Beef Giniling Guisado

It has been 2 weeks since my last post so I thought it’s just about time to take my laptop out of hibernation and start writing again.  I have so many things I’d like to share with you, I don’t even know where to start. I have taken numerous pictures of food that I have made and kids’ crafts and toddler activities that I have done thinking I will write about them, but never got to.

So let me start with this… another Filipino dish that I just made last night in my attempt to make supper with very few ingredients in the house. We went away for a week and haven’t really done much grocery shopping than a quick trip to the store for some bare necessities like milk, eggs and fruits. So when I found out the only things I had were carrots, potatoes, garlic, and onions, I knew I had to make one of my go to Filipino dish – Giniling Guisado. 

Giniling is a Filipino word which refers to a ground meat – be it chicken, pork, or beef. We just buy frozen ground beef so that’s what I used. Guisado, on the other hand, is a Spanish word which means stew. So for my non-Filipino readers, you are going to learn how to make ground beef stew, Filipino style. And like any Filipino dishes, this is paired with steamed (white or brown) rice.

This dish requires tomatoes, but I ran out of fresh tomatoes too. Thank goodness, I had a can of diced tomatoes so I was still able to make this dish. I prefer using fresh ingredients and cooking from scratch, but at times like this, I cannot be picky.

This stew makes an awesome left over. But if you don’t like eating the same food the next day, you can easily transform this dish to something else. Just boil the sauce of this stew until it’s thick and use it as filling to your omelette. Top your omelette with some grated cheese and ketchup and you are good to go!

So here’s how I make this delicious and easy to make dish. I hope you’ll give it a try!

Side note: If you notice that the cut sizes of my carrots and potatoes are not even, it’s because my sous-chef toddler cut them up herself using a crinkle cutter. She was pretty proud of herself, and I was too! So I left it as it is. 

BEEF GINILING GUISADO

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1-2 tbsp. cooking oil
• 5 medium size potatoes
• 4 carrots
• 1 med-large size onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2 1/2 cups water (set aside 1 cup)
• approx. 1 cup diced tomatoes
• about 5 tbsp. of Heinz ketchup
• 4-6 dried bay leaves
• about a cup of green peas
• 1/2 cup Sultana raisins
• about 2-3 tbsp. of soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Cut the carrots and potatoes in cubes. Add 1 1/2 tbsp. of cooking oil in a frying pan. In med. heat, fry the carrots and potatoes for 10 mins or until it’s starting to brown and turning a bit crispy. Set aside. (I don’t like mushy vegetables. Maybe someday when I’m old and all my teeth had fallen off, bu until then, I want some crunch in my food. As my dad used to say, over cooking vegetables is a crime! So frying the carrots and potatoes first help to retain a little bit of the vegetables’ crispiness even when it sits simmering in sauce for 35-45 mins).  
2. In med. heat with 1/2 tbsp. of oil, saute the onion. When onion is starting to get sweaty. add the minced garlic. Saute for 3 mins and then add the ground beef. Break up the meat as it cooks. Add a cube of beef bouillon while meat is cooking.
3. When ground beef is no longer pink, add the diced tomatoes, fried potatoes and carrots. Saute for 5 mins, and add ketchup and soy sauce. Mix well. Then add 1 1/2 cups of water. Top with bay leaves. Cover and let simmer for about 30 mins.
4. Add the green peas and raisins. Pour another cup of water. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 mins until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve warm with steamed rice.

Enjoy! 🙂

Disclaimer: I don’t normally use measuring spoons/cups when I cook. Unless I’m baking of course. Cooking is more of an art. So when I cook, I usually just eyeball things. The key is to taste your food while you cook, and adjust your spices as your taste buds dictate. What maybe sweet for me, may not be the case for you. Hence, the lack of measurements on my recipes. I will leave that up to you. All the necessary ingredients (and tips!) however will be provided.

Happy experimenting cooking!

❤ Zhi