Gising-gising facts for kids
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| Alternative names |
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|---|---|
| Course | Main course |
| Place of origin | Philippines |
| Region or state | Nueva Ecija, Pampanga |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | winged beans, shrimp paste, labuyo chili, coconut milk, garlic, onions, ground meat or seafood |
Gising-gising is a super yummy and spicy Filipino dish! It's a kind of vegetable soup or stew that comes from the Philippines, especially the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Pampanga. The main ingredients are usually chopped winged beans, which are also called sigarillas or sigarilyas. These are cooked in creamy coconut milk with lots of spices like labuyo chili, garlic, onions, and bagoong alamang (which is a salty shrimp paste).
The name Gising-gising is really cool because it means "wake up, wake up" in Filipino! Maybe it's because the chili makes you feel wide awake! You can eat this dish all by itself, or put it on top of rice. It's also a great side dish to have with grilled meats. This dish is a type of ginataan, which means it's cooked with coconut milk.
What's in Gising-Gising?
The most important part of gising-gising is the winged beans. They are cut into small pieces, usually about 1 to 2 inches long. These beans are cooked in a rich coconut milk sauce.
Other tasty ingredients include:
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Onions
- Bagoong alamang (shrimp paste)
- Different kinds of chili peppers, like siling haba and labuyo peppers
Sometimes, people add other things to make it even more delicious. This can include ground meat, like pork, or even ground shrimp. You might also find shredded tinapa, which is a type of smoked fish.
Different Ways to Make It
You can find many different versions of gising-gising! Instead of winged beans, some people use other vegetables that are cut similarly.
Some common swaps include:
- Yardlong beans
- Water spinach (called kangkong)
Chefs also get creative with the seafood they add. You might find gising-gising with squid. Other vegetables and spices can be added too, making each pot a little different. If someone doesn't like shrimp paste, they can use commercial bouillon cubes or meat or seafood stock instead.
There's even a special version that uses calabaza (a type of squash). This dish is called ginataang sigarilyas at kalabasa. It's like a mix between gising-gising and another popular dish called ginataang kalabasa.
Similar Filipino Dishes
Gising-gising is quite similar to another famous Filipino dish from the Bicol Region called Bicol Express. They use many of the same ingredients, especially the coconut milk and chili. In fact, if a gising-gising is extra spicy, people sometimes jokingly call it "Sigarilyas Express"!
