Giniling Filipino Picadillo

Picadillo is one of my favorite dishes. Be it some Caribbean style like our Puerto Rican Picadillo or Mexican Picadillo or this Filipino version of the same popular and famous dish. It just takes on different colors, flavors and tastes everywhere it goes! Ground meat comes to my rescue when it’s a busy weekday evening and I want to put some decent meal on table, without spending too much time in the kitchen. With its versatility and quick cooking time, it’s the perfect ingredient for whipping up a delicious dish in no time. Enter Giniling, the Filipino-style picadillo and new flavor bomb in my kitchen. Its sweet, tangy and umami flavors are finger-licking delicious, and loved by all in my family.

What is Giniling?

Giniling is the Tagalog term for ‘ground meat’. What chili is to Americans, giniling is to most Filipinos. It’s one of the simplest Filipino dishes, yet is bursting with beautiful pinoy flavors. It’s their ultimate comfort food that they grew up eating for weeknight meals or sharing with large crowds during special celebration times. Like menudo and asado, giniling is also a tomato based stew, one of Spain’s legacies to its colonies. The sautéing of onions, garlic and tomatoes in oil is similar to the preparation of sofrito in Spanish culture. Traditionally, giniling is made with ground pork, but many love to make it with ground beef, and it’s not that rare to see some ground chicken version of the same dish. Ground pork along with loads of veggies is simmered in a delicious tomato based sauce until all the flavors mingle together to create an amazingly delicious dish. Many prefer the addition of raisins or even pineapple bits to add sweetness to the concoction. It’s very similar to the Spanish version, except it has Asian staples like soy sauce and fish sauce and it excludes the green olives and capers you find in some Caribbean countries. It’s almost always served with hard boiled eggs (yes, sounds weird but somehow it works awesome). Sound interesting? Let’s get cooking.

Ingredinets Needed

Ground pork – As I pointed out before, you can use the same recipe for ground beef, ground chicken or half & half pork and beef. Veggies – Onions, carrots, potatoes, bell peppers and peas. Sauces – Soy sauce, fish sauce, tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Tomato paste Garlic Raisins Salt & pepper Oil

How to cook Filipino Picadillo

Once I gather all the ingredients, it’s pretty straightforward to make this giniling in one pot. I chop all the veggies into small pieces. Then, I heat oil in a pan and sauté the onion until it’s soft and translucent. Next, I add in the garlic and cook it for a couple of minutes. Then, it’s time to add the ground pork and cook it, stirring and breaking it up with a spatula until it’s no longer pink. After that, I add in the tomato paste along with the tomato sauce, black pepper, and soy sauce. I mix everything well and let it cook for 5 minutes. Finally, I add in the carrots and potatoes along with half a cup of water and let it cook for 10 minutes. I toss in the bell peppers, peas, raisins, and a bit of sugar if needed to balance out the tanginess of the tomatoes. Then, I add in the fish sauce and mix everything together until well combined. You can add half cup more water if the mixture is getting too dry. Giniling is supposed to be a semi-dry dish, not too soupy and not too dry. I let the stew simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Meanwhile, I boil some eggs until they’re hard-boiled. Once everything’s ready, I serve the giniling with sliced eggs on top of a plate of rice. Pinoy food is extremely flavorful and tasty. Check out my other Filipino Recipes and find out about this great cuisine. Let me know if you try my version of Giniling and share these new flavors with your friends and family.