I cooked Ginisang Upo at Sardinas (sautéed bottle gourd with sardines) few days ago. Before I used to cook bottle gourd (upo) with meat and not sardines. I learned adding sardines through my co-parent in school. I didn’t cook it right away but when I watched a video cooking this bottle gourd with sardines, I decided to cook it for our lunch. The main two ingredients are available in our kitchen so, I didn’t think twice of cooking it.
After just a short cooking, my sautéed bottle gourd (aka white squash, upo in tagalog) with sardines was ready to eat. My co-parent said it’s a simple food but healthy and yummy. Well, she was right and it is tasty with sardines. My daughter ate this food with me so I was very happy.

Ingredients:
- Bottle gourd (upo)
- 1 Mega Sardine
- Garlic
- Onion
- Tomato
- Oil
- Water
- Salt and Pepper to taste
How to cook?
- Heat the pan then add little oil. Sautee onion, garlic and tomato.
- When it’s done, add bottle gourd and little water. Season with salt and pepper. Cover
- When the gourd is cooked, add a can of sardine. Wait for 1-2 minutes and it is done.
- Serve hot with rice.
Bottle gourd (Upo) with sardines is a simple food. It is easy to cook and ingredients are already in your kitchen. So it is not expensive to cook this menu. This viand is a simple one but it is healthy and affordable. Try it!