Gising-Gising

I don't know exactly how and why this dish got its name. Perhaps it's because its level of spice is enough to jolt one to wakefulness (gising) :D

In my house, when we make Sinigang, the next meal will most probably have Gising-gising.  That's because Gising-gising makes use of the kangkong stalks left over from taking the kangkong leaves for Sinigang.   This time though I decided to make it using Baguio beans, which works just as well.

GISING-GISING

What's in it?

400 g Baguio beans, sliced into thin rings
1 medium scallion (red onion), peeled and sliced
1/2 head garlic, peeled and mashed
a thumb of ginger, peeled and diced finely
3-5 pcs Thai chilis (cayenne pepper), or green chilis (pansigang), sliced
100 g ground pork or leftover grilled pork, diced
1 shrimp broth cube (or 1 1/2 teaspoons of shrimp powder)
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
3 T cooking oil
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Kitchen Conjugations:

Heat oil in wok over medium heat, and saute onions until soft and translucent.  Add in ginger and garlic, stir fry for half a minute, then add in chilis and ground pork.  Season with a small pinch of salt. Stir fry for two minutes or until the ground pork loses its pinkish tint.

Pour coconut milk into the mixture, then allow to boil while stirring to prevent coconut milk from curdling. Add in shrimp broth cube, crush to make it blend with the mixture. Lower heat and allow the mixture to simmer for about a minute.

Stir in the sliced baguio beans.  Let boil then simmer for about two minutes or until the beans are cooked.  Check and adjust seasonings and spice if needed.

Great with steamed rice and fried or grilled fish. :)

Note: Feel free to add tinapa (smoked fish), shrimps, crabsticks or even crablets if you have them.

Ginataang Langka

My husband is predominantly a fish eater, and we have fish in the house everyday.  Having fried fish means there should be an accompanying vegetable dish, either in soup, stir-fried, steamed, sauteed, or in this case, stewed in coconut milk.

Back when I was a little girl, cooking anything ginataan was a tedious process, primarily because all of the ingredients had to be processed first by hand: the langka needs to be peeled, cored, seeded and then sliced; the coconut peeled, grated and then squeezed for its milk.

Making Ginataang Langka now is  a lot simpler and faster.  Sliced/shredded langka is available from the public market and major supermarkets; coconut milk and cream are now available in cans or in powdered form. 

The best part of it is when it's langka season,shredded langka costs only P30.00 per kilo, which would actually feed a family of six. That's a cheap P5.00 per person!

GINATAANG LANGKA

What's In It?

1 kilo shredded langka (unripe), washed and then preboiled until fork-tender
1 can coconut cream
2-3 cups tap water
1 onion, peeled and sliced
50-100 grams dilis (optional)
3-5 green chili fingers (optional)
1 pork broth cube (optional)
50-100 grams chicharon (crispy pork rind), pounded into small chunks
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
a knob of ginger, pounded
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
half a head of garlic, peeled and pounded

Kitchen Conjugations

Heat wok or medium saucepan.  Add in cooking oil, and saute ginger, onions and garlic until fragrant but not burned.  Add in half of the coconut cream, stir from time to time until the mixture boils.

Add in the shredded langka, the dilis, pork broth cube and the chilis.  Let boil then pour in water.  Stir to combine and let boil for 3 minutes, then bring down heat to simmer.

Let the mixture simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring from time to time to avoid curdling, until the langka is fork tender.  Add in salt and let simmer for another 5 minutes.  Adjust seasonings if desired.

Sprinkle or stir in the chicharon granules before serving.

Notes:
1.  I use JnEm coconut cream, which costs only P38.50 at South Supermarket (compared to Thai Heritage's P41.00.)  The cream is thicker than that of Thai Heritage.

2.  Shredded langka is best cooked the same day of purchase.  It discolors and spoils in 2-3 days, even when refrigerated.  I have not tried freezing it though. 

