Gulay Recipes Pinakbet

YOUR PINAKBET SHOPPING LIST: Eggpant (Talong) Bitter Melon(Ampalaya) Okra Tomatoes Shrimp or Fish, Pork Shoulder Canned Broth IN THE PANTRY: Garlic Onion Thick Salted Fish Sauce Ground Black Pepper

INGREDIENTS
2 pieces Ampalaya (Bitter Melon), cut into 2" length 2 pieces eggplant, cut into 2" length wedges 6-8 pieces okra, tops trimmed off or cut diagonally if longer than 2" length 2 pieces tomatoes, cut in wedges 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium onion, chopped 1 tablespoon Bagoong Isda (Thick Salted Fish Sauce) 1 1/2 cup broth, shrimp, fish or pork 1 teaspoon ground pepper 2 tablespoons cooking oil, for sauteing PREPARATION TIME : 15 minutes COOKING TIME : 25 minutes

1 Saute the garlic, onion and tomatoes. Add the pork and saute for a minute. 2 Turn the heat down and add the vegetables, layering them in the pan from the bottom
in this order : ampalaya, okra, and eggplant.

3 Add the broth and bagoong. Cover, let it boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until the
vegetables are cooked but still firm.

4 Stir in the fish or shrimp. Season with ground pepper. 5 Serve with rice.
(Learn more about COOKING RICE, THE FILIPINO WAY.)

BENG'S COOKING TIPS

Use bagoong alamang (shrimp paste) if the bagoong isda(thick salted shrimp paste) is not available. Or you can use Patis (Fish sauce) or regular sea salt if you want. The fish is added towards the end so it doesn't disintegrate in the dish. Likewise, I do the same with the shrimp so it doesn't get tough and rubbery. Add string beans or even squash if you want, but the ampalaya, okra and eggplants are your required vegetables for an authentic Pinakbet. If you have fried fish or pork leftovers from the day before, you can use them as long as they're not seasoned with overpowering flavors like chili or anise or sesame oil. You can use the canned or prepared broths found in the supermarket, or you can make a shrimp broth by pounding the shrimp shells(shrimp meat not included), boiling it in water, then straining it.

YOUR AMPALAYA GUISADO SHOPPING LIST: Ampalaya(Bitter Gourd or Bitter Melon) Tomatoes Pork Shoulder Canned Broth, Pork, Chicken or Vegetable Whole Eggs IN THE PANTRY: Garlic Onion Fish Sauce Ground Black Pepper Cooking Oil

INGREDIENTS
2 pieces Ampalaya, cut in half, seeded and sliced into 1/4" crosswise 2 pieces tomatoes, cut in wedges 1/2 pound pork, pre-boiled and cubed 2 pieces whole eggs, scrambled 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium onion, chopped 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 1 1/2 cup broth 1 teaspoon ground pepper 2 tablespoons cooking oil, for sauteing PREPARATION TIME : 10 minutes COOKING TIME : 20 minutes

1 Saute the garlic, onion and tomatoes. Add the pork and saute for a minute. 2 Add the ampalaya and the fish sauce. 3 Pour in the broth and cover to let it boil, then turn the heat down to simmer for 5-10 minutes until
the vegetables are cooked but still firm.

4 Season with pepper. 5 Pour the beaten eggs on top and do not stir. Let it cook for a minute before turning the heat off. 6 Serve with rice.
(Learn more about COOKING RICE, THE FILIPINO WAY.)

BENG'S TIPS
If you had salted the ampalaya to sweat out the bitter juice, you can rinse out the salt if you want. Otherwise, adjust the fish sauce that you will put in so the dish will not be too salty. Do not stir the eggs once you add it in so it doesn't break down and look unappetizing. If you have fried fish or pork leftovers from the day before, you can use them here as long as they're not seasoned with overpowering flavors.

