You bet, Pinakbet! (Sauteed Veggies in Shrimp Sauce)

This veggie dish originates in the province of Ilocos in the Philippines. The climate and terrain is harsh and rugged. The simplicity and versatility of this dish is suited for this region as vegetables grown from one's garden is usually used. One can use a wide variety like: eggplant, yard beans, bitter melon, tomato, ginger, okra, string beans, lima beans, chili peppers and various Filipino vegetables like parda, winged beans. I come from a region that includes squash in the pinakbet.

The sauce added to the dish can be fermented shrimp or fermented fish sauce. It is essential to the dish. Some cook their pinakbet dry almost to the point of no sauce left at all. Others, like me cook their pinakbet saucy.


It was a rainy day and I wanted a simple, comforting dish. All I had in the fridge were eggplants, garlic scapes and some zucchini. There was a half a bottle of fermented fish sauce called bagoong, too. I decided to make pinakbet. Billy decided to help me. Here he is cutting up my veggies for me.

I cut up two japanese eggplants into thirds and then into halves. The garlic scapes, about a small handful, I cut the ends and tops off and cut them up into 2-inch pieces. The zucchini was sliced into rounds and then cut into half. I also added minced garlic, about a teaspoon and half an onion sliced. I used about 1/4 cup of fish sauce and 1 cup of pork stock (or water if you don't have any). Oh, a cup of cooked sliced pork is also great for the dish, if you have roasted pork, so much the better. It adds a lot of flavor to the dish.

First, cook the pork in a little oil until it is slightly golden brown. Drain off oil if the pork exuded a lot of fat. Leave about 1 tablespoon of oil behind with the pork. Add the garlic and saute until golden brown. Add the onions and cook them until they change color.

The rule in cooking the pinakbet is to add the veggies that need to cook the longest first. So I added the garlic scapes first, then after 5 minutes, I added the eggplant. After 5 minutes the zucchini was dumped into the wok and the fish sauce. Stir everything until the sauce covers all the veggies. Add a pinch of MSG if you are not MSG-phobic. Add the cup of stock and cover the wok and let simmer until the eggplant is done.

Serve the dish hot with freshly cooked rice. Watch as you can't help but eat more than two servings of everything. :)