Pinakbet
Updated Oct. 11, 2023
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Prep Time
- 25 minutes
- Cook Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1pound slightly fatty pork shoulder or butt, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Neutral oil, if necessary
- 3tablespoons patis (Filipino fish sauce), preferably Rufina
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- 1(2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2ripe medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1small yellow onion, diced
- 3Japanese eggplants (about 1¼ pounds total), cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 8ounces baby okra, trimmed
- 1pound long beans (or string beans), trimmed and cut in half
- 1bitter melon (about 8 ounces), trimmed, cut lengthwise in half, seeded, then cut into 1-inch pieces
- Cooked white rice, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add the pork. (If there isn’t enough fat for the pork to start sizzling right away, add about 1 teaspoon oil.) Immediately add the patis, garlic and 2 slices ginger. Cook the pork, turning occasionally, until the pieces are well browned all over, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Stir in the tomatoes and onion. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add a few more slices of ginger and continue to cook until the tomatoes are soft, 6 to 8 minutes. If the mixture looks dry, add ½ to 1 cup of water.
- Step 3
Stir in the eggplants and remaining ginger, cover and let simmer until the eggplant looks wrinkled and moist but is not fully cooked, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 4
Stir in the okra and long beans, and cook, covered, for another 5 minutes. The mixture should look slightly soupy; add a little more water if liquid has evaporated.
- Step 5
Stir in the bitter melon. Cover and continue simmering, adjusting the heat as necessary, until the long beans are cooked through but still have a slight crunch, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the freshness of the beans.
- Step 6
Serve with rice.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Cagayan Valley near Tuguegaro in the early 80s. When I cook pinakbet I don't use patis--you can't have pinakbet without bogoong. The bottom part when fermenting fish. (Patis is the top.) I usually use bagoong monamon, the brown kind. Take about 1/4 - 1/2 cup, add hot water and strain. When feeling adventurous I'll use bagoong alamang, the pink salted shrimp. Just add a few Tbs in step 2 before cooking tomatoes and onions. Brings back memories. Naimas!
If you can’t get or don’t like bitter melon, use fairly mature zucchini instead. Also, check the seasonings at the end adding some more patis (or whatever fish sauce you’re using) to taste.
Made this today and it's great! I had some nice fresh Japanese eggplants but had to make a few substitutions. I used ground pork instead of cubed pork. My fish sauce was Thai fish sauce. Fresh okra at the store didn't look good, so had to use frozen. We don't have an Asian grocery, so used green beans and summer squash instead of long beans and bitter melon. We will make this again.
Oddest pinakbet recipe ever. Pinakbet originates from my parents’ home province, Pangasinan. Traditional pinakbet is made with a bit of pork, more like 0.25 lbs, not 1 lb. Also, this recipe is devoid of two Filipino staples traditional in pinakbet: kabocha squash and bagoong alamang (fermented tiny shrimp, pink paste). Another weirdness is the length of the longbeans. They are best cut, cook more efficiently, and eaten more easily in 2-2.5 inch lengths. Pangasinanes add 10-12 pink shrimp.
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Cagayan Valley near Tuguegaro in the early 80s. When I cook pinakbet I don't use patis--you can't have pinakbet without bogoong. The bottom part when fermenting fish. (Patis is the top.) I usually use bagoong monamon, the brown kind. Take about 1/4 - 1/2 cup, add hot water and strain. When feeling adventurous I'll use bagoong alamang, the pink salted shrimp. Just add a few Tbs in step 2 before cooking tomatoes and onions. Brings back memories. Naimas!
Bitter melon is the bomb
If you can’t get or don’t like bitter melon, use fairly mature zucchini instead. Also, check the seasonings at the end adding some more patis (or whatever fish sauce you’re using) to taste.
Advertisement
More From Soup and Stew Recipes
Trending on Cooking
Cooking Guides
Cooking Guide
Basic Knife Skills
Cooking Guide
How to Make Sourdough Bread
Cooking Guide
How to Make a Sheet-Pan Dinner
Cooking Guide
How to Make Baby Food
Cooking Guide
How to Make Sole Meunière
Cooking Guide
How to Use an Instant Pot
Cooking Guide
How to Cook Cauliflower
Cooking Guide
Melissa Clark’s Thanksgiving