Ginataang Halo-Halo

How do you eat your Ginatan? Do you, like me, start with hurriedly eating the gabi/kamoteng kahoy, then poking at the kamote, before moving on to the langka, the sago, bilo-bilo, and then finally the saba?

Really? In that save-the-best-for-last-order too? :) Saba is my super-favorite. Promise. :)


As a little girl I used to help my lola make Ginatan, and my toka, being too young to handle knives for the slicing, was to round the galapong for bilo-bilo. Back then though the bilo-bilo we had was always white.

But not anymore, thanks to the availability and affordability of food coloring. :) Here I just divided my galapong into how many colors I wanted, poured about 3 drops of food coloring to each batch, mixed and mashed the galapong to spread the coloring and voila! Colored bilo-bilo! Nice, di ba?

GINATAANG HALO-HALO

What's In It?

6 fingers saba, peeled and sliced crosswise into rings about 1/3" thick

1 piece kamote (about 300g.), peeled and cubed

1 piece gabi or kamoteng kahoy (or both, each about 300g.), peeled and cubed

langka strips (fresh or sweetened)

200 g. galapong

1 can coconut milk + 1.5 cans of water

1/2 cup washed sugar

1 t pandan essence (optional)



Kitchen Conjugations:

In a wok or small pot heat coconut milk mixed with water over medium heat. Stir constantly with left to right motions to prevent curdling.

When milk boils, add kamoteng kahoy, gabi, kamote and saba. Simmer for 7-10 minutes or until fork-tender. Add in bilo-bilo and simmer for a minute or so, or until the bilo-bilo floats to the surface (which means it is cooked). Stir in pandan essence if using.

Tastes better at room temperature, but after all that work, I bet you'd be going for a spoonful. :)

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Glossary:

1. Gabi - taro root

2. Kamoteng kahoy - cassava

3. Kamote - sweet potato

4. Langka - jack fruit

5. Sago - tapioca balls

6. Bilo-bilo - glutinous rice balls

7. Saba - plantain bananas

Ginataang Alimango (Crabs in Coconut Milk)

Tong-tong-tong, pakitong-kitong, alimango, sa dagat, kaylaki at kay-sarap...

I was doing this song while cooking this dish and my son goes, "Mommy, ano 'yung alimango?"
I explained while digesting the fact that it's true there are always two sides to a coin. While using English as a medium of instruction has its advantages, there are downsides too. In the course of our tutorials my sons have asked for definitions of namumuno, sentenaryo, takwil and some more common words I forget at this time.

Anyway, back to the Alimango.

My husband, a Cebuano at heart who hails from the still-fertile lands of Mindanao is used to big things. Big bananas a foot long, bigger-variety fish (lapu-lapu, labahita, maya-maya, tanigue), lanzones that get to be 3 inches in diameter (I'll post a picture later) -- even atis that's the size of a child's head. And so, even for crabs he'd go for alimango instead of alimasag, and even then he'd go for the big alimango. (The plate that crab is sitting on is 12 inches wide, the crab about 9 inches wide.) When he saw these big, live crabs at South Supermarket he wasn't able to resist, bought them and presented me with the task of cooking them.

I decided to make ginataan and throw in malunggay leaves for good measure. :)

GINATAANG ALIMANGO (Crabs in Coconut Milk)

What's In It?

2 kgs. Crabs, cleaned
3-4 cups water + 1 tablespoon salt (for steaming crabs)
5-7 cups coconut milk (instant/canned/freshly squeezed)
half a head (about 5 cloves) garlic, peeled and mashed
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
3-4 cups malunggay leaves -- see notes
1 teaspoon iodized salt
3-4 siling labuyo (finger chilis), optional

Kitchen Conjugations:

In a large pot or wok pour saline water, line crabs, cover and steam for 5 to 7 minutes or until the crabs turn dark orange.

