I do love a meaty pinakbet but once and again a good shrimp pinakbet is the business. And true, the above photo looks as good as it tastes. It is just yummy for a happy tummy 🙂
Pinakbet originated in the Ilocos region of the Philippines. Because of the taste and goodness of the recipe, it was quickly adapted by the whole archipelago.
Here is a really scrumptious tasting recipe.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
2 pound prawns
1 medium ampalaya (bittergourd), deseeded and sliced
1 pound squash, peeled and cut into biggish cubes
1 medium size eggplant (aubergine)
100 g string beans, trimmed and cut into 1½ inches lengths
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
¼ cup bagoong na alamang (shrimp paste)
1 cup water
Method of Preparation:
Using a sauce pan (or preferably a heat-proof ceramic/earthenware pot for a more authentic feel), heat the oil and quickly fry the prawns in the garlic for a minute.
Add the ampalaya, squash, eggplant, tomato and onion.
Pour in the water.
Stir in the bagoong.
Cover the pan and allow to simmer until the vegetables are tender.
Check the seasoning, add a little patis if more salt is required!
This pinakbet is a visual delight and of course gustatory treat. The use of squash as serving container is optically very pleasing. (Though I do worry what would happen to the squash afterwards as it is rather wasteful of a good vegetable and yet would be unsanitary to reuse or cook. At least it is biodegradable and compostable) 🙁
Anyway, this pinakbet recipe of Kagay-Anon is delicious.
Ingredients:
4 round aubergines (eggplants), cut in half
2 medium bitter gourd (ampalaya), deseeded and quartered
100g string beans, cut into 2-inch length
1 small sweet potato (kamote), peeled thinly and then quartered
Cooking pinakbet is all about layering, therefore minimal stirring is required. The juices and sauce from each of the layers will drip down to the bottom layer and then it will get pour down into the dish when served. 🙂
In a large casserole pan, bring the water to a boil.
Stir in the anchovy sauce in to the hot water and bring it back into a boiling point.
Add the ginger and simmer for a minute.
Add the sweet potato, then eggplant, bitter gourd, string beans and okra.
On top, add the tomatoes and and onion.
Cover the casserole and simmer gently for quarter of an hour.
Add the bagnet or lechon kawali and cook for another 5 minutes
Serve hot in a squash as above or a lovely serving dish.
Enjoy with freshly boiled rice.
This can be made a vegetarian dish by not adding bagnet or lechon kawali. Still taste as good.
I was walking round Willesden, North West London, when I came across rows upons rows of shops selling vegetables. I was beside myself with joy and wonder when I found the ingredients that would make one of my favourite recipes of all time, the pride of the Ilocano people, Pinakbet. My version is without the bagoong, which unfortunately is the secret of a good pinakbet. 🙁 eh?!!! I added instead a good couple of tablespoons of patis (Thai fish sauce) and it worked like a dream! Yummy
Note: Ampalaya, a major ingredient, would taste rather bitter but as you eat a little bit more of it, you will find that it is delicious. Apparently ampalaya is a superfood, good for the containment of high blood pressure.
Ingredients
1/2 kg pork belly, cut in bite size pieces
1 large tomato, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic gloves, minced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium ampalaya (bitter gourd aka bitter melon),
1 large aubergine (eggplant)
12 pieces okra (ladies’ fingers)
2 tbsp patis or 1 1/2 tbsp fish bagoong like Padas
Method of Preparation:
Boil three cups of water and add the pork belly, bring back to a boil and then cover the pan, lower down the heat and simmer the pork for 10 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Cut the ampalaya, also known as bitter melon or gourd, in half. Remove the seeds by scouring the white bit that is covering the seeds. Then cut across into small pieces.
Cut the aubergine in half lenghtways and then crosswise and then into fish-finger- size pieces.
Top and tail the okras and then cut them in half.
While the pork is cooking, heat the cooking oil in a frying pan.
Add the garlic, the onions and tomatoes. Give them a good stir until the garlic, onion and tomato are soft and start to meld together.
From the other pan, take out the pork belly pieces and add them to the frying pan with the sauteing garlic, onion and tomato.
Do not discard the water from the pan where the pork pieces were being cooked. Instead add the ampalaya pieces to it and cook for two minutes.
Add the okra and then the aubergine.
Season with the two tablespoon of patis (fish sauce). It is also at this point when you need to add the fish bagoong if you are using it. What we used to do was to put the fish bagoong into a dish, take out a couple of tablespoon of water from the boiling pan. Mash the bagoong fish into the hot water and then pour the flavoured hot water back into the pan using a sieve. Discard any fish bone.
The pork should be nice and sauteed in the tomato and onion by now; transfer the pork into the pan of vegetables. Stir throughly.
Pinakbet or Pakbet is an Ilocano recipe but because it is really delicious the whole Philippines have adopted it as its own.
Pakbet is easy to cook but what makes it really special depends on the bagoong or buggoong (ilocano) – Salted fish that you use.
When we used to live in Marag people from Pagudpod or Ilocos Norte would come to Marag to sell salt and the Buggoong. They usually come with two or three types of Bagoong but the one called Padas was always the winner. It was so delicious that it was a treat to eat it with ripe tomatoes as our main dish with the ubiquitous boiled rice. I can almost taste it now!
If you are to go to Manila, please do try the Pinakbet! It is truly gourmet dining.
Pakbet or Pinakbet Recipe
http://www.filipinofoodrecipes.net/pakbet.htm
Estimated cooking time: 35 minutes
http://blauearth.com/tag/banga/
Pakbet Ingredients:
1/4 kilo pork with fat, cut into small pieces
2 Amapalya (bitter melons) sliced to bite size pieces
2 eggplants, sliced to bite size pieces
5 pieces of okra, cut in two
1 head garlic, minced
2 onions, diced
5 tomatoes, sliced
1 tablespoon of ginger, crushed and sliced
4 tablespoons bagoong isda or bagoong alamang
3 tablespoons of oil
1 1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Pakbet Cooking Instructions:
In a cooking pan, heat oil and fry the pork until brown, remove the pork from the pan and set aside.
On the same pan, saute garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes.
In a casserole, boil water and add bagoong.
Add the pork in the casserole and mix in the sautéed garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add in all the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are done, careful not to overcook.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with plain rice.
