Pinakbet recipe

Welcome to Sig-Sats*! The first of many signature dishes I am featuring every Saturday is my mom’s version of the Ilocano favorite, Pinakbet. This is undeniably a popular Filipino dish, with veggies as its main ingredient. And just a word of caution, take it easy on the fish sauce or shrimp paste if you don’t want it to taste too salty.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 tomato, finely chopped
2 tbsp ground pork or pork strips cut into thin slices
3 tbsp fish sauce or shrimp paste
1 cup water
1 small squash or pumpkin, peeled and cubed
few pieces of green beans, cut into 2 inches long
1 small eggplant, sliced into 2 inches long

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in saucepan. Saute the garlic, onion and tomato. Add the pork. Stir well. Add the fish sauce and water. Simmer for 10 minutes until the pork becomes tender.
2. Add the squash. Once cooked, add the green beans and eggplant. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Vegetarian? Simply do away with the pork and rest assured this dish will still taste just as good!

Happy cooking!

*Signature Saturdays