Vegetable Medley with Shrimp Paste (Pinakbet)
posted by virtual chef on Mar 21, 2009 | Entrees, Sides and Beverages |
This Filipino dish is a favorite in the northern province of Ilocos in the Philippines where it is flavored with shrimp paste (bagoong) and pork. I remember my grandmother making this with dried fish (tinapa). Depending on the kind of vegetables you use, this can be bitter, or salty or both. I used okra, squash, string beans and bittermelon and a bit of canned tuna. My husband still refuses to eat it so I had this for lunch and he had his knackebrod (Swedish hard tack flat bread or as I lovingly call it the “cardboard” bread) and Swedish caviar. While I enjoy my bitter/salty dish with steamed rice. Yum!
Ingredients:
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
- 3 medium roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup canned tuna, drained
- 1 tbs shrimp paste ( bagoong), available at Asian stores
- 1 cup okra cut in bite size pieces
- a quarter of squash or pumpkin, peeled and diced in one inch pieces
- 1 cup cut string beans or long beans, 2 inch pieces
- 1/2 of medium bittermelon, sliced and center removed
- 2 tbs oil
- 1 cup water
Directions:
- Heat oil in saucepan and saute garlic and onions for 2 minutes. Add ginger, tomatoes and tuna and cook for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp paste and stir for 3 minutes.
- Add the water and bring to a boil. Add squash, bittermelon and okra and cook for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Now I feel like having another vegetarian diet! Haha!
Miss ko na to; I wanted so much to cook this last week but I didn’t have bittermelon at the moment…now I crave it more!
abangan ko chocolate and pistachio sans rival mo…
Pinakbet is the next dish that I want to ‘learn’ to make. It wasn’t may favorite growing up but now, I look at the ingredients with new eyes and tastebuds!