How to make pinakbet with bagoong

Pinakbet is a Filipino vegetable stew made with or without bagoong. I always thought that I'll never get the hang of cooking Filipino dishes, but I was successful in making the pinakbet this weekend, so I thought of sharing with you how easy it is to make it.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 lb of stew meat
• 2 tbsp of bagoong (salted filipino shrimp paste)
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 2 tbsp diced garlic
• 6-7 okra
• 1 small acorn squash, cut into medium cubes
• 10 pieces of string beans
• 1 small eggplant, cut into medium cubes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 4 cups of water

1. In a stock pot, pour olive oil and let warm for 4-5 minutes.

2. Cook onions and garlic until soft and clear.

3. Brown stew meat for about 10 minutes.

4. Mix in the bagoong and stir for about 5 minutes. At this time, you might want to have excellent ventilation in your kitchen as the bagoong is very potent and may leave your kitchen smelling like bagoong for the whole day.

5. Pour water and let boil for about an hour or until meat is tenderized.

6. Mix in the remaining ingredients and leave until vegetables are nice and soft.

7. Sprinkle pepper and a tiny bit of salt to taste.

8. Serve with white rice.

Tips & Warnings

• Prepare to have good ventilation when making anything with bagoong. This Filipino shrimp paste is very potent and lingers a long time if you do not have proper ventilation.
• Leave the meat in no less than one hour.
• You can always add in more water after the vegetables have been boiled and cooked.