Ginataang Manok at Kalabasa Recipe

This Ginataang Manok at Kalabasa Recipe is a deliciously savory, slightly spicy, nutty, protein filled dish that’s made of chicken pieces sautéed in ginger, onion, garlic, pepper, and fish sauce, simmered in coconut milk and cream, adding vegetables like squash, pechay ( Chinese chard ) for color, and a bit of green chillies for a hint of spice.

Ginataang Manok at Kalabasa Recipe :

Ingredients :

• 1 kilo chicken
• 2 thumb sized ginger ( sliced )
• 1 medium onion ( sliced )
• 5 cloves garlic ( minced )
• Black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 cup thin coconut milk
• 2 – 3 cups squash ( chopped to chunks )
• 1 cup coconut cream
• Salt to taste
• 1 bunch pechay
• 3 pieces green chillies
• Oil for sautéing

Steps :

1. Heat oil in a pan, saute ginger before adding in the onions and cooking until these soften. Add in the garlic and saute until aromatic.

2. Add in the chicken and saute until it changes in color. Then season with pepper and fish sauce. Saute until the fishy smell has evaporated and chicken has a lighter brown color.

3. Pour in the coconut milk, cover and simmer at medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the squash and coconut cream. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes.

4. Give it a taste. Add salt if needed. The place in the green chillies and pechay. Now at low heat, cook until the sauce thickens. Serve hot !

What are Ginataang Dishes ?

A cooking technique that melds together the nutty creaminess of the coconut milk with spices, aromatics, or meats. “Ginataang Dishes” or “Coconut based recipes” are a common dish found all around the Philippines. Usually composed of a base made of coconut milk and or coconut cream, red and green chillies, and the usual Filipino aromatics such as ginger, garlic, and onions. And a choice of meat like chicken, pork, seafoods, seldomly using beef, or just using vegetables like eggplants, jackfruit, and other fibrous leafy greens. Depending on the region ( especially popular and often related to the Bicol Region ) or household, you can find the dish seasoned with fish or shrimp paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, sampalok (tamarind), and other seasonings.

How to make this Ginataang Manok at Kalabasa Recipe ?

An effortless dish that makes use of simple ingredients. Combining everything into a creamy, subtly spicy, and very savory bowl of Ginataang Manok at Kalabasa. All you need to do is first prepare the chicken pieces, you can use the whole chicken chopped into parts, or you can also choose specific parts of the chicken like the chicken breasts, legs, thighs, any part. Clean and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Set aside while you make the base by sautéing ginger for a few minutes before adding in the onions, cooking until it softens, then adding the garlic and cooking until aromatic. Doing this in this sequence prevents the garlic from getting burnt. Then add in the chicken parts and cook these until it starts to change in color. Season with pepper and fish sauce, this will help remove any foul smells the chicken may have. Once the fishy scent from the fish sauce has evaporated and the chicken turns a slightly brown-er color. Pour in the coconut milk. 

Simmer with the coconut milk, cover for a few minutes to help cook the chicken further. Then add the chopped squash and coconut milk, cooking until the squash feels tender when pierced with a fork. Once soft, give the sauce a taste and add salt or pepper if needed. Then add in your greens like pechay to add more fiber and the chillies. Mix and let these simmer altogether to really infuse the flavors together and get a thicker sauce. Serve with a side of rice.

Questions

• Additional Ingredients to try in this Chicken with Kalabasa recipe
  • Make a colorful Ginataang manok at gulay ( vegetable ) dish. Try adding other vegetables like spinach, tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, potatoes and many more, or for more spice and some red chillies.
  • A popular version of the dish is “Ginataang Manok with Kalabasa and Sitaw” adding string beans gives it a nice crunch and good amount of fiber making it even more nutritious. Add the string beans together with the squash, cooking until these turn tender.
  • If you want this to be a full vegan or vegetarian “Ginataang Kalabasa recipe” simply omit the chicken and saute the squash instead. Simmer with the coconut milk and cream together instead of separately and continue the steps as the recipe instructs.

• How to store / reheat the dish ?

1. Let the dish cool down at room temperature before placing these in an airtight container.
2. This keeps in the fridge for 1 – 2 weeks and in the freezer for 2 – 3 weeks.
3. To reheat; thaw for a few minutes if frozen. Place in the microwave and heat 1 – 2 minutes at the time until hot. You can also place this in a pan or pot with a bit of water just to keep the dish from burning. Cover and ‘simmer’ until hot enough.

Try our other Yummy Coconut Based Recipes :

• Chicken Adobo sa Gata ( Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk )
• Shrimp in Coconut Milk
• Ginataang Alimasag ( Crab with Coconut Milk )  
• Ginataang Tambakol Recipe ( Tuna simmered in a spicy coconut sauce )
• Ginataang Langka Recipe ( Jackfruit simmered in a spicy coconut sauce )

Ginataang Manok at Kalabasa Resipi ( Tagalog ) :

Mga Sangkap :

• 1 kilo manok
• 2 daliring luya ( hiniwa )
• 1 sibuyas ( hiniwa )
• 5 butil ng bawang ( tinadtad )
• Paminta panlasa
• 2 kutsarang patis
• 1 tasa pangalawang piga ng niyog
• 2 – 3 tasa kalabasa ( hiniwa ng malalaki )
• 1 tasa unang piga ng niyog
• Asin panlasa
• 1 bungkos ng pechay
• 3 piraso ng siling mahaba
• Mantika panluto

Paano Lutuin :

1. Uminit ng mantika sa kawali, lutuin muna ang luya bago lutuin ang sibuyas hanggang lumambot ito. Haluan ng bawang at lutuin hanggang bumango.
2. Ilagay dito ang manok at lutuin hanggang mag iba ng kulay. Timplahan ng paminta at patis. Lutuin hanggang mawala ang amoy ng patis at mas mag kayumanggi ng kulay ang manok. 
3. Ibuhos ang pangalawang piga ng niyog, takpan at pakuluin sa katamtamang init ng 10 minuto. Pagkatapos, haluan ng kalabasa at unang piga ng niyog. Takpan muli ng 5 minuto.
4. Tikman. Haluan ng asin kung kinakailangan. Ilagay dito ang siling mahaba at pechay. Ilagay sa mababang init at pakuluin hanggang kumapal ang sarsa. Ihanda habang mainit pa!