Greetings
Ilokano's way of cooking is very versatile, especially vegetable dishes. One of the most versatile Ilokano dishes is the Inabraw, it is arguably one of the most popular Ilokano dishes maybe next only to Pakbet (Pinakbet in Tagalog).
I actually blogged several variants of Inabraw in the past the first that I got to share with the community is Inabraw - A Local Favorite Dish (Simple Yet Nutritious and Delicious) second is Introducing "Inabraw na Sitaw at Saluyot with Fried Fish" - Another Signature Vegetable Dish of Ilocanos the third one is Inabraw na Upo - Another Signature Dish of Ilokanos the fourth one is Introducing "Inabraw na Sitaw at Papaya na may Inihaw na Tilapia" - An All-time Ilokano Favorite Dish
As for the English names of the vegetables that I used in this recipe, they are Pigeon Pea, Winged Bean, Sweet Potato, Eggplant, Ribbed Loofah, Milk Fish, Fish Sauce, Salt.
And here are the names of the ingredients in our local and national dialect which is Ilokano and Tagalog respectively, Pigeon Pea is Kardis in Ilokano and Kadyos in Tagalog, Winged Bean is Pal-lang in Ilokano and Sigarilyas in Tagalog, Sweet Potato is both Kamote in Ilokano and Tagalog, Eggplant is Tarong in Ilokano and Talong in Tagalog, Ribbed Loofah is Kabatiti in Ilokano and Patola in Tagalog, Milk Fish is both Bangus in Ilokano and Tagalog, Fish Sauce is Baggoong in Ilokano and Bagoong in Tagalog, Salt is both Asin in Ilokano and Tagalog.
Without further ado here's how I cook this very delicious dish.
- Kardis (Pigeon Pea)
- Sigarilyas (Winged Bean)
- Kamote (Sweet Potato)
- Talong (Eggplant)
- Patola (Ribbed Loofah)
- Bangus (Milk Fish)
- Bagoong (Fish Sauce)
- Salt (to taste)
Cut both ends of Kardis (Pigeon Pea) so that the soup will have a way in (or you can split them in two)
Cut the Sigarilyas (Winged Bean) into serving portion then split them into two
Peel and slice the Kamote (Sweet Potato) into two half or serving sizes
Slice the Talong (Eggplant) just like in the photo below
Peel and slice the Patola (Ribbed Loofah)
Remove the stomach and gills of Bangus (Milk Fish) then wash them (you can definitely remove the scales of the Milk Fish)
Prepare the Bagoong (Fish Sauce)
1. Fry the milkfish
2. After frying, put the milkfish in a cooking bowl
3. Add all the ingredients to the cooking bowl then add some water, the water should not submerge the ingredients (about 3/4), bring to a boil
4. When it starts to boil, get some soup using a ladle
5. Add the boiling soup to the fish sauce
6. Stir the fish sauce with boiling soup
7. After stirring, return the soup with fish sauce into the bowl, be careful not to add the thorns of the fish sauce, let it boil, add some salt if needed (be careful in adding salt because the fish sauce is already salty)
8. When all the ingredients are cooked it is done
I am a Computer Engineer, blogger, farmer, father, and husband. I love countryside living, nature, farming (rice/vegetables), and has two decades of experience as an I.T. professional
