Filipino Pinakbet: Harvest Squash, Okra and Eggplant Stew with Shrimp Paste

Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-high. Add the pork belly and cook for 8 to 10 minutes without crowding, turning occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the cubes are deeply browned and crisp at the edges.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound pork belly, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, julienned
• 2 ripe tomatoes, quartered
• 3 tablespoons bagoong alamang (fermented shrimp paste)
• 2 cups kabocha or butternut squash, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 Asian eggplants, cut into thick diagonal slices
• 12 okra pods, stems trimmed
• 1 cup long beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• Steamed jasmine rice, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-high. Add the pork belly and cook for 8 to 10 minutes without crowding, turning occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the cubes are deeply browned and crisp at the edges.
2. Lower the heat to medium and add the onion, garlic and ginger to the rendered fat. Cook for 3 minutes until softened and aromatic.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for 4 minutes, pressing gently, until they break down and release their juice.
4. Push everything to one side and add the shrimp paste to the bare pan. Fry it for 1 minute — it will darken and smell sharply savory — then stir it through the base. Frying it first is what tames the raw edge and turns it into depth.
5. Add the squash and water, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 8 minutes until the squash is just beginning to soften.
6. Layer the eggplant, okra and long beans over the top without stirring. Cover and steam for 8 to 10 minutes, until everything is tender but the okra still has bite.
7. Add the rice vinegar and shake the pot gently — traditionally pinakbet is tossed by shaking rather than stirring, which keeps the soft vegetables from breaking apart. Cook uncovered for 2 more minutes.
8. Taste and adjust with a little more shrimp paste if it needs salt. Serve hot over steamed jasmine rice, spooning the pork and its savory broth over each portion.
9. Pinakbet comes from the Ilocos region of northern Luzon, where the name derives from pinakebbet, meaning shriveled or shrunk — a reference to how the vegetables cook down in their own juices. It is the most honest expression of harvest cooking in the Filipino repertoire: whatever the garden gives, layered into one pot and bound by bagoong. Ilocano cooks use bitter melon as well, and if you can find it, a sliced ampalaya added with the eggplant brings the traditional bitter counterpoint. Late summer, with squash curing and okra at its most tender, is exactly the season this dish was built around.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 428 kcal
• Protein: 17g
• Fat: 26g
• Carbohydrates: 34g
• Fiber: 8g
• Sugar: 12g
• Sodium: 1120mg