Why Ginagmay is a Dish You Don’t Want to Miss!
Afritada is a famous dish in the
Philippines because of the delicious mix of meat and sauce in a plate; however,
in the big city of Davao, there is also a dish that resembles the Afritada,
only it uses ground pork and vegetables as its ingredients. It is called “Ginagmay”, from the Visayan word, “gagmay”, meaning small, referring to the
minced meat. As simple as it is, Davaoeños
crave for it because it is affordable, healthy, easy to eat, and easy to cook
all at the same time! It is an all-in-one kind of dish, revealing how Davaoeños,
or Filipinos in general, like things that give you more than what you pay for.
Unlike other Filipino dishes, Ginagmay is very easy to identify.
Imagine a plate with a splash of orange sauce plus the mixture of colourful
vegetables, which are carrots, peas, bell peppers, and potatoes. Because of the
exciting combination of colours, it catches your eye the moment you take a
first glance. You can even see the heat of the rice rising up from the plate,
as if it’s dancing around to invite you to come and eat it.
Not only is Ginagmay eye-catching, it also appeals
to the nose. As you smell the scent of the rice, you get a warm, comforting
feeling inside your system. The smell of the well-cooked pork and
fresh-from-the-farm vegetables makes you visualize where it came from – the
countryside. The aroma takes you to different places in your memory; it may be
to a farm you visited during your childhood days, in your grandmother’s garden,
or a rice field you just saw while in a highway, but wherever it may be, it is
surely a place that will remind you of nature. Considering that Davao City is a
place where nature is everywhere and the people are relaxed and not highly
stressed, gives it more reason why the Davaoeños long to eat this dish, because
Ginagmay matches their lifestyle and
personality.
Another reason
why Davaoeños love this dish is because it is easy to cook. All you need is a
half-kilo of ground pork, five cloves of garlic, onion, soy sauce, a piece of both
red and green bell pepper, carrots, green peas, and potatoes. First thing you
do is put two tablespoons of oil on a pan, and then put minced garlic and onion
after it is heated. We cook the ground pork next and wait till its colour turns
browner. We then pour in the soy sauce and water then let it simmer for a while.
Next, we add the vegetables which are the carrots, potatoes, and green peas.
Finally, put some salt to add flavour, and then it’s done. You may also put
some spices or seasoning you wish to add, according to your own preferred
taste.
Knowing how Ginagmay appeals to the sense of sight
and smell and how it’s done, you just can’t wait to taste it. The way it looks
and smells will seem nothing compared to how it feels when you finally get to
eat it. The moist and soft touch of the rice, the crunchy effect of the
vegetables, the juicy and flavorful ground pork in just one bite is too good to
be true. Each of the ingredients has different tastes, yet when combined all
together, they create a new, sensational sustenance that is more scrumptious
than their individual flavors.
Moreover,
because Davaoeños are the type of people who can just sit back, relax, and enjoy
delicious food, this ever-affordable and lip-smacking dish is one that will
surely blow them away. Nowadays, it is rare to find food that can give you
everything in just one plate, so make sure to taste Ginagmay, one of the best-tasting dish in Davao City, because it’s
surely a dish you don’t want to miss!
