"PINAKBET"

Pinakbet or Pakbet

               

                   Pinakbet or pakbet is a popular Ilocano dish, from the northern region of the Philippines, although it has become popular throughout the archipelago. The word is the contracted form of the Ilocano word pinakebbet, meaning "shrunk" or "shriveled". The original Ilocano pinakbetuses bagoong("bugguong" in Ilokano), of fermented monamon or other fish, while further south, bagoong alamang is used. The basic vegetables used in this dish include native bitter melon, eggplant, tomato, okra, string beans , chili peppers, parda, winged beans, and others. Root crops and some beans like camote, patani, kadios are also optionally added. The young pod of malunggay is also added. It is usually spiced with ginger, onions, or garlic. A Tagalog version usually includes Calabaza.

If you want the recipe...

Ingredients

1/4 kilo pork with fat (cut into very small pieces)
3 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 cup water
2 medium size Ampalaya (cut into 8 pieces each)
2 medium size eggplants (cut into 8 pieces each)
6 pieces okra (halved)
6 pieces tomatoes (quartered)
1 small garlic head (minced)
2 small onions (diced)
1 small ginger (sliced)
4 tablespoons bagoong isda
Pinch of pepper

Procedure

In a pan, cook pork until lightly crispy, set aside.
Saute garlic, onion, tomatoes, and ginger in the pork fat and mix in pork.
In a pot, boil water with bagoong.
Add in the pork and spices.
Add all the vegetables and cook.
Serve hot.