Easy Pakbet Tagalog Recipe

Pakbet Tagalog is a variant of Pinakbet. Pinakbet (also called pakbet) originated from the Ilocos region of the Philippines. The original pinakbet (pakbet) is made from mixed vegetables steamed in fish sauce (bagoong). The original Ilocano pinakbet (pakbet) uses bagoong of fermented fish.

This easy pakbet tagalog recipe is a minor twist from the original Ilocano dish. In this recipe, we will be using bagoong alamang (shrimp paste) instead of bagoong isda.

Pakbet Tagalog usually use bitter gourds (ampalaya), eggplants (talong), tomatoes (kamatis), okra, string beans (sitaw), and calabaza (kalabasa).

Our recipe also uses pork belly (liempo). You could also used left-over lechon kawali or lechon liempo if you have any. This saves time.

It is ideal to use fresh vegetables for this dish. The best partner when serving this dish is fish.

Recipe for Pinakbet:

Easy Pakbet Tagalog Recipe

Recipe by Yummy FoodCourse: MAIN COURSECuisine: FilipinoDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

43.5

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Pakbet Tagalog is a variant of Pinakbet. The original pinakbet (pakbet) is made from mixed vegetables steamed in fish sauce (bagoong).

Ingredients

• 250 g pork belly, cut into strips

• 500 ml water

• 3-4 tbsp, bagoong alamang

• 1 pc small onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2-3 pc medium tomatoes, chopped

• 1/2 small squash, peeled and cut into cubes

• 5-7 young okras, ends trimmed, cut into halves diagonally

• 1/2 bunch sitaw, ends trimmed and cut into 3-inch lengths

• 1 pc ampalaya, seeded then halved and cut into slices

• 1 large eggplant, ends trimmed and cut into cubes

• salt

• 1 tbsp cooking oil

Directions

• Pour and heat oil in a pan and apply medium-high heat.
• Add pork and cook until browned and fat rendered.
• Lower heat to medium and add the onion and garlic and cook until tender and aromatic.
• Add tomatoes and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until it becomes soft and the skins peel off the flesh
• Add shrimp paste and continue to cook for about a minute.
• Add squash and water. Cover the pan and let it simmer for about 2 minutes.
• Add yard-long beans, bitter gourd, and eggplant. Season with salt if needed. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the okra and cook for another 2 minutes or until vegetables are tender yet still a bit crisp.
• Transfer to a serving plate and serve with rice and your favorite fried meat. Enjoy!

Other VEGETABLE recipes may be found HERE.

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