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Dinengdeng is a delicious and nutritious vegetable dish topped with fried fish. Made from a combination of vegetables and herbs cooked in a flavorful broth. A simple but tasty dish that is great with a side of rice!

I have been binge eating fish lately, so I decided to mix it up with this veggies recipe! It’s a great way to cut down on meat if you’re eating healthy and have a balanced diet in mind. We just love the feeling of having a nice warm bowl of vegetables! Definitely a great hit in our house!

This Filipino vegetable dish is quick and easy to make, and can be tailored to your taste. It’s full of healthy legumes and flavor-packed! Try this dinengdeng recipe for dinner tonight and let me know what you think! I would love to hear your feedback.

What Is Dinengdeng?

Dinengdeng or “inabraw” is a Filipino dish that uses various vegetables combined with fish to create a hearty meal. “Idengdeng” meaning “to strain” is where the name of the dish came from. The extra step of straining the “bagoong isda” ensures that the tiny bits of fish is removed and only the sauce will go into the soup. This native dish of the Ilocos region is a local favorite, and can be paired with any type of fish.

It is similar to pinakbet but soupier and uses bagoong isda instead of shrimp paste. Another difference is, the herbs and vegetables are boiled unlike in pinakbet where it is sautéed making it healthier in my personal opinion. It’s super delicious, especially topped with either grilled or fried fish, that is why Ilocanos love it!

Notes On Ingredients

Vegetables – Filipinos are fond of cooking dishes with ingredients grown in their backyards like vegetables and herbs. There is no strict rules on what veggies goes in the dish and here are some suggestions: squash, okra, ampalaya or bitter melon, eggplant, sweet potato, saluyot or jute leaves, bamboo shoots, malunggay or moringa leaves, spinach, string beans, lima beans, kalabasa flowers or squash blossom, zucchini flower, amaranth leaves, sigarilyas or winged beans.
Soup base ingredients – This are necessary ingredients for the dish: tomato, onion, ginger.
Bagoong Isda – is fish sauce which is also called bagoong monamon is fermented fish paste that can be bought at any Asian stores near you.
Fish – although you can have the dish with only vegetables it’s not dinengdeng without fish sitting on top. You can use any of the following to fry or grill: bangus or milkfish tilapia galunggong sea bream mackerel.

Cooking Tips

Choose fresh vegetables without discoloration of skin. If you live abroad and cannot find saluyot and squash blossoms you can replace with spinach and zucchini flowers.
Do not skip the process of straining the bagoong isda to ensure that you are only pouring the liquid in the soup.
Boil vegetables that takes longer to soften. For example add squash, string beans first followed by ampalaya, eggplant, sgarilyas and add lastly the leafy vegetables like malunggay anf squash blossoms.
Fry or grill the fish first before making the vegetable soup. When grilling milk fish, leave the scales on. This will prevent the fish from sticking in the grill.
Remove the scum that rises on top of the liquid by skimming with a spoon for a clear broth. Add the fried or grilled fish at the last stage of cooking the vegetables.
Place fish on top without submerging and let it simmer for a few minutes for additional flavor.

How To Serve And Store

Serve warm topped with grilled or fried fish and enjoy on its own or with a side of steamed rice.
Store left over if any in an airtight container any refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To reheat, reheat in a microwave-safe bowl until completely heated or in a pot on a stove top over medium heat until simmered.

Dinengdeng

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Filipino

Keyword: dinengdeng, dinengdeng recipe

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 40

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 233kcal

Author: Mia

Ingredients

1 cup fish sauce ((bagoong isda or bagoong manamon))
1 medium onion (sliced)
1 thumb-sized ginger (sliced)
1 medium tomato (quartered)
1 cup squash (cut into 1 inch cubes)
1/2 cup string beans (cut into 1 1/2 inch stips)
2 small bitter gourd (seeds remove and cut in half – ends removed)
4 small winged beans (cut in half – ends removed)
2 small egg plant (cut in half – ends removed)
3 okra (cut in half – ends removed)
2 cups spinach
5-6 cups water
2 – 4 pieces fried fish

Instructions

Prepare fish of choice and fry or grill depending on personal preference.
2 – 4 pieces fried fish
Pour water in a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. When water starts to boil, add ginger, onion and tomato. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
1 medium onion, 1 thumb-sized ginger, 5-6 cups water, 1 medium tomato
Strain the fish sauce or bagoong isda into the pot using a fine mesh sieve to remove small bits of fish. Stir then cover with lid and simmer for a minute.
1 cup fish sauce
Tip in squash and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until tender.
1 cup squash
Add string beans, bitter gourd, winged beans, and egg plant. Cover pot with lid and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt or add more fish sauce.
1/2 cup string beans, 2 small bitter gourd, 4 small winged beans, 2 small egg plant
Add okra and simmer for 2-3 more minutes or until soft then add spinach and simmer until wilted.
3 okra, 2 cups spinach
Place fried fish on top of the vegetables then cover with lid and simmer for an additional 1 minute.
Remove from heat and transfer in a serving dish. Serve and enjoy. Bon appetit!

Video

Nutrition

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Dinengdeng

What Is Dinengdeng?

Notes On Ingredients

Cooking Tips

How To Serve And Store

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