Ginataang Pusit at Hipon with Green Talong

Creamy coconut sauce, tender eggplant and seafood added just at the end.

Ingredients

• 405 g cleaned squid + shrimp
• 3 pieces green eggplant, cut into 2–3 cm chunks or thick diagonal slices
• 200 mL Coco Mama gata
• 250 mL water
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 20 g ginger, cut into thin strips
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ½ tsp salt, adjust later
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1–2 pieces siling haba, optional
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• Optional: 1 tsp sugar, only if you like a slightly rounded gata flavor

Method

• Pat the seafood dry and cut large squid pieces into 3–4 cm pieces. Heat the oil and sauté ginger for 30 seconds, onion for 1 minute, and garlic for another 30 seconds.
• Add fish sauce and let it sizzle briefly. Pour in coconut milk and water; add pepper and optional whole chilies. Bring to a gentle simmer.
• Add the eggplant. Cover loosely and simmer 6–8 minutes, until nearly tender. Add 50–100 mL water if the sauce thickens too soon.
• Add shrimp for 1 minute, then squid for another 1½–2 minutes, until both are opaque and cooked through. Avoid a long simmer, which makes the squid chewy.
• Taste and adjust the saltiness a little at a time. Rest 3–5 minutes before serving with rice.

Before you cook

Read the ingredient labels for allergens, especially seafood, soy, wheat, dairy and eggs. Prepared sauces and seasoning powders vary in saltiness, so taste before adding more. Cooking times are guides; check doneness in the actual batch.

Cook poultry and reheated leftovers to 74°C, ground meat to 71°C, and fish to 63°C. FoodSafety.gov cooking guidance ↗