Pinakbet

Pinakbet is a Filipino vegetable dish associated with Ilocos. Vanjo Merano’s selected Tagalog version combines squash, okra, bitter gourd, eggplant and sitaw with crispy lechon kawali, shrimp paste and a shrimp-flavoured cube.

Onion and garlic sauté in cooking oil, with crushed ginger offered optionally. Half the prepared lechon kawali follows before water and the shrimp cube are added and the covered pot simmers.

Tomatoes and bagoong alamang enter next. Squash and optional cubed kamote cook before the quicker-cooking sitaw, okra, sliced bitter gourd and Chinese eggplant join the pot.

Ground black pepper seasons the vegetables near the finish. The remaining lechon kawali is added at this late stage, keeping some of its crunchy pieces for the completed dish.

The author pairs this vegetable-and-pork version with warm white rice. Its mixture of tender vegetables and late-added crispy pork gives several textures, while extra water can make a more generous sauce.