My entry for Lasang Pinoy 18: Oh my gulay! is one day late. I couldn’t cook yesterday because we were waterless. I can horrify you with tales of waterless days, I can lament endlessly about the perils of living in the Third World, or I can just tell you about the wonderful lunch we had today. The truth is, whether you’re living in the First World, the Third world, the moon, Mars or Jupiter, it is always possible to enjoy a good meal. It doesn’t even matter if it’s a simple and humble meal or a gourmet chef’s masterpiece.
In my case, the contented faces of my kids and their healthy appetite were enough. And I’m one of those lucky moms who don’t have to plead, scare or bribe the kids to eat their veggies. Neither touched the okra but both gorged on the kalabasa (squash) and Sam is an eggplant lover too.
When the pork was still simmering and the vegetables were being prepared, Sam asked if I would add gata (coconut cream) to the dish. That was really my intention. But we ran out of powdered coconut cream and the availability of niyog (freshly grated mature coconut meat) in the neighborhood is erratic. I decided to try sour cream instead. The substitution was more than satisfactory. The cooked dish was just lovely. The kids ate so well. 
That makes me a happy mommy. Happier than my mother must have been when my brother and I were gradeschoolers. I wasn’t the sickly one; my brother was. He was so sickly and skinny as a child that the top of the fridge was always filled with his bottles of vitamins. And how difficult it was to make him take his vitamins… well, that’s legendary in my family. Example? Okay, he’ll probably flip out if colleagues in the legal circles read this (he’s a respectable lawyer now) but I’m not mentioning names, so there. 
Scenario: Yaya pours the vitamin syrup into a spoon and is holding the spoon in front of baby brother.
Baby brother: “Ang layo-layo naman n’yan, hindi ko abot (That’s too far I can’t reach it).”
So, yaya moves the spoon a little nearer.
Baby brother: “Ang lapit-lapit naman n’yan, naduduling na ako (That’s too near, I’m getting cross-eyed).”
Yaya moves the spoon a little farther. That would go on and on. There was a mat between yaya and baby brother because moving the spoon forward and backward almost always resulted in spills. Often, half of the content of the spoon would end up on the mat. And it’s lucky if baby brother consented to drink what’s left unless mother interceded.
I didn’t have to do that with my kids because the moment they could eat table food, I gave them vegetables. Okay, so they don’t eat all vegetables; who does? Even I don’t. But it’s good enough for me that they eat several varieties of vegetables.
That’s enough story-telling, I suppose. On with the recipe.
Ingredients :
500 grams of pork liempo (belly)
1 head of garlic
2 onions
4-6 tomatoes
patis
1-2 tbsps. of chili flakes
1/4 of a whole squash
3 eggplants
12 pieces of okra
2-3 tbsps. of vegetable cooking oil
1 c. of sour cream or 1 c. of all-purpose cream + juice of 1 lemon
Cooking procedure :
Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes.
Crush, peel and finely minced the garlic.
Peel and slice the onions thinly.
Dice the tomatoes.
Heat the cooking oil in a wok or any large shallow cooking pan. Add the pork cubes and cook until the edges are lightly browned. Add the garlic and onions and saute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and chili flakes. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes start to soften. Season with patis.
Pour in about 3 cups of water (broth, if you have some) and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the pork is tender.
When the pork has been simmering for half an hour, start preparing the vegetables.
Cut off the skin of the squash and scrape the center with a spoon. Cut into cubes a little larger than the pork.
Trim the ends of the eggplants and cut into the same size as the squash. Place in a bowl of water to avoid discoloration.
Trim the okra and cut into thirds.
When the pork is almost done, add the vegetables. The squash should go in first because, among the three, it takes longest to cook. Stir after adding the squash, cover and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the okra, stir again, cover and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes.
Drain the eggplants, add to the pan, stir, cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Don’t worry is there is little liquid left. You’ll be adding the sour cream later. Don’t be tempted to add more liquid or the dish will turn soupy. As long as the pan is tightly covered while simmering the vegetables, the steam should be enough to cook them. Just remember to stir occasionally.
When the vegetables are done, pour in the sour cream. Stir. Taste the sauce and add more patis if necessary. As soon as the liquid starts to bubble, turn off the heat. It’s ready.
Serving suggestion: Oh, do serve the pork and vegetables with hot rice. They go so well together.
Oh my gulay! Sour cream instead of coconut cream? Who would’ve thought it would go well with those veggies? Ang galing mo talaga Mother. Wonderful wonderful wonderful dish this is!
Hi Toni, I thought I cooked too much and we’d have enough leftovers for dinner. I was wrong hehehehe
Momm-inovation to the rescue (corneee! LOL)! I would not have thought of sour cream… I’ll keep that in mind!
Looks so yummy! I’m sure naiwan ang okra esp for you.