YOUR SHOPPING LIST:

Dried Taro Leaves Pork loin or shoulders Coconut Milk Long Chili Peppers

IN THE PANTRY:

Garlic Onion Salt Ginger Sauteed Shrimp Paste(Bagoong Alamang) Cooking Oil

INGREDIENTS

4 cups Dried Taro Leaves 1/2 pound Pork loin or shoulders, boiled and cut in strips 2 cans Coconut Milk 1 piece Long Chili Peppers, cut in strips 3 cloves of Garlic, minced 1 medium Onion, chopped 1 teaspoon Salt 1 thumbsize Ginger, cut in strips 2 tablespoons Sauteed Shrimp Paste(Bagoong Alamang) 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil for sauteing

PREPARATION TIME : 10 minutes COOKING TIME : 20 minutes

1 Saute the garlic, onion and ginger in cooking oil. Add the pork and cook for 2 minutes. 2 Add the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring from time
to time.

3 Cook until the taro leaves have fully absorbed the coconut milk and almost rendering
fat.

4 Serve with rice.

(Learn more about COOKING RICE, THE FILIPINO WAY.)

BENG'S TIPS

For those who don't like eating a chunk of ginger can just shred it instead of cutting in strips.

When buying coconut milk for cooking a savory dish, look for one with 0(zero) sugar content on its Nutrition label. You would not like the hint of sweetness for savory dishes.

You can use peeled shrimps with this dish if you want. Add them during the last couple minutes of cooking so it doesn't get rubbery and tough.

YOUR ADOBONG KANGKONG SHOPPING LIST: Kangkong(Water Spinach) Pork loin Canned Broth, Pork, Chicken or Vegetable

IN THE PANTRY: Garlic Onion Soy Sauce Vinegar Ground Black Pepper Cornstarch or Tapioca Starch Cooking Oil

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch Kangkong leaves, stalks cut in 2" length and leaves separated 1/2 pound Pork Loin, pre-boiled and cubed 1/2 can Canned Broth, Pork, Chicken or Vegetable 4 cloves Garlic, minced 1 medium Onion, chopped 1/4 cup Soy Sauce 1/4 cup Vinegar 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper 2 teaspoon Cornstarch or Tapioca Starch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water Cooking Oil for sauteing

PREPARATION TIME : 5 minutes COOKING TIME : 15 minutes

1 Saute the garlic, onion and tomatoes. Add the pork and saute for a minute. 2 Add the soy sauce and vinegar and bring to a boil. Do not stir. 3 Add in the the Kangkong stalks and let it cook for a minute, then mix in the leaves. 4 Thicken the sauce with the starch dissolved in water and bring to a boil. 5 Serve with rice.
(Learn more about COOKING RICE, THE FILIPINO WAY.)

BENG'S TIPS
The starch for thickening the sauce is optional. It's up to you if you would rather have a thin sauce for this dish.

White vinegar is quite strong so do not stir it once added to the pan. Let it cook for a few minutes so the dish will not be too tangy.

If you have fried fish or pork leftovers from the day before, you can use them here as long as they're not seasoned with overpowering flavors.

YOUR CHOPSUEY FILIPINO RECIPE SHOPPING LIST:

Pork Shoulder Shrimps Cauliflower Carrots Snow Peas Sitsaro Cabbage Pork or Shrimp Broth Green and Red Bell Pepper Quail Eggs

IN THE PANTRY:

Garlic Onion Pepper Salt Fish Sauce Patis Cooking Oil Cornstarch or Tapioca Starch

INGREDIENTS

4 cloves Garlic, minced 1 medium Onion, chopped 2 tablespoons Cooking Oil, for sauteing 1 cup Pork Shoulder, pre-boiled, sliced in strips 1 Cauliflower, cut the florets only, 2 Carrots, cut in strips 1 cup Snow Peas Sitsaro, ends trimmed 1/2 Cabbage, cut in 1/4 inch thick 1 each Green and Red Bell Pepper, cut in strips 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce Patis 1 cup pork or shrimp broth 1 cup Shrimps, shelled and deveined 12 Quail Eggs, pre-cooked and shelled(optional) 1 tablespoon Cornstarch or Tapioca Starch, dispersed in 1/2 cup water 1 teaspoon Salt 1/4 teaspoon Pepper

PREPARATION TIME : 20 minutes COOKING TIME : 25 minutes

1 In a large pan over medium heat, saute the garlic and onion in the cooking oil. Add the
pork and shrimps and cook for 2 minutes.

