Pinakbet: A Filipino Vegetable Stew Enhanced by Bagoong Alamang

Pinakbet is a Filipino vegetable dish cooked in a savoury sauce with bagoong alamang (shrimp paste). This recipe uses bitter melon, sweet potato, string beans, eggplant, and okra. The vegetables are simmered until tender, then served with cooked white rice. It suits a simple weeknight meal and uses one skillet on the hob.

This pinakbet cooks in layers. First, garlic and onion are sautéed in vegetable oil. Then tomatoes and shrimp paste simmer into a thick base. Firm vegetables go in next, followed by quicker-cooking ones. The result is a soft, mixed-vegetable dish with a salty, umami taste from bagoong alamang.

Use fresh vegetables for the best texture. If your bagoong alamang is very salty, keep the added salt to a small pinch. The rice is for serving, so cook it separately while the vegetables simmer. Prepare and slice all vegetables before you start cooking.

• Vegetable oil: 2 tbsp (30 ml)
• Garlic: 2 medium cloves, minced (about 6 g)
• Yellow onion: 1 small, finely chopped (115 g)
• Plum tomatoes: 2, cored and chopped (225 g)
• Bagoong alamang (shrimp paste): 60 g (¼ cup)
• Salt: 1 pinch (about 0.5 g), or to taste
• Bitter melon: 1 medium, halved, seeded, sliced 6 mm thick (225 g)
• Sweet potato: 1 small, peeled, quartered, sliced 6 mm thick (225 g)
• String beans (green beans): trimmed, cut into 5 cm lengths (225 g)
• Eggplant: 1 medium, halved, sliced 1.25 cm thick (170 g)
• Okra: caps trimmed, cut on the bias (225 g)
• Cooked white rice: for serving (about 180–240 g cooked per person, as needed)

Equipment

You only need basic kitchen tools. A wide skillet helps the vegetables cook evenly and keeps the sauce from drying too fast. A lid is important because the vegetables soften with trapped steam. Use a sharp knife so the slices stay neat and cook at the same speed.

• Skillet or wide frying pan with a lid
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Measuring spoons and cup
• Wooden spoon or spatula

Step-by-step procedure

Follow the order of cooking. It keeps each vegetable tender without turning mushy. Keep the heat at medium so the garlic does not burn. Stir as needed, but do not mash the vegetables. Covering the pan helps the sweet potato soften before the quicker vegetables go in.

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add vegetable oil, then add the minced garlic. Sauté briefly until it smells fragrant.
3. Add the chopped onion. Cook until it softens.
4. Add chopped tomatoes, bagoong alamang, and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add sliced bitter melon and sliced sweet potato. Cover and cook until almost tender.
6. Add string beans, eggplant, and okra. Cover and cook a few minutes, until all vegetables are tender.
7. Serve hot with cooked white rice.

Cooking notes for best results

Slice sizes matter in pinakbet. Thin slices cook fast and can break apart when stirred. Very thick slices stay firm and may need extra time. Try to keep each vegetable close to the stated thickness. If the pan looks dry during simmering, keep it covered to hold moisture.

Serving

Serve pinakbet as soon as the vegetables turn tender. Spoon the vegetables and sauce over cooked white rice, or serve them side by side. The shrimp paste seasons the dish, so taste before adding more salt at the table. This recipe suits lunch or dinner as a main vegetable dish.

Nutritional values (approximate)

These values are an estimate per serving for the vegetable dish only, not including rice. Amounts vary with exact produce size and the salt level of bagoong alamang. Use this table as a simple guide, not as a medical or diet plan.