Vegetarian pinakbet
A Filipino stew of garden vegetables, bitter melon, aubergine, okra and squash, bound in a savoury miso broth.
Photo : Jesse Alegre · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Method
- Salt the bitter melon slices and leave them for 15 minutes, then rinse and squeeze to soften the bitterness.
- Heat the oil in a wide casserole and cook the onion, garlic and ginger for 3 minutes without colouring.
- Add the tomatoes and crush them with a spoon; let them melt down for 4 minutes into a thick sauce.
- Whisk the miso into the hot stock, pour it into the pot and bring to a simmer.
- Layer the squash on the bottom, then the aubergine, bitter melon and finally the okra on top, without stirring.
- Cover and cook gently for 15 minutes, shaking the pot once or twice rather than stirring, so the vegetables keep their shape.
- Season with pepper, rest for 5 minutes and serve with white rice.
Traditional pinakbet takes its salt from bagoong, a fermented shrimp paste; miso gives the same umami depth here. Note that most miso contains barley, so choose a rice miso if you are avoiding gluten.
