Giniling na Baka, Turo-Turo Style
Remember this dish? If you’re Filipino and grew up in the Philippines, you would. If not, check out a cheap carinderia or turo-turo in any street corner in Metro Manila and chances are you’ll find it. It’s cheap, it can feed a crowd depending on three variables: how much rice you servewith it; how much potatoes are in the dish and how salty you make the dish. It has raisins to satisfy that infamous Filipino sweet tooth. Now do you remember?
Funny how I forgot about this dish until I was reading some Pinoy college kids’ blog where it was mentioned. I served this particular one with steamed brown rice which turned out to be a good pairing. Actually, Spouse liked it very much and asked me why I never cooked it before. Well, now I have…
Giniling na Baka, Turo-Turo Style
1 lb. ground beef, low-fat
2 tbsps. cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed
1 small red onion, chopped
2 tbsps. fish sauce
2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tbsps. tomato paste
1-2 tbsps. soy sauce, depending on taste
1/2 c. water
3 small new potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. raisins
salt and pepper
Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add garlic and stir fry till almost, but not quite brown. Add onions and cook till translucent. Add ground beef and cook till the pink is gone from the meat. Add fish sauce and stiry fry another minute or two. Add tomatoes, cover and cook about 2 mintues or until tomatoes are tender enough to mash and incorporate into cooking meat. Add the soya sauce, tomato paste and stir well. Add the water, potatoes and carrots. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover and allow to simmer over moderately low heat about 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook covered until peppers are crips-tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Comments
hi john, that yellow rice is just brown rice that was steamed like ordinary rice…the color is natural…
Thank God! this is my first self-cooked recipe here abroad. i cooked this recipe for my week-long meal (i’m not kidding!). believe it ot not, i made this page my screensaver!!! thank you, Mita!
thank you so much, Peachy! it’s feedback like yours that makes blogging worthwhile. try the sinigang recipes too…they are not all that difficult and there are substitute veggies available easily in any supermarket there that work really well…
hi! tried cooking this one..hubby and daughter loved it! had one problem though. after it was cooked, it was a bit too oily. is this normal?
hi grace, thank you for coming to the site and leaving a comment. i suggest you get the lean ground beef instead of the regular one. it costs more but you get much more meat for your money and less waste.
mita thank you for this recipe…indeed it was great. I cooked it myself,and maybe thats what you called beginners luck, my roomate loves it!.Im so happy with the outcome.bonna petit!
thanks GOD you save my day coz i dont know what is the recipe of this menu.but with your help MITA i made it perfectly!yahoooooo…. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MAY GOD BLESS YOU MORE MENU
After cooking, and loving Adobo, a close Filipino friend suggested this recipe, and after reading it, it does sound good…until you get to the raisin part…is this an integral part of the recipe? I dont really have a problem with them, but they arent really a favorite. Ive been trying to imagine how this would taste, and would love to know if anyone has experimented with it w/o that one ingredient. If its important to the overall taste however, ill bite the bullet 
Is this dish then, have more of a “sweet” taste?
Thanks in advance!
Doug, I’m afraid it is. But go ahead and experiment. Try it with just a handful or even less. There’s another recipe similar to this using pork, without the raisins AND turned into a frittata. Here’s the link: http://unofficialcook.com/recipes/packed-lunch-omelette/
May I suggest you also try the sinigang recipes I have here. They are very Filipino. Start with the shrimp sinigang. Here’s the link: http://unofficialcook.com/recipes/everyday-filipino-shrimp-sinigang-for-one/
hi mita! i want to make this for dinner tonite but i don’t have tomato paste, can i use tomato sauce instead? will it affect the taste? how much tomato sauce should i use?
thanks a lot and God bless your cooking!
Einna, yes you can use tomato sauce. ELiminate the fresh tomatoes then and use a regular can of tomato sauce. I use the fresh tomato for freshness and the paste for thickening. Cook it down longer to thicken, the taste shouldn’t change too much. Experiment a little the next time you try this recipe too, if you want it saucier, use a bigger can of sauce. or try it with canned diced tomatoes…it all depends on your tastes really…
Hi Mita,
thanks for posting this recipe, my husband grew up in the philippines (i grew up here in the US) and I remember my late father -in -law cooking “giniling na baka”. Unfortunately, i never did asked him for the recipe. I’m going to cook it tonight for dinner as a surprise for my husband, I’m sure he will love it since it looks so similar to what his father used to make. He will be happy to have something that reminds him of his dad.. thank you!! I’ll let you know how it turns out..
hehe thanks for the recipe ive been recently craving this though i work in a filipino restaurant, they have a more different taste without the raisens
i have been wanting to learn what the recipe is with the raisens and here i found it 
thank you 
i cooked this before, using your recipe but with pork and without the raisins! my roomies love it – one of them is Swiss-Filipino but grew up around the world except Philippines (unlucky! haha) and the other is from Ecuador! we loved this recipe so much that i am planning to cook it again tonight! now, with beef and raisins! i got some garbanzos in the fridge, do u think i can put some of that in, too??
happy hearts from Australia!
Aloha,
My girls loved this recipe! I made one minor change though, I used half pork and half beef which still turned out wonderfully. Mahalo!
Due to my limited culinary skills (and limited availability of Asian ingredients in this area), I’ve been searching for quick and easy recipes for my family. Can’t thank you enough for putting up this site. Tried this recipe for lunch and the kids loved it! Even my picky 3 year old was eating the veggies. Left some for my hubby to try it out later. Can’t wait to try out the other dishes. Will keep you posted. Many thanks!!!
I made this recipe for my family of picky eaters and they ALL loved it!. I didn’t have tomato paste so I used 3 Tablespoons of tomato sauce. No added salt or pepper. Thanks so much for posting this fantastic recipe!
adding tomato sauce made it taste like spaghetti sauce. I suggest to go straight tomato paste if you want an authentic giniling taste.
I just recently tried this dish, and the taste was great. This is my first dish that i’ve tried cooking, and i’m pleased with the result.
Thanks Mita for the recipe. =)