Ginataang Kalabasa is a Filipino vegetarian recipe that is mixed with coconut milk, kabocha squash, and malunggay (moringa) leaves. This Filipino stew dish is best to eat and serve with rice.

A Filipino vegetarian stew recipe Ginataang Kalabasa mixed with coconut milk, squash, and malunggay (moringa) leaves served on a plate bowl.

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What is Ginataang Kalabasa?
Recipe Ingredients
Things to do First
Cooking Instruction
Variation
Related Filipino Vegetable Recipes
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In Southeast Asian cuisines, coconut milk or cream is considered one of the most common ingredients used in their dishes. They used it in their vegetables, meat, or stew recipes. I love any dishes that are mixed with coconut milk since it makes the dish creamy and it adds a sweet and umami flavor.

In the Philippines, we add coconut milk when making the chicken dish (haling-halang or Bicol express) or vegetable dishes. And one of my favorite Filipino vegetarian recipes that are mixed with that ingredient is Ginataang Kalabasa with Malunggay.

What is Ginataang Kalabasa?

Ginataang Kalabasa is a Filipino vegetable stew dish in which the main ingredient is a kabocha squash and coconut milk. The word Ginataang comes from a Filipino word meaning “cooked with coconut milk”. On the other hand, the word Kalabasa in English is squash.

This coconut milk with squash stew dish has different variations, which you can add boneless meats or other additional vegetables like malunggay (moringa leaves) or sitaw (green beans). In this post, I am adding malunggay to my recipe.

The onion and garlic are sauteed in oil, and then the squash is added. After that, the coconut milk or cream will be poured into the pot, and then add the moringa leaves as the last step. To enhance the flavor, fish sauce is added to my recipe.

Recipe Ingredients

Here are the ingredients I used to make this delicious Ginataang Kalabasa with Malunggay:

Squash- I am using the Kabocha squash which is common in the Philippines.
Moringa Leaves
Fish Sauce- This is a popular Asian condiment that is found in most Grocery stores.
Coconut Milk
Herbs- Garlic, Red Onion, and Ginger

Things to do First

Make sure you remove the skin of the squash before cooking. This will help cook the squash faster.
This recipe can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Cooking Instruction

Here is how to cook this delicious Filipino coconut milk with squash and malunggay.

Firstly, I add vegetable oil to the pot. Once it becomes hot, saute the onion, garlic, and ginger.

Next, I added the chopped squash & water, and let it simmer till it becomes soft. After that, I pour the coconut milk and fish sauce into the pot.

Lastly, add the moringa leaves and gently stir to mix. You will observe the sauce will become thick and creamy. Make sure you serve it with rice.

Variation

You can use coconut cream instead of coconut milk, but it is fattier.
You can add meats like boneless chicken, pork, shrimp, or fish
Instead of malunggay, you can switch with other vegetables such as sitaw ( green long beans), okra, or eggplant.
If you don't have fish sauce, you can use bagoong (fermented shrimp paste). It will enhance the flavor of the coconut milk.

Here are other delicious Filipino vegetarian and vegetable-based recipes that you can make at home:

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