Instructions: * One exotic ingredient is "shrimp paste," known as "bagoong" if you have access to an Asian or Filipino store. Its main contribution is to add salt and a fishy taste. An easy substitute would be liquid "fish sauce"

made from anchovies and found in many Southeast Asian cuisines. If you dont have either of these, just add salt to taste. Another ingredient you might not be familiar with is "bitter melon." This is widely available in Asian food stores and farmers markets here on the West Coast, but I dont know about other places. Its shaped like a big, bumpy, green banana. I love it, but its an acquired taste.

Saute garlic, ginger and onion in oil or other liquid. Add the eggplant, green beans, okra, carrot, and pork cubes with shrimp paste and water.

Stir briefly and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, shrimps and bitter melon and stir again briefly. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes.

NOTES : People in the northern Philippines eat a lot of okra, usually in a vegetable stew called "Pinakbet" with lots of other veggies. This recipe calls for shrimp and pork, so I have included them because theyre traditional. But I have made this dish lots of times without them and its still terrific. Removing them also makes it much lower in fat. The amounts of vegetables are just a guideline.

This dish is very tolerant of creativity with ingredients.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.