Humba for Dinner

I felt like eating humba tonight, so I decided to cook some. I had 4 pounds of pork belly in the freezer which my husband bought from the Asian store a while back. Pork belly with skin, fat, and lean meat on it makes excellent humba. Only Asian and Filipino stores sell this type of meat because the rest of the supermarkets sell only lean meat.

Humba (hoom-baa) or braised pork belly is a popular meat dish in the Philippines. Braising means to brown the meat first in its own fat, then simmer it afterwards with liquid in a covered pot. It is not healthy though to eat this on a daily basis because of the high content of fat and cholesterol, but once in while it is a tasty treat. You can eat this with rice (best choice for me) or bread.

My mom makes the best humba in our family. I tried other people's version of this dish and I didn't like them because they are greasy. I don't like eating humba with most of the fat still on. I tried to cook the recipe like my mom makes it, but still after a few attempts I could not get as close as how she makes it. I think I'll learn her technique over time.

I try to come up with the approximate measurement of the ingredients used in this recipe. I just usually estimate how much I'm going to need when I cook, but tonight I able to use measurements. The recipe is below.

Humba (Braised Pork Belly) Recipe

Ingredients:

2 pounds pork belly, cut into 2 inch cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup vinegar
2 cups water
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar or 1/2 cup pineapple juice
3 tbsp salted black beans (tausi)
1/2 cup dried banana blossoms
2 pieces bay leaves
10 pieces peppercorns

Procedure:

1. In this step, you will remove most of the fat in the pork and brown the meat in its own oil. To do this, place meat in a pot and cook over medium heat. Turn the meat over every 2 minutes to make sure it browns evenly. As soon as the meat has browned and most of the oil comes out, remove the meat and drain them in paper towels. This step takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

2. Remove most of the oil in the pot (leave about 2 tablespoons) and saute the garlic and onions. Put the meat in, as well as  soy sauce, water, sugar or pineapple juice, bay leaves, peppercorns, salted black beans, and banana blossoms.

3. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the meat simmer for 10-15 minutes until the liquid is reduced and thickens. Remove from heat.

4. Serve with hot rice or bread.

This recipe yields 4 servings.

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Pinakbet for Dinner, So Yummy!

At last, I was able to cook “Pinakbet” today. Thanks to my dear husband, who painstakingly went over my list and miraculously got everything I wanted from the Asian store. He used to get the wrong item I put on the list. Either because some words are not in English (items such as miswa, patis, datu puti suka,etc.) or my handwriting is not that good (which is partly true :-)).

Since I got two kids, I rarely went out grocery shopping with family, so my other half became responsible for the task. He is actually quite good at it, and able to get most of the things fast and efficiently. So today before heading out to the store, I made the grocery list and explained to him the items I wanted him to get. I even use his phone to photograph the products just to make sure he got the right stuff!

When he came home, I was so delighted he got the right squash (kalabasa)!By using mental picture of what I told him, he was able to get the right vegetable. “Get a squash that looks like a pumpkin but green on the outside. Not the yellow squash that looks like a zucchini”. I applauded him for this technique! The same thing goes with the okra, eggplant, and the rest of the ingredients to make “pinakbet”. Thanks for his ingenuity; I got every ingredient I needed. I was craving to eat this Filipino dish for so long that I couldn’t wait to cook and made a hearty meal for myself.

“Pinakbet” or “pakbet” is a Filipino dish consisting of meat and vegetables. My version of “pinakbet” has pork, salted shrimp fry (bagoong), yellow squash (kalabasa), okra, eggplant, and bitter melon (“ampalaya”).

So my wish was granted and I feel happy! I had my delicious “pinakbet” for dinner with generous serving of rice. Once in a while I love to spoil myself by eating more than a cup of rice when I have something scrumptious to go with it (Filipino meat or veggie dishes, of course!) While at the table, I contemplated how lucky I am to be able to access some of my favorite foods I love to eat in Philippines. Although the prices of the ingredients are a little bit expensive in the US, I’m still thankful that somehow they are available. Each time I eat foods that remind me as a Filipino, my heart swells with pride because they are part of who I am. I don’t mind much how “stinky” some ingredients are to others (thankfully my honey doesn’t mind much, although he loves to tease me once in a while), as long as they taste good, I am  contented.

So here's the veggie dish I am talking about. :-)

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