Ginataang Gulay

Ingredients

• 4 cups Butternut squash, cubed
• 3 cups Green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 2 cans Light coconut milk
• 2 tbsp Canola oil
• 1 Yellow onion, sliced
• 6 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Fresh ginger, julienned
• 1 block Extra-firm tofu, cubed and browned
• 2 tbsp Low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 Thai bird chiles, split (optional)
• 4 cups Baby spinach
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups Jasmine rice (dry)

Method

1. Start the rice. Brown the tofu cubes in the oil and set them aside.
2. Cook the onion, garlic and ginger in the same pot for 4 minutes. Filipino cooks brown the garlic more than most — take it to properly gold.
3. Add the coconut milk, soy sauce and chiles and bring to a gentle simmer. Never a hard boil, or the coconut milk separates into oil and curd.
4. Add the squash and simmer 12 minutes, then the green beans for 6 more, until the squash is tender enough to crush against the side of the pot.
5. Return the tofu, stir in the spinach to wilt, and taste for salt. Serve over rice with the sauce spooned generously over.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Julienne the ginger rather than mincing it. You want to find pieces of it.

🧒 For the kids

Leave the chiles whole and lift them out. Sweet squash in coconut milk over rice is a mild, friendly plate.

🥡 Leftovers

Keeps 4 days and thickens. Loosen with a splash of water.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.