The name comes from the Ilocano 'pinakebbet', 'shriveled': the vegetables wilt in their own juices with bagoong monamon, fermented anchovy paste. In Ilocos the pot is never stirred; it is lifted and swirled in circles so the eggplant, okra and ampalaya stay whole. The southern Tagalog version adds squash and uses shrimp paste, but the Vigan one remains the benchmark.
Ingredients
200 g squash, cubed
1 eggplant, quartered
6 okra pods
1 ampalaya (bitter melon), sliced
150 g sitaw long beans, cut into pieces
4 ripe tomatoes
3 tbsp bagoong monamon
100 g fried bagnet (optional)
150–300 kcal per typical serving.
Per ~300 g serving of the vegetable stew without rice; the bagnet version reaches ~450 kcal. (estimated from the typical recipe)
