Pork & Vegetable Stew

Click to Enlarge	Pork & Vegetable Stew Philippine - Pinakbet
	Serves Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	4 *** 50 min Prep	An interesting and easy to make stew that emphasizes vegetables and includes a modest amount of pork. The bitter melon isn't particularly bitter by time it's cooked but does add an interesting flavor. This recipe could also work well with chicken thigh meat. Serve with plenty of steamed Jasmine rice. This dish doesn not reheat well.

10
4
2
1/2
7
8
8
6
2
3
1

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oz
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oz
oz
oz
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T
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Pork, lean
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Tomatoes
Eggplant, thin
Okra, whole
Bitter Melon (1)
Oil
Shrimp Paste (1)
Water

Prep

Trim PORK of any excess fat and cut into 3/4 inch cubes.
Peel ONION and chop medium, Crush GARLIC and chop small. Slice GINGER very thin and chop very small. Mix.
Skin TOMATOES and chop coarse.
Slice EGGPLANT into 1 inch thick rounds and cut the larger rounds into bite size pieces. Immediately put in a bowl of water acidulated with citric acid or lemon juice.
Stem OKRA very close to the cap but leave whole. Cut BITTER MELON in half lengthwise, remove seed mass and slice shell about 1/8 inch thick. Mix.

Run

Heat oil in a large coverable sauté pan. Stir in Onion mix and fry stirring for a minute, then stir in Pork dice and fry stirring until onions are golden.
Stir in Tomatoes, Shrimp Paste and Water. Bring up to a simmer, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Drain Eggplant and stir in along with Okra mix. Bring back to a simmer, cover and simmer, turning a couple times, just until the eggplant is cooked through, about 10 minutes - do not overcook.
Taste for salt and serve hot accompanied by steamed Jasmine rice.

NOTES:

Bitter Melon: Ampalaya in the Philippines. Use the common Chinese variety which should be fairly green (not yellowing and seeds with no more than a tinge of pink). If you want you can try salting the slices for an hour or so which may reduce the bitterness some. For details see my Bitter Melon page.
Shrimp Paste: Philippine Bangoon Alamang would seem the natural choice, but it's always dyed florescent pink, and that gives the dish, particularly the pork, a very unappetizing color. I recommend using Thai or Vietnamese shrimp paste. If you are uncomfortable with the amount of shrimp paste (it is rather strong), substitute good stock for the water, add 1/2 t salt and cut the shrimp paste in half. For details see my Fish Sauce page.
U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch