coated in the sauce and absorbs all the flavours before serving it with chili oil fried garlic rice, sliced tomatoes, and seasoned vinegar with red onions and chiles.
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THIS GARLICKY MUSHROOM TAPA
FOR THE GARLICKLY MUSHROOM TAPA
- 8.8 oz fresh oyster mushrooms
MARINADE
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2-3 tbsp soy sauce , see notes
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 3 tbsp calamansi juice
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 head garlic , minced (for crispy garlic)
Pink Vinegar
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 1-2 tsp sugar adjust to taste
- 1 red chili sliced
- Freshly ground pepper
For Serving
- Chili Oil Sinangag or Fried Garlic Rice (Sinangag)
- Sliced tomatoes
HOW TO MAKE THIS GARLICKY MUSHROOM TAPA
- Marinate the mushrooms: In a bowl, mix the marinade ingredients together until the sugar is diluted in the liquid. Add in the mushrooms and mix until well coated in the marinade. Leave to marinade for at least 25-30 minutes.
CAN I MARINATE THE OYSTER MUSHROOMS OVERNIGHT?
- Prepare the vinegar: mix everything in a small bowl. Taste the vinegar and feel free to adjust depending on your preference. You can add more sugar to counter the acidity. Leave the onions to sit in the vinegar.
- While the mushrooms are marinating, heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add in some oil. Add in the minced garlic. Cook over medium to medium low heat until the garlic starts to turn golden brown Turn off the heat and remove the garlic so these do not overcook and burn. Set the garlic aside.
- You can also cook the sinangag or garlic fried rice before the tapa.
- See my chili oil fried garlic rice recipe here or regular garlic rice recipe here.
COOKING THE MUSHROOM TAPA
- To cook the mushroom tapa: In the same pan over medium high heat, place the mushrooms and the remaining liquid/marinade. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the sugars start to glaze and coat the mushrooms. Once the liquid has complete evaporated, turn off the heat.
SERVE AND ENJOY YOUR GARLICKY MUSHROOM TAPA
- Serve and enjoy the mushroom tapa with rice, vinegar, fried rice, and some sliced tomatoes if desired. I like to stuff my rice in a bowl and flip it over a plate to create a dome shape.
- Top the crispy garlic over your mushrooms and rice. Soak the mushrooms in the vinegar and then get a generous scoop of that rice and those crispy garlic bits!
MORE FILIPINO RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:
- Adobo
- Tokwa’t Baboy
- Filipino Kaldereta or ‘Meat’ Stew
- Mushroom Tocino
- Lumpiang Gulay or Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Filipino “Pork” Barbecue
- Tofu and Mushroom Salpicao
- Bola-Bola (Filipino Meatballs)
- Lumpiang Shanghai
- Ensaladang Talong (Filipino Style Eggplant Salad)
Garlicky Mushroom Tapa
This Garlicky Mushroom Tapa is my vegan take on Filipino beef tapa. Filipino Tapa is traditionally made by curing beef with salt and letting it dry and cooking it until crisp. It’s usually paired with seasoned vinegar and a side of fried garlic rice and a fried egg for what we like to call Tapsilog. For this mushroom version, I simply pan fried mine until the marinate reduces and the mushroom is coated in the sauce and absorbs all the flavours before serving it with chili oil fried garlic rice, sliced tomatoes, and seasoned vinegar with red onions and chiles.
Ingredients
MUSHROOMS
- 8.8 oz fresh oyster mushrooms or other mushrooms of choice (see notes)
MARINADE
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2-3 tbsp soy sauce , see notes
- 2 tsp dark mushroom soy sauce , optional for colour (see notes)
- 3 tbsp calamansi juice or lemon juice
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 head garlic , minced (for crispy garlic)
PINK VINEGAR
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 1-2 tsp sugar adjust to taste
- 1 red chili sliced
- Freshly ground pepper
FOR SERVING
- Chili Oil Sinangag or Fried Garlic Rice (Sinangag)
- Sliced tomatoes
Instructions
- Marinate the mushrooms: In a bowl, mix the marinade ingredients together until the sugar is diluted in the liquid. Add in the mushrooms and mix until well coated in the marinade. Leave to marinade for at least 25-30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- You can also leave the mushrooms to marinate overnight.
- Prepare the vinegar: mix everything in a small bowl. Taste the vinegar and feel free to adjust depending on your preference. You can add more sugar to counter the acidity. Leave the onions to sit in the vinegar.
- While the mushrooms are marinating, heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add in some oil. Add in the minced garlic. Cook over medium to medium low heat until the garlic starts to turn golden brown Turn off the heat and remove the garlic so these do not overcook and burn. Set the garlic aside.
- Cook the mushroom tapa: In the same pan over medium high heat, place the mushrooms and the remaining liquid/marinade. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the sugars start to glaze and coat the mushrooms. Once the liquid has complete evaporated, turn off the heat.
- Serve and enjoy the mushroom tapa with rice, vinegar, fried rice, and some sliced tomatoes if desired. Top the crispy garlic over your mushrooms and rice. I like to stuff my rice in a bowl and flip it over a plate to create a dome shape.
- Top the crispy garlic over your mushrooms and rice. Soak the mushrooms in the vinegar and then get a generous scoop of that rice and those crispy garlic bits!
Notes
MUSHROOMS
- I love using fresh oyster mushrooms because these have a unique texture and are also grown abundantly in the Philippines.
- You can use other mushrooms of choice (like shiitake, portobello, button, maitake) and slice or break these apart if needed.
(REGULAR) SOY SAUCE
- Filipino Tapa is traditionally made by curing beef with salt and letting it dry (like beef jerky) so it’s traditionally salty. I used 3 tbsp soy sauce for mine because I like mine a bit salty but just right, that’s good with the vinegar and is great with rice. If you want to eat this as-is without rice I recommend to use 2 tbsp soy sauce first and taste it when cooking to see how you like it.
DARK MUSHROOM SOY SAUCE
- Dark mushroom soy sauce is very light in taste but rich in colour, and is what gives the mushrooms that rich brown colour like beef tapa.
- It’s optional but does add a hint of umami and of course that colour so if you can get dark mushroom soy sauce where you live, I highly recommend you do.
WHAT IS TAPA?
- Filipino Tapa is traditionally made by curing beef with salt and letting it dry under the sun so it’s traditionally salty. Nowadays some beef tapa are cured but no longer air dried.
- Nowadays some beef tapa are cured but no longer air dried. Tapa is also traditionally fried until crisp but for this mushroom version, I simply pan fried mine until the mushroom dries up and the excess liquid evaporates.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1serving of mushrooms | Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1371mg | Potassium: 798mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 278IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 3mg
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