Pinakbet (Pumpkin Stew)

 This is one of my mother's favorite dishes because of the Ampalaya (bitter gourd 😖). I cook mine without the bitter gourd. I learned that an alternate substitute for bitter gourd is Winter Melon or Honey Dew 😦. I'm not brave enough to try it.

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 lb lechon kawali (pork belly), chicken or beef; sliced 
• 1 piece Knorr Shrimp Cube or seafood broth with 1 1/2 lb of shrimp
• 1/2 lb sitaw (string beans), cut into 2 inch length 
• 1 small kalabasa (pumpkin), cubed 
• 12 pieces okra, sliced 
• 1 piece Chinese eggplant, sliced 
• 1 piece ampalaya (bitter gourd), sliced **(optional)
• 1 piece kamote (sweet potato), cubed (optional) 
• 2 pieces tomato, cubed 
• 2 thumbs ginger, crushed (optional) 
• 1 piece onion, chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed 
• 2 teaspoons bagoong alamang (shrimp paste) or 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 ½ cups water 
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil (if you are cooking with chicken or beef) or 1 tbsp butter (if you are cooking with the pork belly)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• sliced pickled jalapeños for topping
• chicharron (pork rind skins) for topping

Directions:

1. Pre-heat a large pot or wok for 10 minutes under medium high heat. Melt butter. Sauté onion and garlic until they become aromatic. Add ginger. 
2. Add the pork belly into the pot. Sauté for 1 minute. Season with ground black pepper. If you prefer to have a crispier texture for your pork belly, allow to cook until the violent fat explosions stop hissing or until pork belly is well done. If you prefer to crisp roast your pork belly first, preheat oven to 450° F. Score the pork belly fat. Take care to make shallow cuts - it's okay to go into the fat, but don't cut so deep that you go into the meat. Score the skin into a diamond pattern. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Lower temperature oven to 275°F and let it cook for another hour.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium pot, pour in 1/2 cup seafood broth under low medium heat. Add shrimp and simmer until shrimp is tender. (For a faster option, add Knorr Shrimp Cube after pouring water over the cooked pork belly.) 
4. Pour water and allow to boil. Cover the pot and cook in medium heat for 20 minutes. Add tomato and fish sauce. Stir. Add the shrimp broth (Yes; just the broth). Cover the pot. Simmer for 3 minutes. 
5. Put the pumpkin and sweet potato into the pot. Simmer for 7 minutes. 
6. Add the string beans, okra, and shrimp. Stir. Cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. 
7. Add eggplant. Cook for 5 minutes. 
8. Serve. Enjoy with rice and a side of shrimp paste! A small pinch of the shrimp paste goes a long way. It's very salty.

Inspired by Author Vanjo Merano of Panlasang Pinoy