Greetings!
When I was young I am not a big fan of vegetables. But when I started to appreciate their deliciousness I am now a very big fan of vegetables. And from then on, whenever I eat I always make sure that I will eat first the vegetables of any dish that is being served.
One of my early favorite vegetable dishes is the Pinakbet followed by a Ginisang Gulay (Sauteed Vegetables) in any form with any ingredients but my number one favorite of a sauteed vegetables is the one with a fish sauce which is a very Ilokano type of cooking.
Today, I am going to share with you one of my favorites sauteed vegetables, it is called "Ginisang Kalabasa, Ampalaya, at Talong na may Bagoong" - This is a Tagalog term. In our local dialect, which is Ilokano it is called "Ginisa nga Karabasa, Parya, ken Tarong nga adda Bagoong na".
Karabasa is the Ilokano term of Squash, it's Tagalog term is Kalabasa. Parya is the Ilokano term of Bitter Gourd, it's Tagalog term is Ampalaya. Tarong is the Ilokano term of Bitter Gourd, it's Tagalong term is Talong.
I came to love this dish because of the squash which makes the soup slightly sweet once the squash is incorporated into the soup. This is also a very healthy food since it only uses about one to two tablespoons of cooking oil.
Most of the time this dish does not need salt since the fish sauce is salty thus it acts as a replacement for salt.
- Squash (kalabaasa)
- Eggplant (talong)
- Bitter Gourd (ampalaya)
- Bitter Gourd Leaves (dahon ng ampalaya)
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Dried Shrimps
- Fish Sauce
- Onion
- Cooking oil
Peel and wash the squash then slice into bite-size rectangular shape
Wash and slice the eggplants
Wash and slice the bitter gourd into half (if your bitter gourd is bigger than the ones that I used you can slide it into bite-size shapes of your own)
Wash and slice the tomatoes into half
Wash the bitter gourd leaves then separate the leaves into the stem
Peel and slice the onions
Peel and slice the garlic
Prepare the dried fish sauce
Prepare the dried shrimps
1. Sautee the onion and the garlic with little cooking oil
2. Add the tomatoes
3. Add some water
4. Cook the tomatoes well until it becomes saucy for a tastier dish, then add the quest once the tomatoes become saucy and when you get the consistency just like in the photo below
5. Add the squash
6. Add the eggplants
7. Add the dried shrimps
8. Add some water slightly submerging all the ingredients
9. Add the bitter gourd then let it boil
10. When all the vegetables are cooked add the bitter gourd leaves, TURN-OFF the heat, and let the hot soup cook the bitter gourd leaves, and it is done.
Serve while it is hot. It is best partnered with rice or you can eat it on its own. This dish is also commonly served during lunch.
I am a Computer Engineer, blogger, farmer, father, and husband. I love countryside living, nature, farming (rice/vegetables), and has two decades of experience as an I.T. professional
