Friday, September 10, 2004

Guinisang Upo

Upo reminds me of my late mom. She had a green thumb. Give her a seed and she will turn that into a plentiful harvest. Gardening wasn’t her profession. It was her hobby. It was her way of releasing her stress. I remember when she was mad, you’d know where to find her. She was in her garden. She grew beautiful flowers, robust vegetables, and she had rows of anthuriums. Next to her family, she loved her plants and her gloves.

She grew all varieties of upo, long and short, stubby or not and she gave them away for free. She was not as good a cook as my father and it was my father who made this unending supply of upo delectable.

It surprised me when I went to the Filipino store and bought an upo one day and cooked it the way my father did and when I served it, it was so foreign to my husband. He loved it of course but he never remembered his mom cooking it the way I did. It’s very good even my kids love it. Try it.

Ingredients:

½ lb. of ground pork
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 onion
2 tomatoes
1 medium upo cut in about 3/4 thick
Patis to taste

Cook ground pork until brown in a pan. Add oil and sauté garlic. Add onions and cook until onions become transparent. Add tomatoes and cook for about 2 minutes. Add upo. Do not add any water because the upo itself when seasoned brings out water itself and exudes a distinct flavor. Cover the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season to taste.
This recipe since I cooked it became a popular request from both my kids and my husband.

4 comments:

cathy said...

naku ting,
kakain ko lang ng upong ginisa sa tomatoes at sa manok na tatlong beses ko nang nirecycle. Una, pinrito siyang manok, ikalawang buhay niya ay ginisa sa mushroom at
black beans at ikatlo noong magresurrect siya ay kasama na siya sa upo.

Ubos ko na kaya, panibagong balot ng manok na naman.
Upo, masarap po yong upo.

hehehe
The Ca t

ting-aling said...

Uy Ca T, mas radical ka pala kesa kay chef ha. Siya leftover lang. Ikaw left right left. Masubukan nga yung iyong mushroom with chicken at upo with chicken.

celia kusinera said...

hi ting, do you think I can use courgettes (zucchini) in place of the upo? Have you tried it? My mother usually cooks this with shrimps and miswa noodles.

ting-aling said...

Celia, I think so. I use Zucchini in place of patola for misua. Be radical, subukan mo and let us know. One thing I know that is also good is guinataang upo and I might do it one time.