Pinakbet (or something like it)

I’ve always wanted to cook pinakbet–that classic Ilocano dish that is a mainstay in any Filipino buffet. But… I am allergic to bagoong (salted shrimp sauce). And… my kids do not eat ampalaya (bitter melon or bitter gourd). So I have never cooked pinakbet before.

I wanted vegetables for lunch today, mainly because we have been eating red meat a little heavily than usual these past few weeks (fresh-water fish these days smell and taste muddy, and many fish-mongers would pass them off as salt-water fish) and I had been thinking of my sister-in-law’s pinakbet which has more varieties of vegetables than what the traditional recipe calls for.

So, it was pinakbet (or something like it) for lunch–without the bagoong and the ampalaya. And here’s the proof.

Ingredients :

100 g. slab of pork meat
1/8 of a whole squash, pared, seeded and cut into wedges
1 large, or 2 small, eggplants, cut into wedges (soak in water until needed)
6 pieces of okra, trimmed and halved
1 medium-sized carrot, cut into wedges
1 bunch of sitaw (string beans), trimmed and cut into 2″ lengths
1 head of garlic, finely minced
1 onion, halved and sliced thinly
4 tomatoes, chopped coarsely
2 tbsp. of cooking oil
Salt or patis (fermented fish sauce)
pepper
1 tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce

Cooking procedure :

Boil the pork in a few cups of water. Simmer for 30 minutes. Cool and cut into 1″ x 1″ cubes.

Heat a heavy skillet. Pour in the cooking oil and heat until it starts to smoke. Add the pork cubes and continue cooking over high heat until the meat starts to brown. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the onion slices and chopped tomatoes. Pour in about 1/2 c. of pork broth. Season with a little salt or patis and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the carrot wedges and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the sitaw, squash, eggplants and okra at 2 to 3-minute intervals. Stir occasionally. When the vegetables are done, add the Worcestershire sauce and stir a few times. Serve hot.