🇵🇭 Filipino Cuisine

Ginataang Hipon

Shrimp in Coconut Milk

Prep Time 30 min

Servings 4

Difficulty Easy

Calories 380 kcal

Plump shrimp simmered in a luscious coconut milk sauce with squash, string beans, and bird's eye chilies — a creamy, mildly sweet Filipino seafood dish that showcases coconut at its best.

Ingredients

500g large shrimp, shell-on heads-on
400ml coconut milk
200ml coconut cream
200g squash (kalabasa), cubed
150g string beans (sitaw), cut into 2-inch pieces
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cm ginger, sliced
3 bird's eye chilies
1 tbsp fish sauce
Salt and pepper

Instructions

1 Sauté garlic, onion, and ginger in a pot until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2 Pour in coconut milk and bring to a gentle simmer.
3 Add squash cubes and cook 8 minutes until nearly tender.
4 Add string beans and cook 3 minutes.
5 Add shrimp and chilies. Simmer 5 minutes until shrimp are pink and curled.
6 Pour in coconut cream and fish sauce. Simmer 2 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice.

Did You Know?

Filipino cooks always cook shrimp with their heads on because the head fat melts into the coconut sauce, adding an incredible depth of umami that headless shrimp cannot provide.