Binagoongang Baboy

I was so happy with my first try at cooking  Chicken Adobo sa Gata that it inspired me to cook another classic Filipino dish for the first time - Binagoongang Baboy.  I found a recipe in the March 2010 issue of Yummy magazine.  I've had this dish often in restaurant, but at times I found the meat to be really tough.  That's a major concern for me because The Little Ones would not appreciate that.  So happy that in this recipe the meat turned out so tender.  I guess boiling the meat first really helps in tenderizing it. As usual the Little Girl liked the dish,but I was surprised that the Little Boy loved it too.  He had several servings, I guess  the combination of sweet and salty was to his liking.   And since the dish has no soy sauce he can have as much as he wanted.  His soy intake should be limited because of his G6PD deficiency.  He kept on asking that the sauce be mixed with his rice, "More please, more pa" he said, then he took a huge spoonful, and then turned to me with his "pacute" smile with his head tilted to the side.  

Here is the recipe:

1 kilo pork belly, cubed

3 cups of water

1 head of garlic, minced

1 large white onion, minced 

4 tomatoes, diced

4 siling haba, minced

2 cups of shrimp paste

1/2 cup vinegar

4 tbsps brown sugar

1. In a casserole, boil pork in water and simmer until tender, about 40 minutes.  Then drain, and set aside.

2. Saute garlic, onion, tomatoes, and chili peppers in a little oil, and then add the pork.

3. Add the shrimp paste and cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

4. Pour in vinegar and stir well.

5. Add sugar and simmer for 10 minutes or just until cooked.  Serve hot.