Meanwhile, in another wok or pot heat coconut milk over medium fire, stirring constantly until it boils. Add in garlic, onions, salt and siling labuyo. Continue stirring while simmering the mixture for 2 more minutes.

Add in cooked crabs and let the milk simmer until thick. Add in malunggay leaves. Let the mixture boil for a minute more or just about when the leaves turn a little dark green. (Malunggay turns bitter when overcooked.) Remove from fire and serve. Best with steamed rice.
Notes:

1. Substitutes for alimango: Alimasag, talangka, crab sticks, frozen crab claws, shrimps
2. Instead of malunggay, you can also use kalabasa (squash) and/or sitaw (string beans).
3. For instant gata, follow package directions for making thin coconut milk.
4. Did you know, malunggay is known as Sajina in the Indian subcontinent, and Moringa in English?

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Sigh. If I had read the announcement any earlier, this would have been my entry to the February challenge/ 24th edition of Lasang Pinoy, titled Loco Over Coco. . :(

My previous posts that also involved Coconuts:
1. Buko Tarts
2. Laing
3. Ginataang Santol
4. Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitaw
5. Sinuglaw na Bariles

UPDATE: I did get in afterall! Yay! (Thanks, Kai!) Hop on over here to see the rest of entries to Lasang Pinoy 24, all about coconuts.

Sinuglaw na Bariles

Among Cebuanos, tuna is referred to as bariles, the vernacular for water drum. Bariles because the body of one adult tuna is so huge, the diameter could be as round and large as a water drum. Could be as heavy, too. The average bariles weighs about 50 kilos!

And now, a short narration from my husband, who was born and bred in North Cotabato:

"Ang GenSan (Gen. Santos City, South Cotabato), highway ng tuna. Doon dumadaan ang tuna papuntang Pacific Ocean. Sa dami ng tuna na dumadaan, puedeng magtago ka na lang sa bato, pagdaan ng tuna, sapakin mo sa panga!"

Hahahahaha! Maybe that's where Manny Pacquiao trained early on. :)

Anyway, the tuna used in this recipe is from GenSan, one of his pasalubongs from his latest homecoming. Usually sinuglaw uses tilapia, but since we had frozen tuna belly we used that instead.

SINUGLAW NA BARILES

What's In It?

• 500g tuna belly, sliced diagonally into 4-5 large chunks
• 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 knob ginger, peeled and sliced
• 3 to 5 pieces siling labuyo
• 2 bunches pechay, washed and bottoms removed
• 1 cup tap water
  
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper corns, ground coarsely
• 1 cup coconut cream (kakang-gata)

Kitchen Conjugations:

Line a deep pan or sauce pot with the onions, garlic, ginger slices and sili. Top with the tuna belly chunks. Pour in water, fish sauce and vinegar. Sprinkle with black pepper corns. Cook over moderate heat. DO NOT STIR until the mixture boils.

Add in coconut cream and stir a little to allow the ingredients to meld. Turn down heat and let the mixture simmer for 3 minutes or until the sauce gets reduced a little. Top the mixture with the pechay leaves, cover and let simmer for one minute, or until the leaves sweat. Remember to keep the leaves crisp and green.

Serve hot with steamed rice, and some fried tuna belly if desired:

Laing

Presenting the ubiquitous Laing, which, like its equally famous sibling Bicol Express, has received several Tagalog versions. The Bicol Express as it is known hereabouts is just like Ginataang Baboy -- pork with a little sili. In Bicol, sili (siling pansigang or finger chili) is the main feature of Bicol Express and the pork bits are added just for flavoring.

The Tagalog version of Laing uses just the leaves of the gabi (taro), and is sometimes not even a bit spicy (example: Goldilocks Laing). The ingredients are minimal -- sometimes just the shredded taro leaves and coconut milk.

