PINAKBET: AN ILOCANO PORK AND VEGETABLE STEW WITH SHRIMP PASTE

PINAKBET: AN ILOCANO PORK AND VEGETABLE STEW WITH SHRIMP PASTE image

Number Of Ingredients 15

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2 tbsps. of cooking oil
2 c. of diced bagnet, lechon kawali or well-browned pork belly
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
a thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely chopped
2 tbsps. of bagoong (native shrimp paste)
patis (fish sauce), to taste
freshly cracked black pepper
a bit of sugar, for balance
6 okra, diced
1 c. of cut sitaw (string beans a.k.a. yard-long beans)
2 eggplants, diced
1 to 2 c. of diced squash
1 and 1/2 to 2 c. of pork broth

Steps:

Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan. Add the pork, garlic, ginger, onion and tomatoes. Season with the bagoong, patis, black pepper and sugar. Toss around just until heated through. Add the vegetables. All at the same time? No. The ones that take longest to cook go in first. After adding the first batch of vegetables (or all the vegetables, whichever is true in your case), pour in the broth. How much? Just enough to wet the vegetables, not to totally cover them. bring to the boil and let boil, uncovered, for a couple of minutes. Lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer until all the vegetables are done. Avoid stirring to prevent the vegetables from breaking apart. Rather, toss and swirl the pan from time to time.