Karne Giniling na may Alogbati at Kalabasa

This ground beef recipe is easy to cook, very nutritious and made with simple ingredients. Growing up in the province, this recipe is humbly prepared by chefs of the family. At that moment in time, cooking is not something that caught my interest yet. I am merely an observer, prepping ingredients or doing errands while my “nanay” (mother) or “manong” (older brother) are busy cooking in the kitchen. My brother used to prepare the dish made up of giniling na karne (ground beef) with alogbati (spinach) and kalabasa (squash). Everybody in the family is all excited to eat them for lunch or dinner and they always have second servings. The recipe consists of easy to get ingredients that are available in the town market where I used to live. If you want to save time and money, it is always a good idea to ask your neighbors if they can share the alogbati (spinach) and lemongrass growing abundantly in their backyards.

Unfortunately, these ingredients are hard to find if you live in the colder side of the country. You can always ask Mr. Google about an Asian market close to where you live then hope you can find the vegetables that you are looking for. If you live in a warmer climate and good at gardening, you could absolutely grow these vegetables all year long. I made this recipe with the help of my “manang” (sister) then I gathered all the ingredients together to make the recipe happen. Other people might cook the dish without some of the ingredients that I have, but my taste buds agree to the addition of lemongrass, fish sauce, and soy sauce. This dish can be eaten as just a soup itself or with the including of rice . Now that cold weather is around the corner, you may want to collect what you need for this soup recipe, cook it then say “it tastes like how my family made it”.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 tbsp. cooking oil
• 32 oz or 907 g unsalted beef broth (optional) or 6 cups of water
• 8 oz or 227 g spinach
• 2 cups yard long beans or “latoy” – cut into 1 ½ inch long
• 2 cups pumpkin or “kalabasa’ – cut into cubes
• 1 medium red onion – diced
• 4 cloves garlic – minced
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 stalk lemon grass – bruised, tied and folded with kitchen twine

Instructions:

1. In a pan with hot cooking oil, sauté onion and garlic for 3 minutes in medium high heat.
2. Add the meat and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Season the meat with fish sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir.
4. Pour in the unsalted beef stock or 6 cups of water, stir then add the lemon grass. Bring to a boil then cover with the lid in medium low heat for 15 minutes.
5. Add the kalabasa and yard long beans and cook for 5 minutes at medium low heat or until the vegetables are soft and tender (do not overcook).
6. Add the spinach. Put the lid on and turn off the heat. Uncover the pan after 1 to 2 minutes and gently stir.
7. Throw away the lemongrass. Serve warm with or without rice. Enjoy!