The authentic, Bicolano Laing uses the stalks as well and is made special by the addition of pork and fresh shrimp. The sili is "all you can" -- all you can put, all you can possibly take. :) The serving/presentation is just as special and detailed -- the laing mixture is wrapped in gabi leaves and topped with curdled coconut cream. Real laing is eaten not in spoonfuls but by the pinch -- because that's the only way you can stand the level of spice.

Don't worry though, for in this recipe I scaled down the spiciness to tolerable levels. But of course this won't be real Laing if it's not kick-ass maanghang.

Warning: If you're on a diet and need to avoid eating rice, READ NO FURTHER. :)


LAING

What's In It?

5 bunches gabi leaves and stalks -- drier, better
2 large cans coconut cream, or 6 cups coconut cream (from 2 coconuts)
1/2 kilo pork liempo, diced
100 g. small shrimps, (alamang) fresh, not salted
3 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)
1 large onion, peeled and sliced finely
1 large knob of ginger, peeled and diced finely
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 pcs. finger chilies, sliced diagonally into thin rings
5 pcs. ripe siling labuyo
1/8 cup cooking oil
1 shrimp broth cube
1 pork broth cube

Kitchen Conjugations:

PREPS-- Cut the gabi leaves off from the stalks. Check for the largest and best leaves (those with the least tears or holes) and set them aside (you will need about 8 to 10). Shred the rest using your fingers or kitchen scissors. Set aside.

Cut off the prickly part of the stalks and discard. Carefully peel skin from the gabi stalks and set aside (for use in tying the wraps later). Dice the peeled stalks into bits, set aside.

MAKING THE FILLING -- In a deep frying pan or wok heat oil then saute onions, ginger and garlic for one minute. Add in pork and sliced chilies, stir frying for 3 minutes or until pork loses pink tint and is half cooked. Add in alamang, brown sugar (if using) and diced stalks. Stir fry for 2 minutes.

Pour in 2/3 cup of the coconut cream. Stir to combine. Reduce heat and let the simmer for 3 minutes or until the stalks are tender. Add the shredded gabi leaves and cook for 3 minutes more. Remove pan from fire when the leaves have wilted.

WRAPPING UP -- Put the whole gabi leaves on a flat surface. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the cooked mixture over each leaf, avoiding any tears or holes. Fold the leaves into a square, making the edges overlap. Secure and tie each wrap with the gabi skin strips. Repeat until all the mixture has been wrapped.

COCO CREAM BATH -- In the same deep pan or wok, heat coconut cream, broth cubes and siling labuyo to a pre-boil. Squish siling labuyo to allow the spice to meld with the coconut cream. Simmer for half a minute then carefully add in laing wraps. Let boil and simmer until the coconut cream gets reduced to half of its original volume.

Serve with hot, steaming rice, fried galunggong or tilapia, and glasses of water. :)

This is my entry to the 20th edition of Lasang Pinoy, which features wraps as a way of Filipino cooking and food presentation. Read more about the theme here.

Ginataang Santol

Every now and then -- no, make that most of the time -- I have difficulty producing good shots for this blog. You see, I usually cook for dinner and dinner happens, well, at night. The lighting isn't really the best, and I'm not (yet) very familiar with the flash settings of my cam. Add to that the fatigue from really long days... the picture above is an example of one of my wanting shots.


Ginataang Santol. Would you call it exotic? When I was 14 we had some visiting seminarians over for lunch and my lola served this dish. One of our guests asked what it was (he had trouble placing the taste) and I jokingly answered, "Ginataang Cactus." He looked so bewildered -- his tongue was saying it was good and okay, but his mind was telling him otherwise, so I told him right away it was santol before he could barf and ruin lunch for the rest of us. :)

Santol isn't exactly the stuff your usual ulam is made of. If you like some excitement and tang in your ulam I bet you'd like this, paired with crispy fried fish (tilapia, galunggong...) And I'm proud to say I'm the first ever (half) Bicolana to post it! Yay! Now would you be the first non-Bicolanos to cook it? :)

The recipe is how I recall it from weekends watching my lola's cooking.

