Ginataang Biya

The ginataang biya is a creamy fish stew where goby fish is wrapped in pechay leaves and braised in a aromatic sauce made by onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, vinegar, coconut milk, pepper and salt. Follow our recipe to make this scrumptious Ginataang biya in your home. Best eaten with a bowl of hot steaming rice!

Ginataang Biya

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Fish Recipes

Servings

5

servings

Ingredients

• ½ kilo biya

• 1 bunch pechay or mustasa

• 1 onion (chopped)

• 4 cloves of garlic (chopped)

• 1 thumb-sized ginger

• 1 tomato (chopped)

• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoons vinegar

• 1 ½ cup pure coconut milk

Directions

• Prepare your pechay and separate the leaves from the stalk. We will use this to wrap our fish later. Alternatively, you can chop these and just cook together with the fish. Wash and drain.
• Arrange the tomatoes, ginger, onion and garlic in the pan.
• Wrap each fish with the pechay leaves and arrange it above the aromatics. Repeat these steps with the rest of the biya.
• Put the remaining pechay on the sides of the wrapped biya.
• Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Drizzle the vinegar. Pour some water. Heat the pan and let it boil.
• Once boiling, lower the heat. Pour the coconut milk and let it cook using low heat until coconut milk thickens. Baste some of the sauce to the fish. You may also add chili peppers if you like.
• If you want a saucy fish, you can turn the heat off and transfer the ginataang biya in a serving plate. If you want it dry, continue cooking until the sauce dries up.
• Serve the ginataang biya with some hot steaming rice and enjoy!

GINATAANG BIYA

If you’re watching discovery channel, you’ll probably know what a goby fish is. Tank goby, or more commonly known as biya, is a type of fresh water fish which is a not so common fish in the market. This is what makes this fish special and something to look forward to. You can find most of the biya in fishing farms which specifically grows them. There had been past issues on the safety of its consumption and it is required to clean the biya thoroughly before using in a dish.

With the abundance of coconut farms in the Philippines, ginataan is one of the savoury dishes very popular among the Filipino cuisine. The word ginataan came from the root word “gata” which is the Tagalog term for coconut milk. Ginataan is a way of cooking method which uses gata or coconut milk to make it creamy and delicious. A lot of fish has been a a great star ingredient for ginataan dishes. These dishes are usually cooked with the vegetables of your choice which commonly includes eggplant, string beans and leafy greens.

It is always a celebration whenever my nieces and nephews come to visit us. These are the type of moments where I put out any special ingredient I have in my pantry to make an awesome dish for my special ones. My nephew specifically is a fan of pechay. I decided to make them some ginataang biya wrapped in pechay leaves. My nieces and nephews were amazed seeing the wrapped fish in coconut sauce. They told me that this is the first time their ginataang isda was served that way.

To have a more fun and unique way of making ginataang biya, try this wrapping in leaf technique. You can also use this recipe as a guide if you want to adopt this method for other ginataang fish.

HOW TO MAKE GINATAANG BIYA

Preparing ginataang biya is as easy as you can imagine. It is a one-pan dish that wont cost you even a single sweat. Basically what you needed to do is to arrange everything in the pan before you turn on the fire. Make sure to prepare all ingredients before starting.

Almost all Asian dishes start with a good amount of aromatics. Aside from the common aromatics which include onions, garlic and tomatoes, some chopped ginger will be useful in getting rid of the fishy taste or the “lansa” of our biya. Chop your aromatics and arrange them in a pan.

There are different ways of cooking ginataan dishes especially when it includes vegetables in it. More commonly, the vegetables are chopped and cooked together with the main dish. I will share a new hack on making your ginataan dish more presentable and appetizing. Instead of just throwing all the ingredients in the pan, get your pechay leaves and wrap it around the biya. Arrange the wrapped biya above the aromatics so that the complex flavors will seep in the biya as it cooks. Add the rest of the ingredients for a hassle-free cooking.

The last thing to do is to add the coconut milk when the sauce boils. Remember not to cover the pan to prevent the coconut milk from curdling. The ginataang biya I made was for my nieces and nephews so I chose not to add some chilies. But if you’re a fan of spicy dishes, a spicy ginataan sounds good too! When the fish and pechay are cooked, continue cooking depending on how saucy you like your dish to be. Make sure to prepare a lot of rice for your kids will surely love this! Yum!

Paano Magluto ng Ginataang Biya

MGA SANGKAP:

• ½ kilo biya
• 1 bugkos ng pechay o mustasa
• 1 sibuyas (hiniwa)
• 4 butil ng bawang (hiniwa)
• 1 thumb-sized luya
• 1 kamatis (hiniwa)
• asin at paminta
• 2 kutsara ng suka
• 1 ½ tasa ng purong coconut milk

PAANO LUTUIN:

1. Ihanda ang pechay ay paghiwalayin ang dahon sa stem. Gagamitin natin ang dahon para balutin ang biya. Pwede ring hiwain na lamang ang pechay at iluto kasama ng biya.
2. I-arrange ang kamatis, luya, sibuyas at bawang sa isang kawali.
3. Balutin ang biya gamit ang dahon ng pechay. I-arrange ang mga ito sa ibabaw ng aromatics. Gawin ang steps na ito sa iba pang biya.
4. Ilagay ang mga tirang pechay sa gilid ng binalot na biya.
5. Budburan ng asin at paminta. Ilagay ang suka at tubig. Lutuin ito hanggang kumulo ang tubig.
6. Kapag kumukulo na, babaan ang apoy. Ilagay ang coconut milk at lutuin ito gamit ang mababang apoy hanggang lumapot ang sabaw. Pwede ka ring maglagay ng sili kung gusto mong gawing maanghang.
7. Kung gusto mo ng masabaw na ginataan, patayin ang apoy at ilipat ang ginataang biya sa isang serving plate. Kung gusto mo ng igang ginataan, lutuin pa ito hanggang maiga ang sabaw.
8. Ihain ang ginataang biya kasama ng mainit na kanin at enjoy!