English Patis
Hello Celia,
My name is Lance and I live in Hawaii. I am Japanese-Hawaiian and I love most all types of ethnic foods, Filipino included. I consider myself a decent cook, and have prepared pinakbet for family and friends many times. My thinking is ampalaya [though a disagreeable taste to some] and talong are essential to qualifying the dish as "pinakbet. Whatever vegetables are available will be included in my pinakbet. Calabasa and it's shoots, squash[tabungao], tomatoes, mild chilies, wing beans, onions, and your infamous okra[saluyot]to name a few. I am not particularly fond of bagoong, and used to use patis. I have the luxury of having all these vegetables available in Hawaii, probably not the case in the U.K. When I was a young man, I was stationed in the Philippines at Clark Air Base. I made a trip to Dagupan one weekend, famous for their "farmed" shrimp and bangus which they would cook and sell on the beach. One day at the market I came upon a new product, Dagupan Agamang, and I have been using it since in my Pinakbet. It colors the dish a bright pink[strange looking] but it is very tasty and delicious. I am new to computers, and I am fascinated with the Internet. I was researching ethnic dishes, and searched "pinakbet" out of curiousity. Amazing, a Filipina living in the U.K. with a cooking site, and a blog[don't fully understand blog]site!
I will continue reading your text, and your recipe is very easy to follow. Please don't misunderstand, I don't mean to come across like I have a better way, just trying to let you know my taste. Being new to computers, email is great, meeting people from all over the planet and exchanging different ideas!
Aloha and Mabuhay,Lance
Celia, do you still have the bottle of cincalok? From how you and Stel say it, it seems similar to our Ilocano monamon or bagoong Balayan. All along I thought it's similar to the Kapampangan burong hipon because it's fermented with rice. Is there rice in the list of ingredients?
Hi Ting, for me the Cincalok's smell and taste is as potent as our bagoong but in a different way. Try mo I think magugustuhan mo yan. 
Uy, I saw Cincalok too when I went to the Filipino Store the other day. I wanted to try it sana ang kaso, I was warned that I might not like the strong taste. Apparently, its fermentation is different from the fermentation that our bagoong has.
Yeah, same here Dexie, prices for sitaw, ampalaya and kalabasa are so expensive! 
ahhh, Pinakbet. i'm ilocana so this post is making me drool.
i haven't make it in a while coz of the veggie prices. kakainis. plus i have to drive 45 minutes to the nearest chinese store that carries sitaw and ampalaya.
as for okra, i can only eat 4 of 'em. more than that and the lower area of my face itches..arrgh.
allergies and all, it's not going to stop me from making pinakbet once I get my ingredients
Joey: No okra - apir! 
If you need historical backgrounds and origin of indigenous dishes and ingredients of the Phils. head over to Karen of Pilgrim's Pots & Pans and Stefanie of Stefoodie (see my links). They're both OC foodies. Hehehe!
Xtine: I told you, better start a blog. You've got a lot of stories and tips to share. Email you later. 
Ka Uro: Yes, I do freeze our food as well although I do it mostly to meat dishes. Does it (freezing I mean) not make vegs a bit soggy? Some say potatoes are not good for freezing. Any techniques you can share?
Reesie: Oh wow, you question and Xtine's answer in the same blog comment! (see her post 2 down from yours). Most people sprinkle salt on the sliced ampalaya and let it sit for about 30 mins to let the juice come out. Others not only put salt but soak in hot/warm water as well (like Xtine). I know of other people put baking soda in the water soak instead of the salt. But always you squeeze the ampalaya after soaking and discard the juice and then rinse with water. Try any of these methods I'm sure you'll find one that suits you.
masarap!!! i adore pinakbet (only without ampalaya). it's my mother's favorite dish. is there a secret to cooking ampalaya? i have heard that there is a way to make it less bitter tasting, but i'm not sure how to do it. my mom does not cook it well, so she is not a good source for more information. would appreciate if you knew a special cooking method!
sarap ng pinakbet. pati yung kilawing puso ng saging mukhang ang sarap sarap. very appetising ang mga pictures mo.
my wife cooks both these dishes. i don't know how to cook, taga-kain lang ako. here's one tip that you may want to share with your readers. kami kasi tatlo lang sa bahay. when my wife cooks these dishes hindi naman practical na for 3 people lang. usually mas practical kung damihan na ang luto. so what my wife does is put the excess in small plastic containers. each container just good enough to serve 3 people. then she puts them inside the freezer. the dish is still good as newly cooked after defrosting them even for weeks. kaya sa freezer namin ang daming small plastic containers. each one may label pa.
Tita Celia,
What a coincidence! I am browsing through each blog’s site if I can find something native and simple dish and guess what I’ve found? Pinakbet! To some, they don’t like okra but I do! Well, Wednesday- is the best day to go to Asian store here for some selective vegetables and fish! Probably will go for Pinakbet not today cause it’s only Tuesday but tomorrow will do! ; ) Thanks for posting this dish! It reminds me about my grandparents who taught me how to make the best pinakbet from their origin- Ilocos Sur!
And one more thing Tita Celia, just add one more tip for the bitter melon, I usually sit them on a hot water with salt for at least 15-30 minutes and it so amazing how the taste change a little bit bitter but not too strong. Yummy….
This is one of my favorite Pinoy veggie dishes! Thanks a lot for the background information as I am sadly uninformed when it comes to our own pinoy dishes and how and where they originated...so always happy to learn more! FYI: I also don't like the okra either, hehe
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