Sun-dried beef tapa cooks in just seconds

By Ephraim Aguilar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:16:00 04/26/2009
INQUIRER.net

MASBATE CITY, Philippines -- Breakfast that cooks in just seconds.

This is what the business of Mariano Natural, 53, and wife Mercy, 55, is all about. They manufacture and sell tasty beef tapa that cooks in as fast as three seconds.

Tapa is a mainstay on the Filipino breakfast table. It is meat cut in thin slices and cured with salt and spices to preserve it.

The word “tapa” is associated with smoked fish, which is natively called “tinapa.” It is usually fried or grilled and served with “achara” or pickles.

The couple’s beef tapa is not just cured with salt and spices but is also sun-dried. Cooking it is faster than driving through the nearest fast-food restaurant to have your fill before you go to work.

This homemade tapa has started to reach places through trade fairs organized by the Department of Trade and Industry in Metro Manila and by word of mouth.

There are balikbayan and overseas workers, like those from Saudi Arabia and Germany, who have placed orders to bring with them this tasty meat abroad.

In a government-sponsored trade fair at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay reportedly ordered 20 kilograms of beef tapa from the Natural couple.

Longganisa

The couple works out of Barangay Tugbo here, which is about 15-minute tricycle drive from the Masbate port. They started with making and selling homemade longganisa to augment Mariano’s income as a fisherman and vendor.

He is the president of the Masbate Fish Vendors’ Association.

“We thought if we’re going to engage in business, it had to be related to food,” Mariano said. “It is a common need and will never run out of demand.”

He added that Mercy thought of making homemade longganisa with a P10,000-capital. The new business had fair sales and ran smoothly.

After Mercy attended government-sponsored training programs, she learned how to create other products like beef tapa, pork tapa, and bamboo shoot pickles.

This was the humble start of what later would become the Nomer’s Masbate Meat Processing.

The home-based company now earns at least P100,000 in net income in a week and is seeking to become a household name, hoping to tap the export market.

Ranches

Touted as the rodeo capital of the Philippines, Masbate is known for its ranches. Cattle-raising has been a long-running tradition in this island province.

The Natural couple sources out meat from local ranches, making sure the meat is fresh and of good quality.

The meat is marinated in special seasoning for more than 24 hours to lock in the flavor. Then it is sun-dried for an entire day and cut into strips.

The cut tapa is then vacuum-sealed in a pack and labeled.

The Mariano couple learned modern packaging techniques through programs of the DTI.

3 seconds

After the tapa has been dunked in heated oil, it will only take three seconds to cook it before it is ready for consumption.

Not only does the tapa cook very fast, it also has a long shelf-life.

“[The tapa can] last for five to six months, or even up to a year if kept frozen,” Mariano said.

Nomer’s beef tapa sells for P100 for every 125 grams, the pork tapa for P75, and the pickled bamboo shoots for P60 a bottle.

The tapa is also available in different flavors: sweet-spicy, salty, spicy, sweet.

Mercy said it would be necessary to add more flavor options since people’s tastes also vary.

She said she hopes they could export their products someday, but that they would need to first upgrade their facilities to increase production.

They also need to learn strategies on how to tap the foreign market.

She admitted that they still have a long way to go, adding that small Filipino entrepreneurs need to have continuous education and support from the government to enable their businesses to grow.

“We need a dehydrator so that when the sun doesn’t shine, we can still produce something,” Mercy said. “Today, we only rely on the natural heat of the sun to dry our meat.”

She said they are expecting to receive equipment grants from the Department of Science and Technology this year.

Nomer’s Masbate Meat Processing contact number is (0908) 566-9159.