I was already in college when I had my first Pork Binagoongan. My first thought was, “How could I have lived without having eaten this for 20 years???”
Over the years, I’ve tried many versions and by far, this is my favorite one. I hope you enjoy eating and cooking this as much as I do!
Ingredients:
1 kilo lean pork belly/country style cut
1 head of crushed garlic
5 eggplants washed and cut
1-2 TBSPS Bacon Fat (This is the oil you get from cooking bacon. I keep this in a jar and keep it inside the refrigerator. So many yummy ways to use this!)
3-4 TBSPS bagoong / shrimp paste
1 TBSP sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Dried Red Sili Labuyo (To make this: Wash and dry red sili labuyo. Wrap in a paper towel and store in the refrigerator. The sili will dry naturally and will keep for a very long time.)
1. Wash pork belly. Put pork belly in a pot and add just enough water to cover the meat. Let this boil for 45 minutes to an hour. You may also use a pressure cooker to soften the meat.
The belly is done when the fat can be pinched like this. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
2. Cut the meat into smaller bite sized pieces.
3. While the pork belly is boiling, wash and cut up the eggplants.
4. Fry the eggplants. You can do this by deep frying them in oil or using your air fryer. I like using the air fryer since it’s healthier and uses less oil. But my husband prefers the oilier eggplants. Either way, it’s good. 👍🏻
Put the cooked eggplants on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
5. Using medium heat, melt the bacon fat.
6. Add in garlic.
7. Just before the garlic turns completely brown, put in the cooked pork belly.
Mix well. Keep on mixing until pork belly turns slightly brown.
8. Add in the shrimp paste. Mix well to cook and remove some of the fishy taste.
9. Add in the sugar. Mix well and taste. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Add in the cooked eggplants.
Mix until the eggplants turn slightly mushy (not smushed). It should look like this.
11. Add in the dried red sili. Mix well and turn off the heat. For those with kids like me, I just serve the sili on the side.
Enjoy!
Thanks for dropping by! 😊
Domestic Goddess Tonni 