This Filipino Pork Giniling Recipe is one of the easiest yet most flavourful dish you can make from ingredients that are probably available in your kitchen. Just put together ground or minced pork and diced carrots, frozen peas and corn then tomato sauce and you’re in for a surprisingly tasty and hearty dish.
This is probably one of my most favorite dish in the world. And I am not exaggerating. I remember that I love this so much that even when I was in my I-don’t-want-to-eat-anything phase when I was a kid, if this is what’s on the table, I am sold! I bet my Ma was probably secretly rejoicing as well as it was the only time I was eating my carrots and peas. Win-win!
Then for my high school years, I lived in a dorm were we had catered meals from the cafeteria. If they were serving their Pork Giniling recipe, the food queue was always long. So I guess it wasn’t just me who love this dish. (Or maybe this was one of the decent meals they served us there; that’s a possibility).
But because they knew we liked it, it was the only meal that’s in the menu every week. If my memory serves me right, it was always our dinner on Fridays (or maybe Thursday dinner or Friday lunch, but it doesn’t matter). We had it weekly for ten months each year and for my four years of high school!
Despite that, I never got tired of it. And when I started cooking the same Pork Giniling recipe at home, my hubby loves it so much that often, he ends up eating maybe 80% of it. Oh he doesn’t know that so let’s NOT tell him, alright?
Oh enough of that and let us start cooking. The proof is in the pudding!
How to make this Pork Giniling Recipe
This Ground Pork recipe is a descendant of the Picadillo of the Latin America. My best guess is – it is Spanish in origin as that is the common denominator of the countries with this dish. They have similar ingredients and cooking method.
The Filipino version though is adjusted to the Filipino taste and preference. The flavour profile of most Pinoy dish is a delicate balance between sweet, salty and sour
Filipino Ground Pork Recipe Ingredients
Ground Pork – This dish has so many variations and all of them hearty and tasty. It has a ground meat component; I cooked with pork more often. I find that ground meat has the tendency to be drier and because this is more of a stew, I like the flavour of pork better. If you like beef more, you can easily substitute.
Vegetables – Then we have the vegetables. My go-to veggies for a pork giniling recipe are carrots and peas. Then sometimes I do corn or potatoes (diced) and green and red bell pepper. In this recipe, I didn’t add potato and bell pepper in line with my aim to make the recipes I share as simple as possible. Below, I have alternative ingredients and instructions in case you want additional steps (and you are up for it).
Sauce – Then the sauce that ties all the ingredients together and lends the sour component. And this is where you will understand why I put raisin. As mentioned above, it is all about the Filipino dish flavour profile. Raisin provides that sweet burst of flavour in a sour dish.
Others – Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room! Raisins! Really, raisins? I know people who hate raisins but that doesn’t stop me from adding raisins (evil laugh). My sister-in-law doesn’t like them so she just remove them if she wants to eat what I cooked. I think (I am not sure) she loves my cooking though so she is fine with that. My sister on the other hand is a different story.
Cooking Pork Giniling Recipe
- In a pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the minced Garlic and lower to low medium heat. Stir fry the garlic until golden brown. If you are not familiar with my food blog or my cooking style, I always suggest to brown the garlic first before proceeding with onions or other ingredients. I believe that cooking my garlic (without burning it) is the secret to tastier dishes.
- Add diced Onions and continue to stir for about a minute until onions are starting to go limp. Add ground pork and cook for 5 minutes, breaking them into pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Pro-Tip: Season as you cook and at the end. I especially season some ingredients as they hit the pan (or wok or pot). That includes ground meat and mushrooms. Seasoning right away allows them to absorb the flavour right away and thus tastier dishes as well.
- Add the diced Carrots and stir together with the meat. Allow the carrots to cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the frozen Peas and Corn. Important Note: If you are using fresh peas and/or corn, add them together with the raisins towards the end.
- Allow to simmer for a few minutes or until the peas and corn are not frozen anymore. Add the tomato sauce (see below for special note on tomato sauce) and mix thoroughly. Simmer for 3-4 minutes before adding the raisins.
- Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper again. Simmer for another 3-4 minutes and serve.
Beyond the basic Pork Giniling Recipe
As mentioned above, you can make this recipe with additional or substitute ingredients and/or additional steps. I can’t say that it will make the dish better – because it will depend on the individual’s taste and preference.
If you are adding ingredients to this recipe as per below, you have to adjust the measurements of the other ingredients. Else the balance of the meat to vegetables will be affected. Plus the sauce and seasoning will have to be adjusted as well.
