Ground Beef Omelette (Tortang Giniling)

Torta is the Filipino version of the omelette and it is my absolute favorite dish. Ever. The most common of these omelettes would be the Giniling or ground pork/beef and Talong or Eggplant. However, we pretty much make Tortas out of everything from corned beef to crab. I remember when I was young, my mom would buy a huge bag of crabs and my Dad would steam them and one by one, pick the meat for the sole purpose of making the omelette. The patience of this man when it came to preparing food for the family is unparalleled. The end product though was rich, decadent and heavenly. Another story I remember from my childhood was when my grandma would make raisins from grapes that were picked from a friend's farm in Bakersfield, Ca and send them back home to Philippines. My dad must have added raisins to everything he cooked and Tortas were usually the recipients of those raisins, which I admit, really helped round out the dish. This particular recipe will have raisins it it, but as usual, is optional.

Ground Beef Omelette (Tortang Giniling)

Ground Beef Omelette

1 lb ground beef or pork
1/2 an onion diced
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of frozen cooked peas
1/4 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of tomato ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp all purpose flour
3 tbsp sliced green onions
4 large eggs

-brown the beef or pork then drain the fat
-saute the onions and garlic until fragrant then add the browned meat
-add the peas and raisins and saute on high for a minute or so then add the ketchup
-once the ketchup has caramelized a bit, add the soy sauce, mix for another minute then set aside to cool

-once the meat has cooled, crack the 4 eggs in to the mixture, add the green onions, sesame oil and flour then mix thoroughly,
-heat a well oiled pan and pan fry 3 tbsp sized patties until both sides have a nice crust.

Enjoy!

Ground Beef Omelette (Tortang Giniling)