Pork Binagoongan (Pork Sautéed in Shrimp Paste)

One of my 2014 resolutions is to live a healthier life. A step I took to kick start this lifestyle shift is to just cook. Sounds simple, right? Well, for someone like me who is far from being a kitchen goddess, preparing home-cooked meals day in and day out was a challenge. WAS–because with a few hacks here and there, I got a hang of preparing scrumptious home-cooked food.

The idea of the #justcook challenge is basically to veer away from processed food and prepare all meals from scratch. It was a challenge for me because that meant no more instant flavoring, noodles–instant anything! But here’s the thing: If you don’t have the time to prepare everything from scratch, don’t be hard on yourself. I’m not the best cook in the world and I get very busy with work sometimes so my secret to preparing yummy meals that has ingredients that I can’t make from scratch? I buy ’em.

A new favorite source of home-cooked ingredients/sides is Bebeng’s Kitchen. The tagline says it all: Totally Homemade. I already had a taste of Denise’s (Bebeng) homemade products when she hosted a small get-together at her house. It was love at first bite! So when I saw her at the Work-at-Home Expo, I took the opportunity to buy the rest of her products. One of them is her Bagoong Alamang, which I used to cook Pork Binagoongan.

Pork Binagoongan is an authentic Filipino recipe that is loved by Filipinos despite its pungent smell. There are many ways to cook it, but the one I’m featuring here is a simple recipe you can do in 20 minutes or less!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• Bebeng’s Kitchen’s Bagoong Alamang
• 2 lbs. pork (I bought menudo cut pork)
• 3 cups of water
• 5 tbsp. vinegar
• 3-5 pieces of bay leaves
• One (1) onion (chopped)
• 1 tbsp. garlic (minced)
• 1 cup tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 pc chili (optional, sliced)
• Salt and pepper to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a cooking pot, pour in water and bring to a boil. Add pork, vinegar, and bay leaves then simmer until meat is tender.
2. Remove meat from the pot then drain water.
3. In a separate pan, sauté onions, garlic, and tomatoes.
4. Add Bebeng’s Kitchen’s Bagoong Alamang and simmer for five minutes.
5. Add the pork and mix well. Cook for another five minutes.
6. If you want to add chili for a kick of spice, add your sliced chili then simmer for 3 more minutes.
7. Sprinkle your dish with salt and pepper to taste. But honestly, Bebeng’s Kitchen’s Bagoong Alamang is just right already so I didn’t have to add salt and pepper!
8. Serve hot with steamed rice.

It was the first time the minis ate Pork Binagoongan, but they loved it! There was a bit of hesitation at first because of the smell, but after the first bite, I’m not sure where the rest of the food on their plates went to in such a short period of time. 😀

Do you have your own version of Pork Binagoongan? Share your recipe here!