Worse than naiwan. They actually passed on the okra that they couldn’t avoid scooping from the serving bowl hahaha
Hmmmm, ang sarap!!
that’s why i didn’t see this post yeaterday, i was browsing for some cauliflower recipe that i loved trying to meet the deadline! hahaha!
that’s a good thing to know, i have sour cream in the fridge! masubukan nga! thanks!
I loooove sour cream! *bookmarks page* This is a must try for me
Hi Connie. Thanks for sharing your LP 18. I love pinakbet too which we call Pakbet at home. The idea of putting sour cream is new to me but sounds like a very interesting version. It’s worth a try.
sourcream? that doesn’t sound right. but apparently tastebuds are better than eardrums. (ka-corny na comment)
wow,decadent! heehee, veggies stroganoff? napaka-creative mo talaga.
Yung mga health (weight) conscious, I bet yogurt will work just as well.
Dear Ms. Connie,
I tried this recipe before using sour cream and it was so tasty. I came across this recipe again ang read your comment about using yogurt instead of sour cream. I have this “natural sweetened low fat yogurt” in our fridge. I wonder if I can use this kasi po “sweetened” sya, baka iba lasa. I appreaciate your advice. Thanks for sharing.
Naku, it’ll taste different.
i’ll just buy sour cream,
thanks ms. connie!
ms connie,
i made this dish a few nights ago (thurs i think). i had mixed reviews about the dish, i guess bec my parents are so used in having this dish with coconut milk, rather than sour cream..one of them said that they would’ve enjoyed it more if i made it the traditional way. BUT i heard one of them asked for seconds – “dad, paki-kuha mo pa nga ako, dagdagan mo ng kanin, masarap eh”!
I told them that im following a new recipe and it’s nice to be able to experiment and to see how certain ingredients work.
As for me, i like it, it’s something new and it kept everybody talking about it! I would definitely cook it again, next time i’ll to make the one with fish fillet!
Ah… may resistance pa. Am not surprised that it’s the older generation…
OH yummy! I love vegetables cooked this way. I’ve totally adapted your cream based dishes. Last nights I did the chicken and potatoes with cream again
I’ll definitely be trying this with veggies as soon as my vegetables start coming in.
Hubby and me tried this recipe last Sunday night for our dinner. Guess what? It’s really delicious! Walang left-over man lang sa table..hehehhe… Through this recipe, that was the first time that me and hubby cooked together..bonding moments kung baga! thanks Connie.
Hubby and I tried to cook this recipe, and guess what? Ang sarap talaga! No left-overs in the table…ehhehhe…Dahil po sa recipe mong ito Ms. Connie, nagkaroon pa kami ni hubby ng bonding moments sa kitchen.Keep it up!
Rjfortyfive, that is great! Wish my hubby would cook with me hehehehe
Hi! I tried this dish last night,,,ang sarap! here in japan mahirap maghanap ng coconut milk buti na lang nkita ko itong recipe mo nakakain ako ng filipino food.Ang sarap,pati hubby ko nasarapan
hi ms. connie,
i would like to try this recipe but using the mixture of all purpose flour and lemon juice instead of the sour cream. may i ask how much water should i add with the flour?
thank you!
btw, i’m an avid reader of your blog, especially the “home cooking rocks!” section. It is actually my recipe book on the net. more power to you! thanks for sharing with us your simple but tasteful recipes!
rea
rea, “all purpose flour”? To thicken? I really don’t recommend it.
thanks ms.connie. i live in japan and don’t know where to get sour cream here, i’m afraid i might get the wrong one (supermarket stuff often times have kanji labels, if not all). i’ll just postpone this recipe until i find sour cream. thanks!
Rea, try mixing lemon juice or even vinegar to regular cream to make homemade sour cream.
I’m so lucky that my 2 adopted kid and my 1 year old son eats vegetable. In fact my 1 year never had vitamins since he was born. The pedia here in US didn’t prescribed any vitamins and he is as healthy as a horse. Sanayan lang no Ms. Connie?
I agree, Claudine. We stopped giving the girls bottled vitamins before they were 2. So long as we eat right, we’re fine!
Hi Ms Connie! Im new here in your site. Im currently recuperating at home from a CS operation from a failed pregnancy and your site helps me keep my sanity.
I decided to use my vacation/maternity leave by learning new recipes (among other things) and Im so glad i found your site. I checked it daily to get new recipes to try. So far I’ve tried the tofu with asparagus and it’s good. I’ll be doing more of your recipes. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful recipes 
(i dont know how else to reach you so I will submit this comment even if its not relevant to the topic) 
I hope your recovery goes well. I have 2 daughters, both delivered via CS and I know how hard it is to move about during the first two weeks following the surgery. I think cooking can help you a lot with your emotional recovery — it can be really relaxing.
Mis. Connie what other veggies can we use to substitute or add to the recipe. i do not like okra too. thanks
Broocoli, cauliflower, potatoes…