Giniling na Baka at Edamame (Beef Picadillo with Soy Beans)

I love the show, Iron Chef, with the original entertaining Japanese chefs. So using that format, I decided that for this dish and maybe future cooking adventures, I will have ingredients that I will add to the traditional Filipino dishes that aren't usually added to them. If you know me, you know that I like to be creative, adventurous, and healthy. I was raised to have veggies in every meal and this has stuck to me until now. So for this time around, our twist is SOY BEANS!


I heard that soy beans are rich in nutrients and aren’t necessarily found in Filipino dishes. The Filipino food that comes up to mind with soy is TAHO or soy bean curd in caramel sauce with tapioca balls. But I haven’t eaten anything else with soy in it. Thus, I decided to add my favorite beans to this dish! Edamame can be found in the frozen vegetable section of your local Asian grocery store. Most likely, a Japanese store will carry this since edamame is a staple in Japanese cuisine.

In addition to edamame, you can use any bell pepper for the dish. Traditionally, this dish is cooked with red or green bell peppers but thanks to technology, we now have access to yellow and orange bell peppers. However, since these are costlier than green bell peppers, I suggest tailoring this dish according to your budget.

My little sister bought all the ingredients for me except the seasonings which I already have in my pantry. The total cost for this dish was $6 which is under my targeted goal of $10. If you have the mind of an accountant like me, then here’s the itemized list: ~$2 for the ground beef, ~$.50 for the garlic, $1 for the tomato, $1 for the potato, $1 for the soy beans, $.50 for the onion and the remaining amount is for the soy sauce, oil, and seasonings.

Serve this with warm rice. The cost of this rice is hard to figure out even for me and isn’t important since this meal is still very cheap for 4-6 people to eat.

Giniling na Baka at Soy Beans (Beef Picadillo with Soy Beans)

1-1.5 lbs of ground beef

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp. of olive oil (substitute canola or vegetable oil)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

1 large potato, cubed in small pieces

2-3 tbsp. of soy sauce

1/3 cup of water

½ cup of soy beans (edamame)

Salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Cook ground beef in skillet and season lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Drain fat and set meat aside.

In a pan over medium heat, sauté garlic in oil until lightly browned. Add onion and stir until onion is tender. Add tomato and cook until soft. Add meat, potato, soy sauce, water, and soy beans. Holding the salt, black pepper, and garlic powder containers, sprinkle the mixture twice with each of the seasonings. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until meat and potatoes are tender. Eat a potato cube to check tenderness and if you deem eat edible, then it’s ready. However, since each of us has different taste buds, taste your dish and correct as necessary with salt, pepper, soy sauce, garlic powder if the mixture lacks taste and if it has too much taste, then add small amount of water to the dish.

Serves 4-6

Masarap!

Filipino words for the day:
*Masarap = Tasty!
*Taho = soy bean curd dessert with caramel sauce and tapioca balls. I used to eat this everyday for breakfast in the Philippines. I'd impatiently wait for the Taho Man to come to my house and he always gave me a little more than the other kids because my Tito Boyet was friends with him ;). Oh I miss those days and I wish the US had something similar to this.