Dinengdeng

This dish is often interchanged with Pinakbet because of their similar method of cooking and appearance. Both are vegetable soup dishes, and both use a variety of vegetables. The difference between the two, however, is that while Pinakbet contains the more colorful “Bahay Kubo” veggies, Dinengdeng only tends to use green or yellow ones—malunggay leaves and fruits (the long pods), squash and squash blossoms, and alakon blossoms, to name a few. Tossing in grilled pieces of fish or other meat is also frequently done here.

Want to know another major difference? Dinengdeng uses only bagoong, but does not use shrimp paste.