GINATAANG SANTOL

What's In It?

3-4 pcs. Santol
4 cups coconut milk
1 scallion/onion, peeled and sliced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 teaspoons salt or 3 teaspoons raw bagoong alamang
3-5 pcs. siling labuyo

Kitchen Conjugations:

Peel santol. Cut in halves, remove the seeds and set aside. Dice pulp. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon salt over the diced santol, mix then pick up handfuls of the diced pulp and squeeze to remove some of the juice. (This is so the dish does not go sour beyond edibility. Hahaha.)

In a deep pan heat coconut milk, onions and garlic, stirring every now and then to avoid curdling. When the mixture boils, add in santol and salt (or alamang). Continue stirring slowly until the mixture boils. Add in siling labuyo and let the mix simmer until the coco milk is thick and reduced, about 15 minutes.

Serve with steamed rice and fried fish.

Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitaw (Squash and String Beans in Coconut Milk)

Checking my site stats I was surprised to find out that many people have landed on my site in their search for a recipe of Ginataang Kalabasa and Sitaw. I thought nothing of it back in October, thinking that perhaps many Filipinos were simply looking for what to do with the flesh of carved pumpkins/squash used for halloween. But guess what, it's almost Christmas but "ginataang kalabasa" still figures prominently in my site's keyword activity! Strange, but true.

Anyways, I've been honored by a request from starlightjulian, who asked for an English version of the recipe I posted in August (I posted in Filipino, in commemoration of Filipino Language Month). Here it is, enjoy!


GINATAANG KALABASA AT SITAW (Squash and String Beans in Coco Milk)



What's In It?

• 2 squash segments , washed well and cut into cubes (leave unpeeled)
• 1 bunch string beans, cut into 2" portions
• 1 medium sized onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 knob ginger, peeled, sliced and pounded
• 1 head garlic, peeled and pounded
• 3-5 pieces chili (use less or none at all if spice is an issue!)
• 6 to 8 cups canned/instant coco milk, or freshly squeezed from 1 large coconut, or 2 medium ones
• 100 grams pork fat (optional)
• dried anchovies or shrimp fry (optional)
• salt, according to taste

Kitchen Conjugations:

Follow package directions to make instant coco milk. If using fresh coconut, pour one cup lukewarm water over coco meat and leave for 1 minute. Add about 4 cups of tap water to moisten all of the coco meat. Take a handful or two of the moist coco meat, squeeze it between your hands, catching the coco milk with a strainer over a deep bowl or the saucepan you will use for cooking.

Add in the onions, garlic and ginger and the pork fat (if using) and heat the mixture over medium fire, stirring continuously to prevent curdling. (Use left to right slow sweeping motions to introduce motion into the mixture without unnecessarily dissipating heat and allow the mixture to boil.)

When mixture boils, add in the squash and allow to boil, stirring from time to time until the squash is half-cooked. Add in string beans and chili (if using) and simmer until the beans sweat and changes color. Season with salt and sprinkle with smoke fish flakes, dried anchovies or shrimps if desired. (If you're brave enough go ahead and crush the chili on the sides of the pan and stir back into the mixture.)

Best served hot with steamed rice and crispy fried fish.

Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitaw

It's Buwan ng Wika (celebration of Filipino Language Month) and what better way to join the celebration than to feature a truly Filipino recipe and post in Filipino. So here goes...

By the way, if you're not a Filipino speaker and would like an English version of this post/the recipe, leave a request at the Comments section. (",)

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Kapag umuulan, may sasarap pa ba sa mainit na kanin na kinakain ng pakamay? Yung umuusok pa at bahagyang nakakapaso, na lalo pang pinainit at pinalinamnam ng ginataang ulam na maanghang?

Tsa-raaannn! Ipinakikilala ang ulam namin dalawang (maulang) Sabado nang nakakaraan: Ginataang Sitao at Kalabasa.

