When I first started this blog, I vowed that I was going to write about the failures as well as the successes. I’ve been lucky. There have been some recipes that I would tweak here and there to improve them, but I haven’t had any out and out failures–recipes that I just couldn’t recommend. Until now.
Which is sad because I’d been thinking of making Pinakbet, a vegetable stew from the Philippines, for weeks. I’d found the recipe when I’d bought okra, fresh lima beans, and eggplant and searched all my cookbooks for a recipe that used all three. The only trouble was that the characteristic flavor of Pinakbet came from the one ingredient I didn’t have, bitter melon. So I decided that the recipe wasn’t worth making if I didn’t have the main ingredient, and I set it aside.
Then this weekend, I saw bitter melons at the Mississippi Farmer’s Market. I never would have guessed that anyone was growing them here, but there they were, along with long beans (for which I’ve always had to substitute regular green beans) and Japanese eggplants. I was so happy to see the bitter melons that I bought four, forgetting that the recipe called for only half of one.
Bitter melon with Japanese and white eggplants and long beans
So I used one of the small bitter melons, some of the long beans, and all of the Japanese eggplant and made Pinakbet last night. I followed the recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s World of the East Vegetarian Cooking almost exactly–I left out the oil, of course, and used a little more eggplant just because I didn’t want to have one lone eggplant left over. Then we sat down to eat it and . . . yuck! Even though the bitter melon makes up only a small part of the dish, the taste is overwhelming. I couldn’t taste the garlic or the ginger, only the bitterness. I forced myself to take a second and then a third bite, and I have to admit it got more tolerable as I ate it. I was actually able to eat most of the bowl, though I didn’t eat the bitter melon itself. I felt I had to make the effort because I just didn’t want to waste all the lovely eggplant, fresh tomatoes, and other vegetables that I’d put into this stew.
My daughter gave up after one bite, and my husband managed to choke down maybe half a bowl. The rest, I’m afraid to say, is going into the compost pile. I’ll bet bitter melons are good for the soil!
I’ll give you the recipe, but be sure to take a look at the suggestions for cooking bitter melon in the comments below. I’m sure that it was my cooking that was to blame for this failed meal, so please don’t make the mistakes I did!
Pinakbet
3 oz. bitter melon (seeds removed and cut into 1/2-inch by 2-inch strips, then salted, set aside for 20 minutes, and rinsed)
1 lb. long eggplants, cut into 2-inch sections
salt
10 whole okra, trimmed
5 oz. long beans, trimmed, cut into 3-inch lengths
5 quarter-sized pieces ginger
3 cloves garlic, slivered
1 med. onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs. ripe tomatoes, chopped
4 tsp. Japanese soy sauce
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen Lima beans
Brown the ginger, garlic, and onion. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add two cups of water and the remaining ingredients. Simmer vigorously for 20 minutes, stirring often. It’s done when the liquid is thick and the vegetables are tender. Add salt if necessary, remove the ginger, and serve. Good luck!
Oh, here’s a coincidence: check out what’s over at Albion Cooks!
Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
To appreciate bitter melons, one has to acquire the taste. I never appreciated the taste until I was in my late 20s. I love pinakbet (the vegan version). Cheers!
Hi there…you're right, the way you cooked it was wrong…that's not just the way to cook it…
Growing up as children, me,my brothers and sister couldn't stand it. Then when there is nothing else to eat, after time you get used to it. It is a unique taste! One thing you forgot, however, you did right excluding the oil, you need to steam all in a sauce pan using a couple of table spoons of Fish Sauce or 'Tiparos'. Then, I don't know if vegans use Tiparos as a seasoning…
Hello.. I absolutely LOVE your blog… THANK YOU for posting all the yummy recipes.. I couldn’t wait to try them all…
With regards to bitter melon I think the one you got pictured is an Indian variety called KARELA (aka: Phils. native ampalaya)… my family/mum cooks pinakbet with the “Filipino” bitter melon (ampalaya)… it looks different as it is lighter in colour; almost mint green and the “bubbles/bumps” are a bit bigger and rounder as opposed to karela… and kinda shinny/smooth… in terms of size and appearance-they are a bit rounder and plumper… my mum says its not as bitter as the karela… you don’t have to add the bittermelon to make it authentic pinakbet… I’m actually not sure what region of Phils. your recipe is from as every region has their own version…
My mums version does not have lima beans nor soy sauce, but she adds butternut squash and portobello mushrooms… though I think the lima beans is a very good idea… try it without the bittermelon… and maybe some tofu or wheat meat? Bon apetit!
Hi Susan,
How brave of you to try this having not had exposure to it before.
Honestly, I think the bitterness needs a strong savory or umami flavor with which to pair. In filipino food, that flavor comes from fish or shrimp. Perhaps you could try miso, shiitake or other strong umami ingredient?
As a sidenote, I’ve had some vegan fat-free alternatives to dishes with bitter components, specifically southern greens — collards, mustard and turnip greens — wherein the pork (strong umami) is substituted with ginger (resulting in “gingered greens”). I was surprisingly pleased and puzzled when trying a pork-free alternative to braised greens, but it worked! Perhaps the same substitution can be done with bittermelon. My family has always left out ginger in Pinakbet, but in some areas, my mom says, it is done. Perhaps the ginger may counteract and soften the bitterness while remaining vegan.
To eliminate bitterness altogether, coat the melon in salt and let it sit for a while. Or find ripe melons that start to turn red (starting from the inside). A riper melon lends a sweetness to the dish. That said, a non-bitter dish is not ‘the-same’ in my opinion, as bitterness is desired: like a rapini or mustard dish, it’s kind of expected (but again, the bitterness must be paired with a flavor that complements it).
