Ginataang Gulay Recipe
Ginataang Gulay is a healthy vegetable dish. It is composed of sitaw and kalabasa along with shrimp and thin slices of pork. Sitaw refers to snake beans or yard-long beans, while Kalabasa pertains to calabaza squash. It is also referred to as West Indian pumpkin. The ingredients are cooked in coconut milk and served with…
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Ginataang Gulay is a healthy vegetable dish. It is composed of sitaw and kalabasa along with shrimp and thin slices of pork. Sitaw refers to snake beans or yard-long beans, while Kalabasa pertains to calabaza squash. It is also referred to as West Indian pumpkin. The ingredients are cooked in coconut milk and served with warm white rice.
I remember always having this dish when I was a child. Mom would always prepare it for dinner on a weekday. She always tells me to finish my vegetables because it will help me be stronger and grow taller, quickly. I’m glad I followed her suggestion. I did not have issues eating vegetables as I grew-up. We did the same method to encourage our children to eat veggies. They all eat vegetables on a regular basis and enjoy it.
Nutrients in Ginataang Gulay
Vegetables are good for the body. It has a ton of health benefits. The health benefit of kalabasa includes boosting the immune system. It also helps manage diabetes, and is known to improve eye and bone health. Kalabasa is rich in niacin, vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B6, and thiamine.
Sitaw is a low-calorie vegetable. It is rich in vitamins such as vitamin A and C, and folate. Minerals such as manganese, iron, copper, calcium, and magnesium can be found in this vegetable.
Pork and shrimp also provides nutrients. Pork is rich in protein that helps build muscles. Shrimp is known for its selenium and vitamin B12 content. It also aids in weight loss.
Ginataang gulay calls for all of these ingredients. You now know the benefits that you will be getting when all the ingredients are incorporated in your dish.
How to Cook Ginataang Gulay
I love ginataang gulay because it is healthy and delicious. Another reason is its ease in preparation. It is quick and easy to cook. It takes less than 40 minutes to cook it completely.
Start by cooking the pork slices until it gets tender. Boiling is the cooking method that we will use. Boil water in a pot, add the pork in boiling water, and boil until tender. The process takes around 20 minutes. Make sure that the meat is sliced as thin as you can so that it cooks and tenderizes faster. Separate the boiled pork from the water. Both these ingredients are needed later. Note that the water can now be considered as pork stock at this point.
It is time to saute the garlic and onion. Do this by heating oil in a cooking pot. I usually use canola oil. You may use vegetable oil or olive oil. Make sure to control the heat when using olive oil as it has low smoke point. Start to saute onion, and then add garlic after 30 seconds. Continue the process until the onion softens. Add the boiled pork slices. The good news is we don’t need to cook the pork longer because it is already pre-cooked. I usually cook it for 1 minute for it to absorb the flavors from the aromatics.
Prepare the coconut milk. Combine pork stock and Knorr Ginataan Recipe Mix. Simply pour the contents of the packet into the pork stock and stir until the powder dilutes completely. Pour the mixture into the cooking pot and wait for a few minutes until it boils. I like using the recipe mix because it is already flavorful by itself. I do not need to add seasonings to my ginataang gulay.
The last part of the cooking process is to add the vegetables and shrimp. Put the kalabasa first as it needs to cook longer. I usually cook it 3 minutes ahead of the sitaw. This means I add the sitaw 3 minutes after adding the kalabasa. The shrimp are added along with the sitaw. Cover the pot and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. You can extend the cooking time to a couple of minutes more if you like your veggies softer.
Please let me know how you liked this recipe. I also provided a cooking video below to guide you further. Enjoy!
Try this Ginataang Gulay Recipe. Let me know what you think.
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Ginataang Gulay
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. kalabasa cubed
- 15 pieces sitaw cut into 2 inch pieces
- 6 ounces pork belly sliced into small pieces
- 1 pack Knorr Ginataang Gulay mix 45 g
- 12 pieces shrimp
- 1 piece onion chopped
- 3 pieces garlic minced
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
Instructions
- Boil water in a sauce pan. Add pork. Cover and cook between low to medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pork from the sauce pan. Set aside. Reserve the water.
- Heat oil in a pan. Saute onion and garlic until it onion softens.
- Add boiled pork. Saute for 1 minute.
- Combine Knorr Ginataang Gulay Recipe Mix with the water used to boil pork. Stir and then pour the mixture into the pot. Let boil.
- Add kalabasa. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add shrimp and sitaw. Cover and continue to cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Transfer to a serving plate. Serve. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Watch How to Cook Ginataang Gulay
Candi says
I like all the recipe you publish including the video very easy to follow.
Vanjo Merano says
Candi, glad that you liked the concept. I am happy to know that the videos are helping you.