Pinakbet
according to Gilda Cordero-Fernando in Philippine Food and Life is a vegetable dish
known all over the Philippines, but which no one cooks as deliciously as the Ilokanos.
The Ilokanos say they can tell if a pinakbet was prepared by an Ilokano or not.
Pampangos and Tagalogs cut ampalaya (bitter gourd), the main ingredient of pinakbet,
into quarters and this, Ilokanos feel, allows too much water and salt in, which shrinks
and toughens the vegetable. Ilokanos cut the ampalaya of their pinakbet lengthwise,
and only on one side, leaving the opposite side uncut, like a hotdog bun, so that it
opens like a hinge. In addition, Ilokanos include a bit of the stem in the last slice of
the eggplant which is cut in four halfway through so it opens like a flower.
This recipe of pinakbet comes from Flavors of the Philippines by Glenda Rosales-
Baretto.

  •       300 g bagnet (pork crackling), sliced (see below)
  •      2 tsp oil
  •      2 tsp chopped ginger
  •      1.5 tbsp crushed garlic
  •     150 g shallots
  •     500 g ripe tomatoes
  •     75 ml bagoong isda (anchovy sauce), strained
  •     150 g okra
  •     150 g small ampalaya, quartered
  •     300 g eggplants, sliced
  •      Bagnet:
  •      1 kilo pork belly (whole piece)
  •     50 g crushed garlic
  •     2 bay leaves
  •      1 tbsp sea salt
Heat the oil in a casserole and saute the ginger, garlic, shallots, tomatoes and pork
crackling until the liquid has completely reduced, then add anchovy sauce. From this
point on, do not stir.
Continue to simmer until the sauce is thick, then add the okra, ampalaya, and
eggplant. Cover the casserole and cook for a further 5 minutes.
To make the bagnet, place the pork belly, garlic, bay leaves and salt in a pot. Add
sufficient water to cover and cook for 1 hour. Remove pork and dry in a moderately
hot oven for 20 minutes.
Deep fry pork in oil at low heat for at least 1 hour, turning every 15 minutes, then
remove and allow to cool completely. To finish, re-heat oil until moderately hot and
deep fry the pork until crisp and golden brown.
The pinakbet in the picture was cooked by my Nang Jocelyn Inserto-Yerro of Cainta,
Rizal.
Manong Ken's Carinderia