Vegetable Upo with Ground Turkey and Shrimp (“Ginisang Upo”)

Want an easy meal that will be done in less than 30 minutes? This one is it! Bonus if your kids eat this. Mine did! In Tagalog, this dish is called Ginisang Upo and I grew up eating this dish because my mom would make it often. The ingredients are inexpensive, my Upo cost me under $2 and a little goes a long way.

Upo (“bottle gourd” in English because of its shape) is a type of squash but has a much softer texture once cooked. It kind of reminds me of chayote and has a similar taste to it as well. If I can’t find Upo, I’ll actually substitute it with chayote and it still tastes great.

You can find Upo at the produce section of any Asian market and it looks like this:

Here’s how to make this ridiculously easy and inexpensive weeknight recipe that requires very minimal ingredients and effort.

Ingredients:

• 1 large Upo (also known as “bottle gourd” in English. You can find this in the produce section at any asian market)
• 1/2 pound of organic lean ground turkey
• 10 pieces of large shrimp
• 1/2 large onion diced
• 5 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 cup of organic chicken broth
• 1 tbsp of fish sauce
• 1 tbsp of avocado oil
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Peel the Upo and cut it in half. You’ll need to remove the soft cushiony stuff in the middle. The best way to do this is is to run a sharp knife along the edges and then scrape it off with a spoon. Then cut it in half again and slice horizontally, about 2-3 inches in length. Set it aside.
2. Mince the garlic and set aside.
3. Chop up the onion and set aside.
4. On medium heat, add avocado oil in a sauté pan
5. Add garlic and onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn
6. Add the ground turkey and cook until brown
7. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and continue to stir
8. Add the chicken broth and put the lid on the pan for 2-3 minutes
9. Add the Upo and add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and stir
10. Set the Upo and ground turkey to one side of the pan and add the shrimp on the other side
11. Put the lid back on and let the shrimp cook for 2 minutes (shrimp cooks really fast)
12. Add the fish sauce and stir well
13. Serve with white rice