Noong bata pa ako, dahil mga Bikolana ang lola at nanay ko, hindi nawawalan ng ginataang ulam sa bahay namin. Noong medyo malaki na ako at abot ko na ang kalan, naging assignment ko na ang paghahalo ng gata habang hinihintay ang pagkulo nito, para maiwasan ang pagkurta. Siempre dahil nandoon lang ako sa may kalan, nakita at namemorya ko ang mga ingredients at ang mga magic ng pagluluto ng mga ginataang ulam.

Kapag Sabado at may naabutang alimasag si Mommy, siguradong magluluto ng Ginataang Malunggay na may Alimasag. Minsan, tilapya ang ginagataan at pinapatungan ng mga dahon ng petsay o kaya'y mustasa. Kapag buwan ng Hunyo at panahon ng santol, nagluluto ang lola ko ng ginataang santol at pinapartneran ng galunggong na prinito hanggang malutong. Hay....sarap! (Nagulat ba kayong malaman na ginugulay pala ang santol? At nasabi ko na ba na maanghang pa 'yun?)

Kung hindi ginataan ang ulam, malamang na isisingit naman ang gata sa mga pang-himagas (dessert). Nakatikim na ba kayo ng Minatamis na Bayabas o kaya'y Minatamis na Munggo, Bikol version? Siempre, may gata ang mga 'yun.

Mga ilang linggo na ang nakakaraan, ayun nga at binalikan ko ang masayang bahagi na ito ng aking buhay at nagluto ako ng ginataan. Hala! Siempre nag-kanin din ako! Patay ang diyeta, tadtad ng kolesterol ang pinagkakakain ko. Heto na ang kauna-unahang resipi ng ginataang gulay na matutunghayan sa blog na ito. Pinatrneran namin ito ng pritong daing na bangus.

GINATAANG KALABASA AT SITAO

Ano'ng meron doon?

• 2 hiwa ng Kalabasa, hinugasan ng maiigi at hiniwa pakwadrado (iwanan ang balat)
• 1 bungkos ng sitao, piniraso sa mga tig-2" na hati
• 1 sibuyas, binalatan at pinag-apat
• 1 maliit na luya, binalatan, hiniwa at pinitpit
• 1 ulo ng bawang, binalatan at pinitpit
• 3-5 siling labuyo (bawasan kung hindi kaya ang anghang!)
• gata ng 1 malaking niyog, o dalawang maliit
• 100 gramong taba ng baboy (opsyonal)
• dilis, tuyong alamang (opsyonal)
• asin (ayon sa panlasa)

Trabaho sa Kusina:

Pakuluin ang gata, sibuyas, bawang at luya (at taba ng baboy, kung nais) sa kawali sa ibabaw ng bahagyang apoy nang hindi tinitigilan ang paghalo (para hindi magkurta ang gata). Pagkulo, ihalo ang mga pinirasong kalabasa at hayaang kumulo, hinahalo paminsan-minsan. Kapag bahagya nang lumambot ang kalabasa, idagdag ang sitao at mga siling labuyo, at pakuluin hanggang sa magpawis at maging bahagyang luto ang sitao. Timplahan ng asin at budburan ng sili, tinapa o kaya'y halabos na hipon. Kung matapang-tapang sa anghang, basagin ang mga sili sa gilid ng kawali at ihalo sa gata.

PS

Kailangan ng 6 hanggang 8 tasa ng gata para sa resipi na ito. Gumamit ng instant gata kung nais makatipid sa oras. Kung nais magpaka-bayani, bumili ng niyog, kudkurin sa kudkuran, lagyan ng 6 na tasang maligamgam na tubig at magpiga. Huwag kalimutang salain! :P Oo nga pala, kung may natira ka pang kadakilaan, maari mong gawing bukayo ang sapal ng niyog. :)

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