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Pinakbet

Pinakbet is an Ilocano specialty that made its way into the entire Filipino gastronomy. It's a merry mix of vegetables with meat all embraced by the Pinoy favorite - bago-ong.


There are so many ways of cooking pinakbet and its mainly of the meat component plus the type of bago-ong used. But the vegetables almost remain the same - kalabasa, ampalaya, sitaw, okra and talong.

Here's a simple recipe for Pinakbet using the Ilonggo bago-ong called Guinamos.




Ingredients
  • 1/4 kilo Pork slices (You can also use tulapho)
  • 1/1 cup Shrimps, deveined
  • 1 Tbsp. guinamos (Ilonggo bago-ong)
  • 1 bundle hantak (string beans/sitaw)
  • 1 medium kalabasa (squash), cubed
  • 2 pcs. amargoso (ampalaya/bittermelon), sliced, soaked in salt and water
  • 10 pcs okra, halved
  • 3 pcs  medium talong (eggplant), cut into bite sized pieces
  • 4 cloves. garlic, crushed
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
  • Salt 
  • Pepper
  • Oil
  • Water
  • Kalkag (dried alamang), optional



How to Cook Pinakbet
  1. In a wok set on medium heat, stir fry pork in its fat.
  2. Saute-in ginger, garlic and onion until golden brown. Add oil if necessary
  3. Add shrimps then bago-ong and continue to stir-fry.
  4. Season with salt and pepper (or seasoning mix). 
  5. Place vegetables on top of the pork and shrimps. 


  6. Add a cup of water and cover. Do not mix. Just give the whole pan a sort of "shake".
  7. Simmer until vegetables are cooked. Check if kalabasa is already soft.
  8. Remove from heat and give it a toss to mix the meat and veggies.
  9. Sprinkle with kalkag if desired. Serve with rice.
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