2 Add cauliflower, red and green bell peppers and snow peas, together with the fish sauce
and saute for 3 minutes.

3 Pour in the pork stock, put the cover on and simmer for 10-12 minutes. 4 Stir in the shrimps and quail eggs. 5 Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch dispersed in water mixture. 6 Season with salt and pepper. 7 Serve hot with rice.
(Learn more about COOKING RICE, THE FILIPINO WAY.)

BENG'S TIPS

You can use a Knorr Pork or Shrimp cube for the broth, just lessen or omit the fish sauce because it could make the dish too salty. You can saute the shrimp with the pork in step 1 but make sure you take it out once it has turned orange so it doesn't get overcooked. Just add it back towards the end. Substitute the vegetables in this recipe to those which your family will eat - say, bamboo shoots, bok choy, green beans or other subtle flavor veggies. But do not omit the green peppers because they give a distinct flavor to the sauce.

If you are a fan of chicken gizzard and chicken liver, these are other options you can add to this chopsuey Filipino recipe. Gizzards are pre-cooked together with the pork while the liver is added with the shrimp in Step 4.

No quail eggs? Use the canned quail eggs but put them towards the end so as not to overcook them. They tend to be rubbery when overcooked.

YOUR TORTANG TALONG SHOPPING LIST: Eggplant Ground Pork Red and Green Bell Peppers

IN THE PANTRY: Eggs All-purpose Flour Garlic Onion Tomato

Soy Sauce Lemon or Calamansi Juice Salt and Pepper Cooking Oil

INGREDIENTS
4-5 Eggplants, roasted, stem intact, skin removed and mashed flat

SAUTE 3 1 1 1 1 cloves Garlic, minced medium Onion cup Red or Green(or both) bell peppers medium tomato, sliced pound Ground Pork, marinated in o 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce o 2 tablespoons Lemon or Calamansi Juice 2 tablespoons All-purpose Flour

OMELET 5 pieces Large Eggs Salt and Pepper to taste

Cooking Oil

1 Prepare the eggplants by roasting, removing the skin and mashing. Set aside. 2 Saute garlic, onion and bell peppers and tomato. Add the meat and cook until oil is
coming out of the meat, about 6- 10 minutes.

3 Add the all-purpose flour, cook for 2 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Remove
from heat and cool down a bit.

4 Beat the eggs, and season with salt and pepper. Add the cooled sauteed groundmeat. 5 To make the omelet, heat up the oil on a non-stick pan, and put in the eggplant with the
mashed portion flat and tight(no hole when laid flat).

6 Spoon 3-4 tablespoons egg/meat mixture on top of the eggplant and press down to come
together. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

7 To flip, hold the stem with one hand and with the spatula on the other, turn the eggplant
carefully with one motion, and press down. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

8 Turn the omelet over onto a serving plate and serve with a side of Banana Catsup.
BENG'S TIPS
If all these are quite hard for you, you could just mash the eggplant pulp, add the meat/egg mixture, and cook 1/2 cup like how you would for a regular round omelet. It will taste just the same. You could also do a meatless omelet by skipping the meat filling and go plain. Your omelet will look like this : Left-over dishes like Giniling Guisado is also a perfect filling for this tortang talong. Just take out the sauce and make a binder of egg and flour.

