Sunday, November 28, 2010
andi
My aunt's coming over later, and I want to cook something special for her. I only have a half-full jar of bagoong I bought a few months ago, a piece of leftover breaded pork from last night, a few veggies (eggplant, sitaw or string beans, a lone tomato), and week-old frozen gata (coconut milk). The solution? Pork binagoongan.
I've never really tried cooking this particular dish before, but it's one of those viands I often buy when I'm eating carinderia (small food stall full of the sweet goodness of home cooking)-style. Here's how I made mine:
1. Add about a teaspoon cooking oil in a heated shallow pan. Add chopped onions (1 medium sized) and garlic (about 3-4 cloves). Add a bit of salt and pepper to get the seasoning started.
2. Add sliced tomatoes and bell pepper to the pan after the garlic has become slightly brown. Saute until the tomatoes start to become slightly more red (a minute or two will do)
3. Add cubed pork slices to the pan. Since I used previously cooked leftover pork, I didn't need to saute this for long. Add vegetables, starting with the ones that cook longer first (in this case, string beans). Mix a bit then cover and let sit for 5 minutes or until everything's decently half cooked.
4. Add the bagoong or shrimp paste. Mix well.
5. Add the coconut milk. Mix well until the milk boils a bit.
6. Lower the flame, add a chilli or two, then mix one last time before turning off the fire.
Voila! Leftver pork binagoongan done. My aunt actually liked the dish, and I didn't even tell her it's from leftovers lol. For pictures and more decent step-by-step instructions to making pork binagoongan, go here.
