Filipino-American vlogger Bretman Rock had fellow Pinoys, including celebrities, drooling after sharing a post on cooking pinakbet, an Ilocano vegetable dish.
On March 26, the social media personality posted videos and photos of the experience, showing his mother guiding him through the process as he learned how to prepare the dish.
“My mom and I made Pinakbet the other day,” he wrote on his social media accounts.
“I didn’t appreciate Pinakbet enough when I was younger [because] now, I be craving it every week,” Bretman added.
“Don’t mind her crooked glasses, she was choppin’ like no tomorrow,” he continued.
Bretman also shared clips of them buying vegetables from the market, preparing the ingredients, and eventually cooking the dish together.
He also posted it on his Instagram account, where it caught the attention of several Pinoy personalities.
“Nagimasen,” actress Maja Salvador wrote with a heart emoji. “Nagimas” means “delicious” in Ilocano.
“My faveeee,” Miss Universe Philippines 2021 first runner-up and Asia’s Next Top Model season 5 winner Maureen Wroblewitz commented with the same emoji.
“Yummmm,” vlogger Ivana Alawi wrote with a drooling face emoji.
Other Filipinos also shared their reactions in the comments section.
“I wish I can get fresh sigarilyas here in Cali [California] and not frozen ones. This got my mouth watering,” a Facebook user wrote.
“My favorite! Same — I didn’t appreciate it when I was younger. Now that my mom has passed, I miss it so much, no one can make it like my mom,” another commented.
“Oooh, especially the pakbet Ilocano. They have the best ingredients!!” a different Facebook user wrote.
“Miss my dad making a big pot of this from time to time. He passed [four] years ago. Wish I had learned how to make it from him,” another said.
Pinakbet is a Filipino dish made with a medley of vegetables, pork and shrimp paste, locally known as “bagoong.”
Known for its savory and salty flavor, the dish is prepared by steaming mixed vegetables with shrimp paste until they shrink, resulting in a concentrated, flavorful taste.
Originating from the Ilocos Region, the name pinakbet comes from the Ilocano word pinakebbet, meaning “shrunk” or “shriveled,” which describes the way the ingredients are cooked.
