GINATAANG SITAW AT KALABASA W/ FRIED TEMPEH

Green beans and squash stewed in a luscious ginger-chilies-coconut cream sauce. Salt-and-pepper fried tempeh. Baon game level up.

Hit up Heart of the City Farmers Market or Alemany Farmers Market in the summertime and you'll be greeted by a cornucopia of Asian vegetables grown by Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Lao, and Thai farmers. All for the taking at budget-friendly prices.

1) COOK THE SQUASH:
In a medium pot, bring 6 cups of water to a rapid boil.
Salt the water.
Throw in 1 small to medium kalabasa squash, cubed.
Bring heat to medium-low.
Turn off the heat once the squash is tender, approx. 8 minutes.
Reserve the cooking water.

2) PAN FRY THE TEMPEH (OPTIONAL):
In a cast-iron skillet, heat up 2 tbsp. coconut oil.
Fry up 1 lb. tempeh, cut into cubes.
Season with salt and pepper
Once it's nice and brown on all sides, remove from skillet and set aside.

3) STIR-FRY THE VEGETABLES:
In the same cast-iron skillet, heat up another 1 tbsp.coconut oil.
Toss in the ginger slices, approx. 6-8 pieces 1" length.
Mix in 1 medium red onion, chopped. Add salt to help release juices. Cook for a good 2-4 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring frequently.
Once onion is semi-transluscent, mix in 6 cloves of chopped garlic.
Mix in 1 small jalapeño, diced (deseed the jalapeño, if you are sensitive to heat like my partner is)

Let the vegetables soften and almost caramelize.

Toss in 1 lb. of long beans, chopped to approx. 2" in length.

Season with salt and pepper.

4) BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Spoon 3-4 ladles of the reserved squash cooking broth. (Liquid should remain shallow and not exceed the vegetable mixture.)

Stir and let cook for 2 minutes.

With liquid slightly reduced, spoon in 2 tbsp. of Korean fermented soy bean paste. This is in place of fermented shrimp paste or bagoong, which is typically used in Filipino cooking. Mix to incorporate.

Add 1/2 cup coconut cream.

Add 1 cup squash. Mix well to fully incorporate and mash lightly. Coconut cream should turn a bright yellow. 

Let it simmer.
Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Drizzle with Silver Swan soy sauce to taste. (This is optional but highly recommended.)
Add 1/2 cup reserved whole squash chunks.

5) SERVE:
Pick out the ginger slices and discard.
Serve with salt-and-pepper pan-fried tempeh and steaming hot jasmine rice.

Boom. Mic drop.

(Disclaimer: All measurements are eyeballed approximations.)