
I’m new to Filipino food, but have fallen in love with the savoury tart flavours of Filipino cuisine since the very first video I did – Filipino food tour in Sydney.
Pork Belly Binagoongan

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2- 4
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon of sugar (optional)
1 stalk of spring onions (optional)
Water – enough to braise the meat for 30-45min
DIRECTIONS
1. Before starting we want to prep all our ingredients by doing the following:
- Cut eggplant into large chunks
- Roughly chop the tomato
- Dice your onion
- Chop up your garlic
- Cube your pork belly
2. Heat a pot on the stove at high heat with some cooking oil and place your eggplant chunks in once the oil is hot. Pan fry each side of the eggplant for roughly half a minute to get the eggplant 70% cooked. Once ready, take the eggplant out of the pot and set it aside.
3. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to the pot if the eggplant has absorbed all the cooking oil earlier, and place your onions in. Let your onions begin to cook before adding in your garlic and saute both for about 2 minutes.
4. You place your tomato in once your onions begin to soften. Stir the mixture around until the onions and tomatoes are soft.
5. Make an open space in the middle of your pot and place your pork belly cubes in. Don’t over stir to get a nice brown on the pork belly. Once there’s some colour on the pork you can add in your shrimp paste and stir your mix throughly.
6. Add in your white vinegar and bring it to a boil until adding water. You want enough water to just reach the top of your pork. Place the lid on and let it simmer for 30-45min on medium heat. You would want to check on your pork at around 20min to see if you need to add more water or continue simmering with the lid off to get the right sauce consistency.
7. Once the liquid has been reduced and you’re left with a thick sauce – You can add in your black pepper and sugar to taste. Once seasoned to your liking you can add in your eggplant and let it cook for a few more minutes.

8. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve!