Ginisang Pechay at Giniling

Ginisang pechay is one of my favorite vegetable dishes to make. It’s simple to prepare, delicious with fried fish, and packed with calcium, phosphorus and other nutrients.

In preparing this dish, note that chinese cabbage has a mild flavor and is not a very tasty vegetable in itself. The life of the recipe is dependent on the use of a good amount of garlic and of good quality meat stock. Also, as pechay’s vibrant hue suffers when overcooked and as they are less sturdy than their other cabbage counterparts, remember that the leaves are done in a matter of minutes.

Makes 4 Servings

1 lb ground chicken or pork
4 to 5 stalks of pechay, roughly chopped (around 3 to 4 cups)
5 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, finely sliced
1 cup chicken or pork stock
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsps vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Prepare pechay leaves by trimming ends and chopping to bite-sized pieces. Separate white ends from darker parts.

In a pan, heat vegetable oil. Over medium heat, saute onions and garlic until softened.

Add in ground meat. Saute ground meat until lightly browned. Spoon off natural oils that may have seeped from meat, except around one to two tablespoons. Pour in fish sauce. Continue to stir and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour in meat stock. Add more as necessary to simmer the meat in and to maintain one cup for when the dish is pulled together. Allow to simmer until meat is fully cooked. Skim off scum that may aggregate on top.

Add in white ends of pechay leaves. Cook for around one minute. Combine in dark parts of leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until leaves are slightly wilted, around one to two minutes.

 

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