Ayoko ng BaboyPork-free Filipino recipes

Ginataang Hipon (Shrimp in Coconut Milk with Squash and Beans)

Plump shrimp simmered with kalabasa and string beans in a glossy coconut milk sauce, perfumed with ginger and chili. A naturally pork-free Filipino ginataan that turns a handful of ingredients into dinner.

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A bowl of coconut milk, the base for ginataang hipon, beside fresh ginger and aromatics
Prep15 min
Cook25 min
Total40 min
Serves4
DifficultyEasy

Ingredients

  • 600 g medium or large shrimp, head-on, peeled and deveined (leave tails on if you like)
  • 400 g kalabasa (kabocha or butternut squash), peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks
  • 1 bunch sitaw (long string beans), cut into 5 cm lengths
  • 1 can (400 ml) coconut milk (gata)
  • 1/2 cup coconut cream (kakang gata), or the thick top of a second can
  • 1 thumb-size piece ginger, peeled and julienned
  • 1 medium onion, sliced thin
  • 5 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 to 2 finger chilies (siling haba), left whole
  • 2 tbsp patis (fish sauce), plus more to taste
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 1 cup loosely packed malunggay (moringa) leaves, or spinach
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the ginger, onion, and garlic and cook gently for 3 minutes until soft and fragrant. Do not let the garlic brown, since bitter garlic will haunt the whole pot.
  2. Pour in the coconut milk (keep the thick cream for later) and add the whole finger chilies. Bring it to a lazy simmer, not a boil, so the milk stays smooth instead of splitting.
  3. Slip in the kalabasa and simmer uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until a fork meets just a little resistance at the center of each piece.
  4. Add the sitaw and the patis. Simmer another 5 minutes until the beans are bright green and crisp-tender and the squash is fully fork-tender.
  5. Slip the shrimp into the pot and tuck them under the sauce. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until they turn pink and curl. Do not walk away, since overcooked shrimp turn rubbery fast.
  6. Pour in the coconut cream and simmer gently for 2 minutes until the sauce is glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Taste and adjust with more patis, salt, or a small squeeze of calamansi if you have one.
  7. Turn off the heat. Fold in the malunggay or spinach and let the residual heat wilt the leaves for about a minute. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Ginataang hipon is what you cook when you want dinner on the table in under an hour and you still want it to feel like a treat. Sweet shrimp, sunny kalabasa, and snap-bright sitaw become tender in a coconut milk sauce that is silky enough to spoon over rice. It is a cousin of our ginataang gulay, but here the shrimp step forward and the vegetables back them up.

The trick with any ginataan is heat control. Coconut milk wants a gentle, lazy simmer, never a hard boil, or it splits into oil and grainy solids and the sauce loses its velvet feel. The shrimp want the opposite attention: a short, confident cook so they stay sweet and snappy instead of going rubbery. Get those two timings right and the rest of the pot takes care of itself.

If your shrimp come head-on, you have a small gift. The heads hold most of the flavor, so let them simmer in the coconut milk a minute before the bodies go in, then either leave them on for the eaters who love them or pull them out before serving. Either way the sauce comes out deeper.

Cook’s notes

  • Pat the shrimp dry. Wet shrimp leak water into the sauce and turn it gray. A quick blot with paper towels before they hit the pot makes a real difference.
  • Cut the kalabasa evenly. Same-size chunks cook at the same rate, so no piece turns to mush while another stays firm. Peel hard squash with a sturdy knife on a flat cut side, not wobbling on its round.
  • Mind the order of operations. Squash first, beans second, shrimp third, cream last, greens off the heat. This is the sequence that keeps every ingredient at its best texture.
  • Sour finish (optional). A squeeze of calamansi or a few drops of vinegar right at the end lifts the richness. Add it after the heat is off so the citrus stays bright.
  • Make it ahead. The coconut base and squash keep well overnight and the flavor deepens. Cook the shrimp and greens fresh when you reheat, since reheated shrimp go tough and greens go gray.

For a fuller seafood spread, pair this with the sweet-and-sour Fish Escabeche, or follow it with a warm Leche Flan for dessert. The coconut milk technique also carries into vegetable territory in our ginataang gulay. Every recipe on Ayoko ng Baboy follows the same rule: honest Filipino cooking, always without pork.

Questions about this recipe

Can I use frozen shrimp?

Yes. Thaw them overnight in the fridge or under cool running water, then pat very dry before they go into the pot. Wet shrimp water down the coconut sauce and turn it cloudy.

Why leave the shells on, and why take them off?

Head-on shell-on shrimp give the sauce more flavor and look generous on the plate. Peeled shrimp are easier to eat. A common middle ground is to peel the body but leave the head and tail on. If you shell them fully, drop the heads into the coconut milk for a minute and fish them out before serving to wring out every bit of flavor.

How do I keep the coconut milk from splitting?

Keep the heat at a low, steady simmer and stir now and then. A hard boil splits coconut milk into oil and grainy curds. The thick coconut cream goes in only at the end for a glossy finish.

Is this dish halal?

It is pork-free by design, since nothing here comes from a pig. For a fully halal meal, confirm your patis and coconut milk brands with the same label-checking you would for any packaged product.

Sources

Reading behind the recipe

Shrimp is where guesswork gets expensive. The thawing and doneness notes above follow public guidance instead of kitchen lore.