Lunch Box Idea: Sitaw with Peanut Sauce & Bagoong

Aryanna and I love kare-kare! I don’t cook it often because the sauce is high in sodium; and since you can’t eat it without white rice, it’s also fattening. Kainis.

Last week, I had a revelation: I found a way to satisfy our kare-kare cravings without the extra calories.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is my version of a vegetable kare-kare:

Sitaw with Peanut Sauce & Bagoong

If your kids like vegetables, especially sitaw, they will love this dish!

Moms and dads will also like this recipe because it’s a no-brainer. The only cooking involved is steaming the sting beans. It only takes 10 minutes to prepare and cook this!

Ingredients:

1 bundle of sitaw (long green beans)
1 tbsp peanut sauce
1 tsp bagoong (small shrimp paste)

Tip: Choose the freshest sitaw

These two brands are my favorites. They have the right sweetness and saltiness I like in peanut sauce. The flavors are also strong so you only need a little to flavor any dish.

Tip: I use store-bought peanut sauce. You can buy them at the grocery or specialty stores.

I love this Gourmet Bagoong w/ Spicy Chocolate from Antonio’s in Tagaytay! For the kids, I use Barrio Fiesta’s Sweet Style Bagoong.

Tip: Use sweet style or regular bagoong for kids. For adults, go for the spicy bagoong.

Easy peasy:

Step 1: Rinse the sitaw well. Cut it 1-2 inches long.

You can use an electric steamer, a bamboo steamer or a metal steamer and a pot. For the sake of those who don’t know how to steam food/cook, you have to put the lid on the pot to steam the veggies.

Step 2: Steam the vegetable for 5 minutes or until cooked. Don’t overcook.

Tip: You can also add other steamed veggies to the recipe. You can try squash and eggplant just like what you would find in kare-kare.

Step 3: Mix 1 tbsp of peanut sauce and 1 tsp of bagoong. You don’t need much as the flavors are quite strong already. A little goes a long way.

Tip: Don’t use too much sauce as the sodium content is high.

Step 4: Add the cooked sitaw to the sauce

Step 5: Toss the veggies in the sauce

No need to serve it with rice. Eat it as salad!

Steamed sitaw is the bomb! It tastes good and healthy too!

Shoppingero/shoppingera, how much time do you have in the morning to prepare lunch box meals for your family?