urbanfoodie

*20-something, filipina american urbanite
(Minneapolis via NYC, SF, & the Chicagoland area)
*creator, consumer, and all-around enthusiast of food
Oct 17
Filipino from the Market: Pinakbet Pinakbet (also called pakbet, originating from the word pinakkebet which means “shriveled” in the Ilocano dialect) is one of the rare dishes that I grew up with that highlights veggies (and coincidentally doesn’t give me food coma). This was always one of my favorite dishes, a melange of bright vegetables cooked with shrimp and eaten with rice and pungent bagoong (fermented shrimp fry). My dad always liked his veggies to be on the soft side, so it was a surprise for me to learn that the “authentic” Ilocano preparation keeps the veggies crisp. I read about the dish’s origins and found a more traditional preparation in the  Filipino cookbook, Memories of Philippine Kitchens by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan (chefs/owners of the former SoHo restaurant, Cendrillon, and the forthcoming Purple Yam in Brooklyn). If you are interested at all in Filipino cooking, I highly recommend this for pure educational value. Besa and Dorotan travelled to all the major provinces of the archipelago, highlighting local dishes, ingredients, and techniques. I digress. Well, all throughout September, I saw the major ingredients of pinakbet at the farmer’s market: tomatoes, japanese eggplant, okra, chinese long beans, bittermelon, and squash. I finally got around to making it a couple of weeks ago and did a pretty good job of a completely Market-centric dish, save for the shrimp (I know, so not ethicurean…).  My freestyle pinakbet was another Mom-by-phone consultation, with some information from the Memories recipe. Mom always includes fried pork belly, but I didn’t have time to go get some from another store, boil it, and then fry. Bittermelon is also usually included, but I just cannot get myself to like it. Believe me, I’ve tried. Pinakbet 3 Japanese eggplant, sliced about 1.5 inch thick on a diagonal 1/2 lb. okra, ends trimmed 1 bunch chinese long beans, cut in 2 inch pieces 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped (one time I made this, I actually tossed in the tomato skins and seeds leftover from my tomato sauce milling) 1 onion, sliced 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped 1 small squash (try to find calabaza - I used acorn, which was fine but not nearly as tasty), peeled and cut up in 1.5 inch pieces 1 lb. whole shrimp bagoong (in the Cendrillon recipe, the whole jar is cooked w/ the veggies. In my house, it was used as a condiment) Peel the shrimp, and save the peel and heads (so much flavor in the heads! my favorite!). Boil the peel and heads in some water to make a broth that you can use to flavor the pinakbet. In a large pot or wok, saute the garlic, then onions, and then shrimp. To avoid overcooking, you can remove the shrimp and add them in later (alternatively, cook the shrimp after the veggies). Saute tomatoes until they are broken down. Season with salt. Layer the rest of the veggies in the pot, starting with the squash, then okra, eggplant, beans. Pour some of the shrimp broth into the pot. Cover tightly with lid and let steam for at 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are desired tenderness. Add back / cook shrimp. Serve with rice and bagoong, if you’ve got it. A few times, I ate this with pasta and leftover tomato sauce. Good, though I’m pretty sure my mom would call me weird for the combo.

Filipino from the Market: Pinakbet

Pinakbet (also called pakbet, originating from the word pinakkebet which means “shriveled” in the Ilocano dialect) is one of the rare dishes that I grew up with that highlights veggies (and coincidentally doesn’t give me food coma). This was always one of my favorite dishes, a melange of bright vegetables cooked with shrimp and eaten with rice and pungent bagoong (fermented shrimp fry). My dad always liked his veggies to be on the soft side, so it was a surprise for me to learn that the “authentic” Ilocano preparation keeps the veggies crisp. I read about the dish’s origins and found a more traditional preparation in the  Filipino cookbook, Memories of Philippine Kitchens by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan (chefs/owners of the former SoHo restaurant, Cendrillon, and the forthcoming Purple Yam in Brooklyn). If you are interested at all in Filipino cooking, I highly recommend this for pure educational value. Besa and Dorotan travelled to all the major provinces of the archipelago, highlighting local dishes, ingredients, and techniques.

I digress. Well, all throughout September, I saw the major ingredients of pinakbet at the farmer’s market: tomatoes, japanese eggplant, okra, chinese long beans, bittermelon, and squash. I finally got around to making it a couple of weeks ago and did a pretty good job of a completely Market-centric dish, save for the shrimp (I know, so not ethicurean…).  My freestyle pinakbet was another Mom-by-phone consultation, with some information from the Memories recipe. Mom always includes fried pork belly, but I didn’t have time to go get some from another store, boil it, and then fry. Bittermelon is also usually included, but I just cannot get myself to like it. Believe me, I’ve tried.

Pinakbet

  • 3 Japanese eggplant, sliced about 1.5 inch thick on a diagonal
  • 1/2 lb. okra, ends trimmed
  • 1 bunch chinese long beans, cut in 2 inch pieces
  • 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped (one time I made this, I actually tossed in the tomato skins and seeds leftover from my tomato sauce milling)
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 small squash (try to find calabaza - I used acorn, which was fine but not nearly as tasty), peeled and cut up in 1.5 inch pieces
  • 1 lb. whole shrimp
  • bagoong (in the Cendrillon recipe, the whole jar is cooked w/ the veggies. In my house, it was used as a condiment)

Peel the shrimp, and save the peel and heads (so much flavor in the heads! my favorite!). Boil the peel and heads in some water to make a broth that you can use to flavor the pinakbet. In a large pot or wok, saute the garlic, then onions, and then shrimp. To avoid overcooking, you can remove the shrimp and add them in later (alternatively, cook the shrimp after the veggies). Saute tomatoes until they are broken down. Season with salt. Layer the rest of the veggies in the pot, starting with the squash, then okra, eggplant, beans. Pour some of the shrimp broth into the pot. Cover tightly with lid and let steam for at 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are desired tenderness. Add back / cook shrimp.

Serve with rice and bagoong, if you’ve got it. A few times, I ate this with pasta and leftover tomato sauce. Good, though I’m pretty sure my mom would call me weird for the combo.

Filipino | cooking | eggplant | okra | pinakbet | shrimp | squash | cookbooks | Comments (View)
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