Pakbet tagalog is a tasty vegetable dish made-up of different fresh vegetables, pork, and shrimp paste. This dish is a variation of the popular dish, Pakbet Ilokano, that originated from the Ilocos Region.
This recipe is comprised of different vegetables such as eggplant (talong), squash (kalabasa), sting beans (sitaw), ampalaya (bitter melon), okra, and others. Since there are quite a number of ingredients required, I usually carry a shopping list and buy the freshest produce from a nearby market on the day that I’ll cook them. When it comes to the Shrimp paste, I always buy an extra bottle from the Asian store so that I won’t run out of stock.
Before I forget…have that rice cooker going because you might need some extra rice. Oh…one more thing. Have a cold soda (soft drinks) on your side or some cold juice to get rid of that shrimpy taste after you’re done. Happy cooking!
Try this Pakbet Tagalog recipe.

Recipe: Pinakbet Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb pork, thinly sliced
- 1 large egg plant, chopped
- 1 medium-sized bitter melon, chopped
- 1/4 lb squash, chopped into 2×1 inch cubes
- 3 pieces large tomato, sliced
- 1 piece onion, sliced
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 6 to 8 pieces okra
- 1 bunch string beans, cut in 3 inches length
- 4 tbsp shrimp paste
- 1 cup water
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- salt and pepper
Watch the cooking video:
Cooking Procedure
- Heat the pan and put the cooking oil.
- When oil is hot enough, saute the garlic, ginger, onion, and tomato
- Add the pork and cook until color turns light brown (about 5 to 8 minutes)
- Put-in the shrimp paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until pork is tender
- Put-in the squash and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until texture becomes soft
- Add the remaining vegetables and mix with the other ingredients.Simmer for 5 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked. (Do not overcook the vegetables)
- Serve hot with steamed white rice. Share and Enjoy!
Number of servings (yield): 4
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this is perfect for 2nyt dinner ng family ko.tyou! sana sa susunod if ever…cheesecake nman po ty!
Mmm.. sarap! My confession is that when I make it, I don’t include any ampalaya/bitter melon – it’s just something I can’t learn to like, no matter how much I try. I wish my husband liked pakbet (or is it pinakbet?). I prefer mine with lots of squash and eggplant, which he isn’t a fan of – lol.
i love gulay masarap 2 lalo n pag may pitong tilapia maraming salat uli.
wow, i love pakbet! a couple of months ago i was craving for this dish and had to call my mom overseas to ask for the recipe! hahaha! thanx for posting!
salamat po!for sharing ur recipe
pakbet is really yummy, ilove it.
wow, pakbet is really a very delicious dish. i love it,
I used to cook this dish when I’m in the Philippines,
I really miss pinakbet!
Thanks kuya for all of your recipes!
ano pong main difference in taste nito sa Pakbet recipe (Ilokano?)
thank you kuya
thank you very much for the video. i’m not a good cook but the video made it easier for me to cook pakbet. maraming salamat.
hello! thanks sa panlasang pinoy…
comment lang po, di po ba dapat unang ilalagay ung sitaw kasi matagal un maluto???
this is one my favorite! thanks for sharing this recipe, GOD BLESS^_^
hello…thanks po for sharing your recipe….
i really love this dish becuase it’s so healthy…
iba talaga ang pagkaing pinoy…
yung asawa ko is australian and he loves pinoy foods…
anyway,i’m off to buy the ingridients…
salamat po..^_^
Hi Kuya,
Thank you for sharing the recipe you know I love to eat pinakbet when I was in the Philippines because my mom always cook this and now I am here in the US ngayon kulang ito natikman salamat kuya ha at least naka tulong kang hindi kami gaano ma homesick kasi iba talaga pag nasa ibang bansa. God bless you always Kuya!
Hi Kuya,
Thank you for sharing the recipe you know I love to eat pinakbet when I was in the Philippines because my mom always cook this and now I am here in the US wala. Thank you so much you are the blessing.
yummmy!!
I have to comment at least, to thank you kuya for teaching us this different recipe you got here. I’ve learned so much from your website and their so easy to follow. Very much needed to our every day meals (specially on my case I just got married) that is healthy yet budgetwise like this one. Because here in manila, budget pakbet veggie packs are already available at every groceries. Just have to season them well at home. I have recipe books pa nga eh just to learn how to cook. But I thought I just cant cook. Pero now. Learning this website. I’ve learned how to cook “delicious” food na. Hahaha! Amazing how my dishes tastes good now. Thanks to you with your videos ^^
I have always liked pakbet tagalog better than pakbet ilokano. I never knew how to cook pakbet until I chanced upon this site so I tried cooking this today taking care not to overcook the vegetables. Well, almost… except for the squash which got a little bit overcooked but still tasted good. I guess it all depends on what variety of squash you use. Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe.
Hi Kuya,
Ano pa ba alternative sa shrimp paste? kasi allergic asawa ko sa seafoods. Pero gusto ko magluto ng pakbet.
ang sarap!!!
:3 :* -_- ^_^