Ginataang Tulingan with Talong

Ginataang tulingan with Talong or in English is “Tuna and eggplant stewed in coconut” is a savory, saucy Filipino fish dish made by frying the tulingan and eggplant, simmering these in an aromatic creamy and thick sauce made of coconut milk, garlic, onion, ginger, vinegar, tomatoes, pepper, and green chilies for a sight kick. Once everything is simmered together, it creates a vibrant looking, healthy dish paired with some steaming freshly cooked rice. This easy dish is perfect for family dinners or those needing a quick lunch meal.

What is Tulingan?

The Tulingan fish in English “Skipjack tuna”, is one among the most common fish you can get from the market. They easily stand out from the other fish because of its large body and gray color. A fish described as having a silvery gray colored body with no scales, has dark red meat. Nutrient-wise, the tulingan is a very good source of protein, and especially filled with omega fatty acids which is good for the heart, protein for bone health and immunity, and Vitamin B12 for iron which is great for those who are anemic. These are often served stewed, grilled, or baked. Some of the most famous tulingan recipes include sinigang (stewed in a Filipino sour soup base) , sinaing, and ginataan (stewed in coconut based sauce)-this which will be featured in this article.

How to cook Ginataang Tulingan with Talong

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo skipjack tuna (sliced into serving pieces)
• 2 – 3 pieces eggplant
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 2 thumbs ginger (sliced into strips)
• 2 medium tomatoes (sliced)
• black pepper to taste
• fish sauce or salt to taste
• oil (for frying)
• 3 – 5 pieces green chilies

Directions:

1. Wash and prepare the tulingan. Break and pull the tail to remove. Slice each tulingan into three (head, belly and tail) pieces. Make slits on each slice.
2. Arrange the fish slices in a pot. Add the sliced ginger, salt, black pepper, vinegar and a cup of water. Cover the pot let it simmer for a few minutes. Half way through cooking, flip the fish slices to cook the other side evenly.
3. Continue cooking until the water dries up. Transfer the tulingan to a plate and set aside. You can optionally fry the eggplants if you like. Heat some oil in another pan. Cook the eggplants until light brown. Transfer them to a plate and set aside.
4. In the same pan, fry the tulingan slices lightly and set aside. Next, add the ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes. Saute for a few minutes until aromatic. Then, add the coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Season with black pepper and fish sauce to taste.
5. Add the fried fish slices into the coconut sauce. Simmer until the sauce is reduced. Stir often to prevent the fishes from burning. Add the whole green chilies and simmer them in the coconut sauce for a few minutes.
6. Lastly, add the fried eggplant and baste everything to coat with the creamy sauce. After a few minutes, the dish is ready. You can either serve it now, or cook it a little longer and wait for it to render oil.
7. Transfer the ginataang tulingan with talong to a serving plate. Enjoy this with a lot of hot steaming rice. Yum!

What makes this dish special ?

A must try when you visit Batangas where tulingan is relatively cheaper and more abundant. Often served as pritong tulingan ( fried tuna mackerel) with aromatics like ginger, garlic, and onions, but is more popularly cooked stewed in a colorful and simple but very aromatic coconut sauce. Coconut stewed dishes are quite popular in the Philippines, it’s not only yummy but is another way to incorporate veggies in your dishes. Especially great for kids and adults needing to add more fiber into their diet.

How to cook ginataang tulingan with talong? Or any Ginataang isda na may Talong dish? First start with preparing the ginataang tulingan ingredients. Starting with the fish, buying the freshest; to know if these are fresh, check if the scales are still intact and the eyes are not red. If you can, ask the seller to clean the fish for you, the tail should also still be intact. Remove the tail once you are ready to cook the fish, this helps prevent having allergic reactions for some people. Slice the fishes into 3 parts giving these a slight slit on each side to really let the sauces and aromatics penetrate into the fish. Simmer the fishes with water, vinegar, ginger, salt and pepper to help remove any foul smells, flipping halfway to cook evenly. Once the water dries up, take these out of the pan and fry the eggplants until these have slightly browned if you’d like. You can just add the eggplants later if you do not fry them. Take these out then saute the aromatics-ginger, garlic, onions, and tomatoes until these have softened and these turn aromatic. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a boil before adding some pepper and fish sauce.

Add back the fried tulingan, eggplants if they were not fired, and green chillies. Let everything simmer together for a few minutes or until the chillies and eggplants feel tender. Serve this ginataang tulingan with coconut milk with a nice side of freshly cooked white rice to complete the meal and share with the whole family.

Questions :

• Ginataang tulingan calories

A serving of 100 grams can have around 120 calories.

