Heat oil in a deep pan or kawali over medium heat at 180°C/350°F. Once the oil is hot, add minced garlic (bawang) and cook for 1 minute until it turns light golden brown (ginintuan ang kulay). Watch carefully as garlic burns quickly.

Add the finely diced onions (sibuyas) to the golden garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions become translucent (malinaw ang kulay). The onions should be soft but not browned.

Add the ground pork (giniling na baboy) to the pan. Using a wooden spoon (sandok), break up any large lumps of meat. Cook at 175°C/350°F for 7-8 minutes until the pork is nicely browned (lutong-luto). You want the meat to develop a good color for better flavor.

Sprinkle ground black pepper (paminta) over the browned meat and stir well. Add the shrimp paste (bagoong alamang) and cook for another minute, stirring to distribute it evenly throughout the meat.

Add the finely chopped bird's eye chilies (siling labuyo). Start with fewer chilies if you prefer less heat – you can always add more later. Remember, authentic gising gising should wake up your taste buds (dapat nagigising ang panlasa).

Pour in the fresh coconut milk (kakang gata). Reduce heat to medium-low (165°C/330°F) and bring to a gentle simmer (pakuluan ng dahan-dahan). Never let it reach a rolling boil as this can cause the coconut milk to separate. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce begins to thicken (lumapot ang sabaw).

Transfer to a serving bowl (mangkok) and garnish with chopped green onions (dahon ng sibuyas) and fried garlic bits (sinangag na bawang) if desired. Serve immediately while hot with steaming white rice (mainit na kanin).