Gising-Gising: Spicy Green Beans in Coconut Milk
Dan
Spicy Filipino vegetables | Coconut milk | Green beans
Gising-gising is creamy, spicy, salty, and full of snap, with green beans, pork, bagoong, and coconut milk made for a big scoop of rice.
Why make it: This version uses easy green beans instead of harder-to-find wing beans, with heat levels you can tune for the table.
Fresh From the Kitchen
What Is Gising-Gising?
Gising-gising is a Filipino vegetable dish often made with chopped beans, coconut milk, ground pork, chiles, and bagoong. The name means wake up, a nod to its heat.
Why You Will Love It
- Practical for U.S. kitchens: the recipe uses ingredients and substitutions a home cook can realistically shop for.
- Built for the table: the serving notes match how the dish usually lands in Filipino-American homes, from weeknights to merienda to parties.
- Flexible without erasing the dish: swaps are named clearly so the original idea stays visible.
- Easy to cook through: the shopping list, timings, and storage notes make the recipe straightforward to test and adjust.
Ingredient Notes
For the beans
Green beans are easy and keep a nice snap. Slice them small so they catch the coconut sauce.
For heat
Long green chiles bring aroma and mild heat; Thai chiles bring the wake-up call.
Gising-Gising Recipe
This version uses easy green beans instead of harder-to-find wing beans, with heat levels you can tune for the table.
Shopping List
- green beans
- ground pork
- coconut milk
- coconut cream
- bagoong
- onion
- garlic
- ginger
- long green chiles
- Thai chiles
- rice
Ingredients
Pork and Aromatics
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 8 ounces ground pork
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons bagoong
Beans and Coconut
- 1 pound green beans, finely sliced
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 2 long green chiles, sliced
- 1 to 3 Thai chiles, minced
For Serving
- Steamed rice
- Calamansi wedges, optional
- Extra chiles, optional
Instructions
- Brown the ground pork in oil until lightly crisp in spots.
- Add onion, garlic, and ginger and cook until fragrant.
- Stir in bagoong and let it cook into the pork.
- Add green beans and toss until glossy.
- Pour in coconut milk and simmer until the beans are tender-crisp.
- Add coconut cream and chiles and simmer until the sauce thickens.
- Taste and adjust with more bagoong or chiles before serving.
Nutrition Estimate
Approximate values per serving based on the listed ingredients and yield. Actual nutrition will vary by brand, exact portion size, and cooking changes.
Tips For The Best Gising-Gising
- Slice beans small: Small pieces make the dish spoonable over rice.
- Keep some crunch: Do not cook the beans until dull and soft.
- Simmer coconut gently: A hard boil can make the sauce separate.
- Control the chiles: Add Thai chiles in stages if your table has mixed heat tolerance.
How To Serve And Store
Serve hot with rice as a main vegetable dish or beside fried fish. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Common Questions
Can I make it without pork?
Yes. Use mushrooms, tofu crumbles, or more beans.
Can I use wing beans?
Yes. Slice them thinly and cook the same way.
Is bagoong required?
It gives the signature salty depth, but you can use fish sauce in a pinch.
Can I make it mild?
Use only long green chiles and skip Thai chiles.
How spicy should gising-gising be before it earns the name? Share your family version or testing notes in the comments.
Recipe inspiration and technique reference: Filipino home-cooking source research from Panlasang Pinoy, Kawaling Pinoy, and Filipino-American cooking sources in the site roadmap.