• Other fishes to use in this sinaing na tulingan sa gata?
  • Instead of the ‘Filipino tuna’ you can use regular american tuna for tuna steak coconut milk recipe that is meatier.
    • Another isda sa gata or fish simmered in a coconut sauce close to the tulingan and tuna family is the Yellowfin tuna. To create “Ginataang Isda Yellow Fin” which is as tasty and versatile.
    • You can use galunggong or “mackarel scad” for “Ginataang Isda Galunggong“. These are smaller and taste not as intense as the skipjack tuna.
    • If you prefer a non mackerel Filipino recipe try using lapu-lapu or grouper for a “Ginataang Lapu lapu” recipe. Which is one of the most eaten fish in the Philippines, it also has a more delicate textured white flesh.
    • For an affordable version of the dish, try using canned tuna like the ‘saba’ brand to make “Saba Ginataang Tulingan”. 

• Additional ingredients to try in this ginataang tulingan recipe
  • Add pechay or Chinese chard for ginataang isda sa dahon ng pechay. How to cook ginataang tulingan with pechay ( ginataang tulingan na may pechay )? Simply add the pechay at the end with the chillies, cooking these until the leaves have wilted.
  • Another option to add more fiber into the dish is “Ginataang Tulingan with Mustasa” or “skipjack tuna and mustard leaves simmered in coconut”. Mustard leaves have a really peppery and bitter taste which really adds to the recipe.
  • Add langka or jackfruit for some sweetness at the end to create “Ginataang Langka with Tulingan“.
  • For a more meaty dish, try adding chopped pork after frying the fish, fry some of the salt seasoned pork until these change in color or have rendered most of the fats. This make for a really flavorful “Ginataang Tulingan with taba ng baboy“

Try our other ginataan recipes here : 

Paano mag gata ng isda? Or “How to cook fish with coconut milk”? Here are more Yummy examples :

• Paksiw na Tulingan
• Adobong Tanigue sa Gata
• Ginataang Puso ng Saging sa Tulingan ( Skipjack tuna and Banana heart simmered in coconut sauce )
• Sinaing na Tulingan ( a salty and sour dish made by wrapping the tulingan in banana leaves then simmered with aromatics in a clay pot )
• Kinunot na Tulingan ( a traditional Filipino dish from the Bicol region, tuna simmered in an aromatic and really spicy coconut based stew )

Paano Magluto ng Ginataang Tulingan na May Talong

Mga Sangkap:

• 1 kilo tulingan (hiniwa sa serving pieces)
• 2 – 3 pirasong talong
• 1/3 tasang suka
• 1 tasang tubig
• 2 tasang gata
• 4 butil ng bawang (hiniwa)
• 1 sibuyas (hiniwa)
• 2 hiwa ng luya (hiniwa ng strips)
• 2 kamatis (hiniwa)
• paminta
• patis o asin
• mantika (pang-prito)
• 3 – 5 pirasong siling haba

Paano Lutuin:

1. Linisin at hugasang mabuti ang mga tulingan. Baliin at hilahin ang buntot nito. Hiwain ang isda sa tatlong piraso (ulo, tiyan, at buntot). Lagyan ng extra hiwa ang mga isda.

2. Iayos ang mga isda sa kawali. Sunod na ilagay ang luya, asin, paminta, suka at isang tasang tubig. Takpan ang kawali at hayaan itong kumulo ng ilang minuto. Baliktarin ang mga isda sa kalagitnaan ng pagluluto para maluto rin ang kabilang side.

3. Hayaan lang itong maluto hanggang maubos ang tubig. Ilipat ang mga tulingan sa lalagyan at isantabi. Hiwain ang mga talong. Pwede mo itong iprito kung gusto mo. Hanguin at isantabi kapag medyo light brown na.

4. Gamit ang parehong kawali, iprito ng konti ang mga tulingan at saka isantabi. Sunod na ilagay ang luya, bawang, sibuyas at kamatis. Gisahin ang mga ito ng ilang minuto bago ilagay ang gata. Hayaan itong kumulo saka timplahan ng paminta at patis.

5. Ilagay ang mga pritong tulingan sa kawali at ilubog sa sauce. Lutuin ito hanggang halos maiga na ang sabaw. Haluin ito paminsan minsan para hindi masunog. Ilagay ang mga siling haba at ilubog sa sabaw.

6. Huling ilagay ang mga pritong talong. Buhus buhusan ito ng sabaw. Pagkatapos kumulo ng konti pa, ready na ito. Pwede mo na itong ihain o lutuin pa ng konti hanggang nagmamantika na.

7. Ilipat ang ginataang tulingan na may talong sa serving plate. Ihain ito kasama ng mainit na kanin. Yum!