Yeah, that photo definately isn’t ampalaya. I’ve seen the specimens you have in the market, and though I don’t know if they’re more bitter, they certainly look rather aggressive, no? Beautiful photography, by the way.
I’m from the Philippines and this recipe is one of our favorites. I love pinakbet and always like to try different variation. Your pinakbet look so, so good…I will definitely try your recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Try soaking and washing the bitter melon with salt first.
I am vegan and Filipino. I make this traditionally with fish sauce from the asian market and I do not add bittermelon because of the taste. I do not add ginger because it changes the taste for me. I add squash, eggplant, tomatoes, onion,garlic and salt.
This dish is originally made with shrimp paste called bagoong and stir fried pork which I do not eat.
I have been seeing all kinds of vegan version and I wanted to share with you the way it is suppose to be made.
Bitter melon I think is one of those ‘acquired’ tastes. Growing up close to a Filipino family, lolo use to always say “just because its bitter, doesn’t mean its bad”. Philosophically easy to grip, but the taste was always hard to handle. Like other commenters as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that I have bitter melon cravings. Unfortunately for you I guess, is that it goes really well with chicken and chicken stock. Okra and lima beans with bitter melon are also not really good companions, too alike. Try the the other variety of bitter melon (as dga suggests), again perhaps, cut into smaller pieces, with onion eggplant, long beans, celery maybe, and try tomatoes, it is very good for you.
It seems like you used the wrong variety of bitter melon. The traditional kind that Filipinos use are lighter in color and the grooves are bigger. Anyhow, I agree that it is an acquired taste, and unless you grow up eating it, I ‘d imagine it would take sometime to get used to the taste. This is the first time that I’d seen lima beans in a pinakbet dish. Anyhow, your pic looks good tho’. I might try your recipe, though I admit, I won’t be using ginger as I never use it when I cook mine.
i commend you for cooking your own without even tasting it first from somewhere else!!
you used the wrong variety of bittermelon. dqa’s is the right one and you can also use smaller size. the version i grew up with (ilocano) never use ginger, garlic, onion and soy sauce (soy sauce and bittermelon do not mix). the most important ingredient is what we call bagoong (pronounced: bah-go-ong) -fermented fish sauce with anchovies – not the kind the chinese/thai/vietnamese uses.
the way we cook it is to put all the veggies in a pot of water (depends how much veggies, in volume, you have) and boil until they are cooked well (overcook is even better). while cooking, put some fish sauce with anchovies, if you wish, in a bowl add a few spoonfuls of boiling water from the pot and then stir/mix it with a spoon. while mixing it, mince on the anchovies to get the juice out. then pour the sauce through a strainer into the pot. simmer (stir once in a while so the bottom will not burn) until it’s almost out of liquid. sort of like ratatouille.
i prefer shrimps or fried fish with it.
great pics btw. thnx. nelsoen
Unfortunately you can’t use shrimp paste in a vegan dish. Is there some other way to get that flavor, maybe with kelp granules or something?
Kelp or some other sea vegetable would be my suggestion.
I absolutely love bittermelons and this recipe looks delicious. There are anti-cancer properties as well as many other benefits to bittermelons and its seeds. You can say I have acquired the taste! Bittermelons are a superfood and it is a shame that not many people appreciate their value. Thank you for sharing!
hope you don’t mind me commenting so late on your post. You really can’t make good pinakbet without bagoong. I prefer some meat in it, but it can be made almost vegan, too. Just… the bagoong really rounds out the flavor.
Also, don’t stir the pot. I think this post might help. Hope it hasn’t turned you off bitter melon for good.
http://burntlumpia.typepad.com/burnt_lumpia/2007/08/pinakbet.html
I love Pinakbet! And every time I cook the said recipe, I’ll make sure to add more ripe tomatoes to make it a bit sweeter and counter the bitterness of the ‘ampalaya’. And about the eggplant, I always choose the circle instead of the long one, much taster. (imho)
btw, i’d found your site while searching for Pinakbet. =)
We are trying to be vegetarian and so I googled for vegetarian pinakbet. Yours came out and I was surprised tO find non Asian trying bitter gourds. Some Asians doesn’t even like to eat it due to its really bitter taste. Some variety is less bitter though.
You can make pinakbet without the gourd I guess as I sometimes dO that (maybe it’s not Pinakbet anymore without the bitter gourd).
Thanks for sharing the recipe…
Nice try on the famous Pinakbet.
You can exclude the bitter melon if you want. Or as many have suggested, try putting the bitter melon on a water with salt. Leave it for 15 minutes maximum.
5 stars for trying.
I make pinak bet all the time and was trying to figure out how to veganize it. I was delighted to find it on your website. As for the bitter melon, we leave it out. I don’t even bother putting it in at all. It’s too much trouble to process something I don’t like in the first place. If you leave it out, it tastes so much better.
Hello,
I believe that the previous comment was right, you have the Indian version of the bitter melon, usually the chinese bittermelons are used. There is a picture here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_melon
Hi there,im sure with the way you cook the pakbet is a bit different on the way we cook it..someone has to show you how to cook it and im sure you and your family will enjoy it..youll have to find a Pilipina who lives in the northern part of the Philippines ,they are the expert of how to cook it without any oil ..But most of the Pilipinos can cook bitter melon,there are many more ways to make this beautiful vegie…