the Manila night-stall trio sold as one price: star-anise braised beef, garlic fried rice, and a bowl of clear beef broth, eaten by moving between all three
Origin: Manila, Philippines
From the journey of Star Anise.
Pares means pair, and the name records a pricing arrangement rather than a recipe. The dish is a set: a bowl of sweet star-anise braised beef, a plate of sinangag garlic fried rice, and a cup of clear beef broth, sold together for one price at the roadside stalls of Metro Manila. It is late-night and early-morning food, eaten by taxi drivers and shift workers, and the correct way to eat it is to move continuously between the three, alternating rich braise, garlicky rice, and clean hot broth. It is a comparatively young dish, generally dated to the second half of the twentieth century and to the Chinese-Filipino stalls of Manila and Quezon City, and its ancestry is plain. The braise is a Hokkien red-cooked beef in all but name, sweetened harder than a Chinese cook would and thickened until it glazes. Star anise is the leading aromatic and the smell that identifies a pares stall from down the street. What makes it Filipino rather than Chinese is the structure. Chinese braised beef would be served over rice in a single bowl; pares separates the components deliberately and gives the broth its own cup, which is a Filipino habit of eating and not a Chinese one. The garlic rice is the third element and is never plain steamed rice. The cut matters. Beef shin, brisket, or the tendon-rich cuts are what stalls use, because the dish depends on collagen breaking down into a sauce heavy enough to coat. A lean cut gives a thin, disappointing bowl however long it cooks.
Star anise leads and the four stars given are deliberate; this is a more aromatic braise than its Chinese ancestor. Beef shin, brisket, or any tendon-rich cut is essential, since the collagen is what thickens the sauce; lean stewing steak gives a thin result. The broth and the braise come from the same pot, so take the soup out before thickening. Some Manila stalls add a star of anise to the serving broth as well, which is worth trying. The braise keeps four days refrigerated and freezes well; make the garlic rice fresh. Beef pares is eaten at any hour but belongs to the small ones.
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