Pinakbet with Pork Recipe

Pinakbet is a popular dish in the northern region of the Philippines, Ilocos. It has become famous in other regions as well and each has its own version be it in the choice of vegetables, seasoning or meat.


Pinakbet with Pork Recipe

This pinakbet with pork recipe is a kapampangan recipe which I inherited from my mother. I’m really glad to be able to cook this dish because it is one of my most favorite home cooked foods back home. Other versions of pinakbet recipes uses shrimps (which is the original Ilocano recipe) and fried/grilled fish. Both are delightful in their own distinct flavors. I’ve used pork in this recipe because of its unique flavor that goes really well with the veggies, especially when the pork is slightly crispy-fried.

Nilagang Baboy (Pork Stew) Recipe

Nilagang baboy is a comfort food which is perfect during winter season. I grew up celebrating most Christmas with it because my mother would cook it for Christmas meal. I thought to prepare it as the temperature is now starting to drop here in the Middle East. In a few weeks, the long, dry and hot months will be gone.

This nilagang baboy recipe, which is a Kapampangan recipe, is a pork stew that is quite simple to make. It only involves one step of cooking that is boiling all ingredients by gradually adding them according to the required cooking time of each ingredient. For me, the trick to making a very tasty nilagang baboy is to use lots of different vegetables and make sure that the pork is tender. The pork and vegetables simmered together in a considerable amount of time will create a really tasty soup. All the minerals and vitamins from the vegetables will blend with the pork broth very nicely and one will be surprise at how the soup will taste healthy.


Nilagang Baboy (Pork Stew)

Pork Sinigang Recipe

As much as I’d like to limit our pork intake not only due to swine flu scare but more so because of the amount of calories and fats we would be stuffing ourselves with, I just couldn’t resist the temptation especially when I know that there’s a half kilo of pork sitting in the fridge.

It’s been a while since we had sinigang and since I still have plenty of sinigang mix brought from the Philippines, I decided to make pork sinigang.

Sinigang, or sour soup in English, is another famous Filipino dish and seems to be everyone’s favorite. It is always present on the menu in any carinderia or Pinoy restaurant.

Sinigang is typically cooked in a lot of water, meat, a selection of vegetables, and should be very sour in taste (although some people would prefer to reduce the sourness).

There’s a variety of option for sinigang's main ingredient. One can choose from pork, beef, chicken, shrimp or fish. The sourness of the soup can also come from a range of sour fruits, such as tamarind, kalamansi (citrus), kamias (bilimbi) or santol. I also know some people who use green mango but using it may seem difficult to achieve the exact sourness compared to using other sour fruits.

For my sinigang, I used the ready mix sampaloc sinigang with gabi (taro). It’s convenient for pinoy travelers and OFWs who aren’t able to find the fresh ingredient in their country of work. The sour taste is nearly authentic. The original ready mix sampaloc sinigang was without bits of taro, the mixture with taro was just introduced later on. I like the taro version more than the original sampaloc mix because it tends to slightly thicken the soup.

Here’s my pork sinigang recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo pork, sliced into 1 inch cubes (use parts with fat layers or boney parts, whichever of these two is just as great)
4 pieces tomatoes, cut each into 4 parts
1 large onion, cut into 4 parts
1 bundle okra
2 pieces radish, sliced thinly
1 bundle Pechay (buk choy) or kangkong
3-4 pieces green chili (long)
3-4 pieces small taro (optional)
1 liter water
Sinigang mix (tamarind with gabi)

Cooking Instructions:
1. Put pork in a pot and cover with water. Bring to boil.
2. Add sliced tomatoes, taro and onion. Let it simmer.
3. When pork is tender, add sinigang mix and season with salt. Then add radish and cook until half done.
4. Add okra and long beans. When half done add pechay and cook until wilted.
5. Serve with steamed rice.

Preparation and cooking time: 60 minutes
Serving: 2-3

Binagoongang Baboy (Pork in Shrimp Paste)

If you’re a pork eater, binagoongang baboy will be sinful as it will make you eat more than what you should.

Since it is some kind of good fortune to be able to buy pork in Abu Dhabi as the UAE is a Muslim country, Boq and I would buy a few kilos every 2 or 3 weeks for some pork indulgence. Coupled with the luck to find bagoong or shrimp paste in the country, what else can one think of best to cook to combine the two other than binagoongang baboy.

I actually do have a little clue about how the dish should be prepared but I thought it would also help to consult some web expert and seek advise from our flatmate. The result was an infusion of three different ideas.

I picked up Marketmanila.com’s instruction to boil the pork in water, vinegar and sorts of seasoning then fry. While our flatmate suggested that I add tomatoes to my sauté mixture and I thought of adding slices of green pepper for added spice. I also added eggplant slices for a bit of balance. Trust me, this is just perfect for steamed rice.

Ingredients:

1 kilo of pork, cubes (I used parts with some fat and bones)

4 eggplants, sliced diagonally and fried

½ cup shrimp paste

1 onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Green hot chili (use the labuyo type if you want it more spicy)

4 tbsp. vinegar

Black pepper

Bay leaf (optional)

Vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Boil pork n a pot with water, vinegar, black pepper and bay leaf for about 30 minutes. Remove from the pot and let dry.
2. Fry pork in a deep skillet until light brown.
3. Sauté garlic, onion, tomatoes, shrimp paste and green hot chili in the same skillet. Add the pork and some water while stirring. Add the fried eggplant and cook for about 5 minutes.

Preparation and cooking time: 60 minutes
Serving size: 4-5 persons