Filipino Food: Pinakbet/Pakbet

Pinakbet or pakbet is a popular Ilokano dish, from the northern regions of the Philippines, although it has become popular throughout the archipelago. The word is the contracted form of the Ilokano word pinakebbet, meaning "shrunk" or "shriveled".The original Ilokano pinakbet uses bagoong, of fermented monamon or other fish, while further south, bagoong alamang is used. The basic vegetables used in this dish include native bitter melon, eggplant, tomato, okra, string beans, chili peppers, parda, winged beans, and others. Root crops and some beans like camote, patani, kadios are also optionally added. The young pod of marunggay is also added. It is usually spiced with ginger, onions, or garlic.

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A Tagalog version usually includes calabaza. Most of these vegetables are easily accessible, and are grown in backyards and gardens of most Ilokano households. As its name suggests, it is usually cooked until almost dry and shriveled; the flavors of the vegetables are accentuated with shrimp paste. In some cases, lechon, chicharon, or other meats (most commonly pork) are added. It is considered a very healthy dish, and convenient in relation to the harsh and rugged, yet fruitful Ilocos region of the Philippines.

The vegetable dish pinakbet is more than a regional cuisine. It is an enduring symbol of the Ilokano palate and a lucid display of the Ilokanos’ history of contestations and struggles with the physical and social environment. The recipe weaves intimations of the cultural productions of the Ilokanos' transaction to their arid and less productive land. (Caday, 2009)

Pinakbet is similar to the Provençal (French) vegetable stew ratatouille except for its sauce.

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Ingredients

• 1/4 kilo pork with fat, cut into small pieces
• 2 Amapalya (bitter melons) sliced to bite size pieces
• 2 eggplants, sliced to bite size pieces
• 5 pieces of okra, cut in two
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 2 onions, diced

• 5 tomatoes, sliced
• 1 tablespoon of ginger, crushed and sliced
• 4 tablespoons bagoong isda or bagoong alamang
• 3 tablespoons of oil
• 1 1/2 cup water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. In a cooking pan, heat oil and fry the pork until brown, remove the pork from the pan and set aside.
   
   
2. On the same pan, saute garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes.
   
   
3. In a casserole, boil water and add bagoong.
   
   
4. Add the pork in the casserole and mix in the sautéed garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
   
   
5. Add in all the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are done, careful not to overcook.
   
   
6. Salt and pepper to taste.
   
   
7. Serve hot with plain rice.
   
   

Sources:
http://www.filipinofoodrecipes.net/pakbet.htm
http://lafang.mikemina.com/2006/05/13/luto-ni-nanay-1-pinakbet-ilocano-vegetable-stew-in-anchovy-paste/
http://www.filipinofoodrecipes.net/pakbet.htm