Dinengdeng ng Ilocano Recipe

Ever heard of this recipe here? Well, if not, then you might want to try this.

My first encounter with this dish gives me confusion. I don’t know what’s in the bowl, looking weird. But as it is said, do not be deceived by your eyes. I tasted it, and that was not bad! That will be among the weird dishes that I would like to try again. Dinengdeng or inabraw is a Filipino vegetable dish that originated from the Ilocos region. This dish is composed of different vegetables, thus making it similar to bulanglang and even to pinakbet.  However, that fried or grilled fish makes all the difference, as well as the bagoong added into the vegetables. Dinengdeng is classified as a bagoong soup-based dish. Unlike pinakbet, dinengdeng contains fewer vegetables and contains more bagoong soup base.

The dish may contain the following vegetables: jute leaves, the pods and leaves of the marunggay, the leaves and fruits of bitter melon, the squash and blossoms, alakon blossoms, amaranth leaves, sweet potato tubers and leaves, gourds (like kabatiti and tabungaw), string beans and shoots, talinum, chayote squash and shoots, chili peppers, sabunganay (banana blossoms), corn, West-Indian pea blossoms, tangkoy (winter melon), eggplant, okra, winged beans, parda beans (chicharo), lima beans, various mushrooms like oyster mushrooms, whole taro, cassava tubers, purple yams, and wild potatoes.

Cannot imagine what does it look like? Then try this dish now, and let me know what you think. Happy eating!

 

Dinengdeng ng Ilocano Recipe

Dinengdeng ng Ilocano Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 milk fish bangus; fried or grilled
  • 1 cup string beans; cut into 2″ long
  • 6 pieces okra
  • 1 cup squash; cut in cubes
  • 1 big ampalaya; cut in 2” rectangular lengths
  • 1 onion; sliced
  • 2 large tomatoes; sliced
  • 1 cup jute leaves saluyot
  • 1 root ginger; crushed
  • Bagoong isda
  • 3 cups water

Instructions
 

  • In a casserole, bring water to boil. Add onion, ginger, and tomatoes. Let stand for 3 minutes. Season with bagoong and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove the scum that rises on top of the liquid and then drop the milkfish. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add vegetables. Cook until vegetables are done. Adjust seasoning according to taste.
  • Serve hot!
  • Cooking Tip:
  • You can use other kind of fish like tilapia or shellfish.
  • You can also use or add other vegetables like sweet potato andmalunggay fruits.

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