Ginataang kalabasa (butternut squash in coconut milk)

                              

Oh boy, this dish is irresistable for me. This is a vegetable dish with coconut milk and  fried salted fish.

The fresh veges and the natural sweetness of the butternut squash and coconut milk  is a true Filipino taste. This is a very simple dish that my family in Philippines used to make during weekend.

Ingredients:

3 cups of water

lemon grass

50-80 grams ginger, sliced thinly

onion,sliced

bell pepper or chili, sliced

3-5 string beans,  sliced

1 big eggplant, sliced

500 grams of butternut squash, sliced

2 dried and salted fish, fried

1 cup of malunggay leaves

scallion, sliced

peppermint leaves (optional)

1 tsp salt

                              

Procedure:

In a caserolle, boil 3 cups of water with the lemon grass, ginger and onion. Add all the butternut squash and boil until the squash gets soft.

                            

                            

Add coconut milk,eggplant, string beans and bell pepper. Let it boil until the veges are half cooked ( 2-3 mins)

                             

Add half part of the salt, then the fried dried fish,scallion,peppermint and malunggay leaves. Let it simmer for 1 minute and taste. Adjust the taste by adding more salt or water/coconut milk.

                                   

                                  

                                 

                                            Serve with rice. Enjoy your meal!

Pinakbet

Pinakbet is a stir fry dish with pork meat and shrimps paste seasoned with soya sauce. This is another "vegetables garden" dish and all time favorite of the Filipinos:)


Ingredients:

1/2 kilo of pork meat, sliced and marinated in soya sauce
2 tbsp of oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 of small onion, sliced
1 medium size tomato,sliced
half of bell pepper,sliced
scallions,sliced
1 tbsp of shrimp paste
3 tbsp of soy sauce
1 cup of sliced butternut squash
1 cup of slice okra
1 cup of sliced string beans
1 cup of sliced bitter melon or ampalaya
1 cup of sliced eggplant or aubergine
1/2 cup of water


Procedure:

Heat the oil in a wok pan and saute garlic,onion and tomato.

Add the marinated pork meat.
Let it simmer for 3-5 minutes until it is cooked. Stir once in a while.

Add butternut squash and simmer for another 3 mins.
Add  squash,okra,string beans,bitter melon ,eggplant and soya sauce.

Simmer for 3 minutes with cover on it..


Add shrimps paste. Stir well until the shrimps paste incorporate with the vegetables.

Add 1/2 cup  and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add bell pepper and scallions . Serve with rice.

Law oy

Law oy is a vegetables stew  with fried fish on it. This dish reminds me of my late grandpa because it is his favorite dish. I was thinking that Filipinos in the old old time has their own vegetable garden and they can just pick or harvest fresh veges and prepare Law oy or vegetables stew in their kitchen.

 I remember when I was young, my grandmother had a very wide garden with different kinds of  vegetables. It was so easy to make a stew coz' we just took some steps from the kitchen to the garden , picked some veges and make the stew. I wish I have a garden like that here in Norway:) Unfortunately, the summer in the west coast of Norway is too cold or wet to plant  some tropical veges. Im glad my sister,Jasmin, is living in the city near the asian stores. When she come for a visit, she always take with her some Filipino vegetables that I cannot buy in the Norwegian local store.

Ingredients:

4 cups of water
2 stalks of lemon grass
1/2 onion,sliced
50g ginger, pelled and sliced
1 tomato,sliced
1/2 bell pepper ,cubed
1 cup of malunggay leaves or drumstick tree leaves
1 cup of sweet potato leaves
1 cup of sliced butternut squash
1 cup of sliced eggplant or aubergine
1 cup of sliced okra
1 cup of sliced string beans
salt and pepper to taste

400 grams salted fish ,fried


Procedure:


In a pan boil water, lemon grass, onion , ginger and tomatoes until they are cooked well. Add  1 tsp of salt and some dashes of pepper.

Add butternut squash and let it boil for 3 minutes or until the squash is cooked.  Add eggplant, okra, string beans and let it boil for another 3 minutes in a medium heat.

 Add fried fish, bell pepper ,sweet potato leaves, malunggay or drumstick tree leaves. Adjust the taste by adding more salt , pepper or water.
Let it simmer in a low heat for 2 minutes.

Ready to serve:)