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Filipino

Pinakbet

Non-vegetarian

An Ilocano stew of bitter melon, eggplant, okra, long beans and squash cooked down with tomato, a little pork and salty shrimp paste.

Pinakbet is a Filipino stew from Philippines, ready in about 50 minutes and made with shrimp paste, bitter melon and eggplant. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Platter of pinakbet, stewed squash, eggplant, okra and beans, among fresh vegetables
Photo: Jesse Alegre / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
30 min
Total
50 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
355

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Cook the pork in a dry pot until the fat renders and the edges brown. Add the onion (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and tomato (opens in a new tab) and cook until soft.

    Food safety: Cook pork until the centre reaches at least 63 °C (71 °C for minced pork).

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the shrimp paste (opens in a new tab) and fish sauce (opens in a new tab), add the water and pumpkin (opens in a new tab) and simmer until the pumpkin starts to soften.

    • 7 min
    • medium heat

  3. Step 3

    Layer the bitter melon (opens in a new tab), eggplant (opens in a new tab), beans and okra (opens in a new tab) on top. Cover and cook without stirring, shaking the pot now and then, until all the vegetables are tender.

    • 12 min
    • medium-low heat

  4. Step 4

    Season with pepper (opens in a new tab), toss gently and serve.

    • 1 min

About this dish

Origin
Ilocos, Philippines · Well documentedMore food from Philippines
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Stews & braises · Side dishes · Main courses
Cooking method
Stewed, Sautéed
Taste
savoury, bitter, umami, earthy
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Carb-conscious
With the listed swaps: Pescatarian, Pork-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Everyday · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Shrimp paste · Eggplant · Pork belly · Onion · Garlic · Tomato
Techniques
Sautéing · Simmering · Stewing

Allergens

  • Contains: Fishfrom fish sauce
  • Contains: Crustaceansfrom shrimp paste, fish sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

355 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 464 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 10%
  • Carbohydrate 24%
  • Fat 66%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy355 kcal77 kcal
Protein9.4 g2 g
Carbohydrate21.7 g4.7 g
Net carbohydrate14.6 g3.1 g
Sugars——
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre7.1 g1.5 g
Fat27.1 g5.8 g
Saturated fat——
Trans fat——
Cholesterol36 mg8 mg
Sodium846 mg182 mg
Salt equivalent2.1 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1018 mg
Calcium
106 mg
Iron
2.1 mg
Magnesium
88 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
333 µg
Vitamin C
74 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0.5 µg
Folate (DFE)
115 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Shrimp paste: Fish sauce (FDC 174531) at 1.5× as a stand-in salted fermented seafood condiment; protein is understated.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Salting the sliced bitter melon for 10 minutes and rinsing tames its bitterness.

Common mistakes

  • Stirring the vegetables while they cook breaks them up — shake the pot instead.

Serve with

  • Serve with rice and fried fish or crispy pork (bagnet).

Storage

  • Keeps 2 days refrigerated.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently in a covered pan.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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