Pinakbet Dish is a Filipino vegetable dish. It is composed of a variety of vegetables and it also has a protein component in fact.
I made use of Lechon kawali or crispy deep-fried pork belly for this recipe. This recipe is a variation of the popular Pinakbet Ilocano in fact.
The difference between the two versions has something to do with the type of bagoong used in fact.
Especially, The Tagalog version makes use of bagoong alamang or shrimp paste.
In fact, it is made from krill, which are small shrimp-like crustaceans found in the waters of Asia.
The Ilocano version uses fermented fish or bagoong isda in fact.
Bagoong Terong and Bagoong Monamon are the common fermented fish used to cook it in fact.
Using the freshest vegetables is ideal for pinakbet. This dish is best paired with fried fish in fact.
Pinakbet Dish: How to cook
Specifically, Start by sautéing onion and garlic. I also add ginger to my pakbet Tagalog. This is an optional ingredient.
Make sure that the onion softens before adding pork.
The pork in this recipe is the Lechon kawali. You may also use bagnet, fresh pork, or even leftover fried pork.
Saute the pork for 1 to 2 minutes and then add water. Let the water boil. Add Knorr Shrimp Cube.
This ingredient gives our pinakbet that nice shrimp taste in fact. Specifically, This is the point where the pork needs to be tenderized by boiling in water.
Do this by covering the pot and cook the pork until tender. That will be 20 minutes for Lechon kawali and 40 minutes for fresh pork.
Add the tomato and bagoong alamang. Cook this for a few minutes and then add the kalabasa and kamote.
These veggies are added first because these take longer to cook than the others. 7 minutes should be enough to initially cook these.
Add the remaining vegetables and cook for 5 minutes. I also intentionally kept the crunchy parts of the Lechon kawali for this step.
It gives the dish a nice texture when added towards the end of the cooking process.
Season with ground black pepper and serve this with warm white rice. You may also add extra water if you want more sauce on your pinakbet.
Pinakbet Dish: Instructions
Heat cooking oil in a pot. Saute onion and garlic. Add ginger and continue to cook until the onion softens.
Add lechon kawali. Saute for 1 minute.
Then pour water. Let boil.
Add Knorr Shrimp Cube. Cover the pot and cook in medium heat for 20 minutes.
Add tomato and bagoong alamang. Stir. Cover the pot. Cook for 3 minutes.
Put the kalabasa and kamote into the pot. Cook for 7 minutes.
Add sitaw, okra, ampalaya, then eggplant. Stir. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes.
Season with ground black pepper and add remaining lechon kawali. Cook for minutes.
Tranfer to a serving plate. Serve.
Ingredients
1 lb lechon kawali sliced
1 piece Knorr Shrimp Cube
12 pieces sitaw cut into 2 inch length
1/2 piece kalabasa cubed
1 piece Chinese eggplant sliced
12 pieces okra
1 piece ampalaya sliced
1 piece kamote cubed (optional)
2 pieces tomato cubed
2 thumbs ginger crushed (optional)
1 piece onion chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
2 teaspoons bagoong alamang
2 ½ cups water
3 tablespoons cooking oil
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
