Pinakbet

Pinakbet is a Fillipino dish that can be broken down by a few different parts. It has a base of meat with veggies in a soup. It is similar to a gumbo, minus the tomato sauce and seafood.

The more I cook some Filipino food, the more I recognize a pattern. Most dishes start with sautéing a trifecta of
garlic, onion, and ginger. In certain circumstances, like this one, it includes tomatoes. Then, the mixture continues to cook by adding some meat, in this case, cubed pork, until it is browned.

It is seasoned with the same shrimp paste we used in the other recipes called bagoong.

The result is a delectable concoction.

Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of ginger, crushed and minced
1 medium tomato, sliced in cubes
1.5 lbs pork, cubed
1 cup Green beans
1 cup Okra
1 cup Eggplant
1 cup yellow squash
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon bagoong
2-3 cups of water

Instructions:
1. First, prepare the meat by cutting it in cubes and sprinkle meat tenderizer and set aside in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
2. Sauté garlic, onion, and ginger until browned. Add tomatoes until wilted.
3. Add meat until browned, about 15 minutes.
4. Add soy sauce to season the meat.
5. Pour water over browned meat. Allow this to simmer. Then add the bagoong.
6. Add squash and wait 5 minutes before adding in the rest of the veggies.

7. Simmer another 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.

Enjoy this with some white rice!