Also called pakbet or pinak bet, this Filipino dish is mixed vegetables steamed in shrimp or fish sauce. Originally made with vegetables grown in Filipino home gardens, pinakbet can have a wide variety of ingredients. For US cooks, the recipe can easily be adapted to regional produce. This recipe includes pork loin and prawns, but the dish also can be prepared vegetarian or vegan. Bitter melon, almost always included in pinakbet, is sharp and bitter in flavor and may challenge US palates.
Recipe Servings: 6
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Total Time
1 hour
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ lb pork loin, chopped
- ½ lb prawns, peeled and deveined
- Salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tomato, chopped
- ¼ lb zucchini, deseeded and cut into bite-size pieces
- ¼ lb fresh okra, ends trimmed
- ¼ lb fresh green beans, trimmed
- ¼ lb eggplant, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 small bitter melon, cut into bite-size pieces
Directions
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.
- Add the onion and the garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion becomes soft.
- Add the pork and cook for an additional 5–7 minutes, until the meat is completely browned.
- Stir in the shrimp and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cook 5 minutes until the shrimp turns pink.
- Add the tomato and cook, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the zucchini, okra, green beans, eggplant, and bitter melon.
- Re-cover and cook for a final 10 minutes, until vegetables are soft to the touch.
- Serve hot.
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