YOUR VEGETABLE TEMPURA SHOPPING LIST: Assorted Vegetables o Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Zucchini, Green beans All-purpose Flour Cornstarch Baking Powder Panko Breadcrumbs or any Dried Breadcrumbs

IN THE PANTRY: Garlic Powder (optional) Onion Powder (optional) Salt and Pepper Cooking Oil

Light Sodium or Regular Soy Sauce Wasabi or Japanese Horseradish

INGREDIENTS
1 Pound Assorted Vegetables o Green Beans, cut in 3 inch lengths o Sweet Potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick o Zucchini, cut in 3 inch strips o Carrots, sliced in 1/4 inch thick BATTER 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour 1/2 cup Cornstarch 1 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Garlic Powder (optional) 1 tsp Onion Powder (optional) 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp Pepper 1 cup ICE COLD Water

DREDGING

2 cups Panko breadcrumbs or any Dried Breadcrumbs

Cooking Oil for Frying

DIPPING SAUCE 1/2 cup Light Sodium or Regular Soy Sauce Wasabi or Japanese Horseradish

1 Mix together the batter ingredients and place inside the refrigerator while the veggies are
being prepped.

2 Prepare the vegetables by cutting to desired sizes and thickness. Set aside. 3 Take out the batter mix from the refrigerator and dip each vegetable slice, thendredge in
the breadcrumbs. Repeat for all before you start frying.

4 Heat up the cooking oil using medium low heat and drop in the vegetables one by one
without crowding them in the oil.

5 Cook until golden brown about 3-4 minutes, then set on a paper towel to drain excess
oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6 Serve with the dipping sauce.

BENG'S TIPS
Use any dried breadcrumbs, or make your own by toasting loaf bread( Tasty bread) slices in 300F; for 10 - 12 minutes or until dried but not browned. Shred or pulse in food processor and use. Once you dredge in breadcrumbs, make sure you pack the crumbs tight onto the vegetables to keep them from falling off during frying. Pair your vegetable tempura with Shrimp Tempura since they use the same batter ingredients.

YOUR GINATAAN KALABASA SHOPPING LIST: Squash or Kalabasa String Beans Shrimp Coconut Milk Coconut Cream

IN THE PANTRY: Garlic Onion Long Chili peppers(optional) Fish Sauce or Shrimp Paste Ground Pepper

INGREDIENTS

5 cups Squash, cut in cubes 3 cups String Beans, cut in 1 1/2 inch lengths 1/2 pound whole shrimp, head and shells removed, with tails intact 1/2 can or 3/4 cup coconut milk 1/2 can or 3/4 cup coconut cream 1 cup shrimp broth(from boiled shrimp head and shells) 2 tablespoon shrimp paste or 2 tablespoon fish sauce 4 cloves Garlic, minced 1 medium Onion, chopped 1 Long Chili Pepper (optional) 1 tsp Ground Pepper Cooking oil for sauteing

1 Pan-fry the shrimps in little oil for about 30 seconds per side, then set aside. 2 Using the same pan and oil, saute the garlic, onion and chili pepper, then add the shrimp
paste.

3 Add the squash and string beans and cook for a minute. 4 Pour in the coconut milk and shrimp broth, bring to a boil. 5 Turn heat down and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. 6 Add the coconut cream to thicken the sauce and cook for a few minutes. 7 Put in the cooked shrimps and season with salt(if needed) and pepper. 8 Serve hot with rice.

BENG'S TIPS
You can cook whole shrimps (with shells and all) and skip the making of shrimp broth. Make sure to cook the shrimp briefly and not at the same time as the veggies or they will be tough and rubbery.

I like my Ginataan Kalabasa where the squash is almost mushy and the sauce is thick, but that's a personal preference. Cook your veggies up to the stage that you like them.

Add a pinch of sugar if your squash is not sweet enough for your taste. Also, you may want to add some cornstarch dissolved in little water if your don't havecoconut cream or your sauce is not thick enough.