That is the reason I mentioned that making this dish beyond the basic recipe takes a more seasoned approach. If you are a beginner cook or you are doing this dish for the first time, I suggest that you do the basic Pork Giniling Recipe first as listed in this recipe. After that, you can start with experimenting by adding or substituting ingredients.
Ingredient Options
Potatoes
Some of the Pork Giniling Recipe you will find will have dice Potato. I don’t usually put potatoes as it is harder to maintain the consistency of the potatoes. This is especially true for first timers and I don’t want you to get disheartened. Even I, and I have been been cooking this dish for a long time, struggles sometimes. I end up with either overcooked and therefore mushy potatoes or hard, undercooked ones. That’s often a concern for multi-ingredient like this.
IMHO, it also diminishes the flavour of this pork giniling recipe. However, if you like potatoes, it won’t hurt. It will just change the flavour and the texture but totally a preference.
One thing I do though if I really want to put potato in this dish – or in a similar dish, I brown the diced potatoes first similar to hash brown. Two things – first it doesn’t absorb the liquid as much and therefore doesn’t get mushy and/or alter the flavour a lot. Second, the crunchy exterior provides a different texture and another layer of flavour. The downside though is additional step (and a little bit more complicated).
Steps: In the same pan but before starting with Step 1 (or you can do it in a separate skillet), put a tablespoon of Vegetable Oil and heat in medium to medium high heat. Add the diced potatoes and stir occasionally until they start to brown. Take them out (if using the same pan) and set aside in a bowl. Add them to the dish together with the raisins.
Bell pepper
I am not a bell pepper eater, sorry. I think the only time I enjoy green bell pepper is in a Greek salad. I didn’t add this to the basic recipe of this pork giniling recipe as it also alters the flavour. However, bell pepper is nutrition-packed and is a great addition to a healthy diet. It also has a flavour of it’s own that it unashamedly shares with the dish that you add it to. So if you like bell pepper’s benefits and flavour, it is also a superb addition to this dish.
Spaghetti Sauce
When I say spaghetti sauce, I specifically mean the Filipino Spaghetti Sauce. The difference is that the Pinoy version is usually sweet. As mentioned above, this Filipino Pork Giniling Recipe is different because of the delicate balance of sweet-sour-salty flavour. I discovered that my is tastier when I use the sweet spaghetti sauce compared to using tomato sauce. My hubby, who usually doesn’t care about flavours much can tell the difference. So I know it was a huge difference in flavour.
Sugar
If you can’t get your hands on a Filipino Spaghetti Sauce, add a tablespoon or two of sugar to the Tomato Sauce. I suggest to start with 1 tablespoon first as it will depend on the kind of tomato sauce you are using. Some tomato sauce are more sour than others thus needs more sugar to balance the taste.
Pork Giniling Recipe
Description
This Filipino Pork Giniling Recipe is one of the easiest and tastiest dish you can make from ingredients that are most probably available in your kitchen. Just put together ground or minced pork and diced carrots, frozen peas and corn then some tomato sauce and you're in for a surprisingly flavourful and hearty dish.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the minced Garlic and lower to low medium heat. Stir fry the garlic until golden brown.
Add diced Onions and continue to stir for about a minute until onions are starting to go limp. Add ground pork and cook for 5 minutes, breaking them into pieces. Season with salt and pepper
Add the diced Carrots and stir together with the meat. Allow the carrots to cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the frozen Peas and Corn.
Allow to simmer for a few minutes or until the peas and corn are not frozen anymore. Add the tomato sauce and mix thoroughly. Simmer for 3-4 minutes before adding the raisins.
Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper again. Simmer for another 3-4 minutes and serve.
Serving Size 140 g
Servings 10
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 247kcal
- Calories from Fat 129kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 14g22%
- Saturated Fat 5g25%
- Cholesterol 43mg15%
- Sodium 187mg8%
- Potassium 404mg12%
- Total Carbohydrate 22g8%
- Dietary Fiber 3g12%
- Sugars 10g
- Protein 12g24%
- Vitamin A 51 IU
- Vitamin C 13 mg
- Calcium 4 mg
- Iron 8 mg
- Vitamin E 3 IU
- Vitamin K 11 mcg
- Thiamin 36 mg
- Riboflavin 13 mg
- Niacin 18 mg
- Vitamin B6 21 mg
- Folate 9 mcg
- Vitamin B12 7 mcg
- Pantothenic Acid 7 mg
- Phosphorus 17 mg
- Magnesium 8 mmol
- Zinc 11 mcg
- Selenium 22 mg
- Copper 7 mg
- Manganese 10 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption. source: https://nutritiondata.self.com
Notes
For ingredient substitution or addition options, please see blog above.
