Pinakbet

For those who love eating colorful vegetables, here's a dish that combines them with shrimp paste as the soup base, hence the name Pinakbet. The dish comes from Ilokano word "pinakebbet", meaning it is shrunk.

Ingredients:
1/2 kg pork belly, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pc medium eggplant, cut into 1 inch stick
1/4 squash, sliced into small pieces
1 pc medium bitter melon, seeded and sliced 1 inch thick
3 pcs okra, cut into 1 inch length
3 pcs string beans,  cut into 2 inch length
1 medium onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 pc medium tomato, sliced
1 thumbsize ginger, julienned
1/4 cup shrimp paste
1/4 cup water
pepper

 Procedure:

1. Saute garlic and onion until the aroma comes out and the color of onions become translucent.
2. Add pork, ginger, tomato and shrimp paste. Stir.
3. Add string beans, eggplant, okra, squash and bitter melon. Mix well.
4. Pour water and stir. Add a dash of pepper and cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
5. Serve hot.