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My parents came from two different provinces here in the Philippines, Aklan is the province of my father while Pangasinan is where my mother came from, and among the two I am more inclined towards my mother’s hometown. This is the reason why I grew accustomed to their local culture, specifically when it comes to their food.  Pinakbet is an Ilokano dish that is very popular in the country. It consists of various vegetables seasoned with bagoong or shrimp paste.

It was my grandmother who taught me how to cook the dish. She told me that the secret to achieve its true and native taste, one has to sauté the vegetables properly using the right seasoning. That is why the first step we did was to boil the pork in a small wok, allowing the meat’s natural juices to come out – doing this will give additional taste to the dish. After the water has evaporated and only the oil is left, we set the pork aside to start sautéing the vegetables.

Using the same oil from the pork, we sautéed the garlic before adding the onions. Once the onions have caramelized, we sautéed the tomatoes until its juices come out. After which, we added the bagoong, the heart of my grandmother’s Pinakbet, before adding the vegetables.  To prevent vegetables from being over-cooked, we did was to add the vegetables from the hardest to the easiest to cook. My grandmother did was to add the squash first, sautéed it a little before adding the eggplant, string beans, okra, malunggay leaves and the bitter melon. Once the vegetables are half-cooked, we poured in the water and mixed in the pork we set aside earlier. We seasoned the dish with a hint of salt and pepper and left it to simmer. Once the vegetables are cooked, the dish was ready for serving. That was the first dish that I learned how to make and I would say, I’m quite satisfied with it (of course)!

This dish is a classic Filipino favorite. Like me, a lot of Filipinos love this dish. In fact, many have their own way of cooking it. I, myself have done experiments with this dish. As a matter of fact, there was a time when I tried adding Chicharon (Pork Rind) and even gata (Coconut Milk) and still, both versions tasted good. As for those who are on a strict diet or who are trying to watch their weight, a good alternative to pork is Tokwa (Tofu).

To add a distinct flavor to it, other versions make use of some root crops like camote (sweet potatoes), Patani (lima beans) and even Kadios (pigeon pea). There are a dozen of others ways by which you can experiment with this recipe, aside from the one I mentioned. All you need to have is a wild imagination and most importantly, the love for cooking and eating.