Paste | Sybaritica

Given my occasional penchant for making up odd names for dishes I create, you may be excused for thinking that ‘Binagoongan’ falls into that category. Actually, the word ‘Binagoongan’ , in Filipino cuisine, means that a given dish is made using a ‘Bagoong ‘, and the pairing of fermented shrimp paste with Pork is a firm favorite in the Philippines.

Naturally, as with all classics, there are countless variations on the basic theme… Some renditions are basically sautés with very little sauce, whilst other are more like braises or stews. Generally, the ingredient list, beyond the pork and shrimp paste, tends toward the simple, with onions garlic, and a little chili being the most common additions. Some, but not all recipes, use tomatoes, whilst sugar and vinegar are almost invariably added in order to offset the saltiness of the Bagoong. Here, I use quite a bit of tomato, and the end result is heavy on the sweet and sour… Read more

If you have ever perused any Filipino cookery books, or Filipino recipes on the Internet, you have probably come across the name ‘Bagoong’ from time to time. Most sources confidently assert that ‘Bagoong’ is a fermented shrimp paste but this is only partly correct as there are many varieties made with fish as well. The fish types are collectively known by the name ‘Bagoóng Isdâ’, but there are also specific names depending on the type of fish being used. If a Bagoong is made with shrimp, however (and most commonly the super tiny variety known as ‘krill’, is used), then, strictly speaking, it should be called Bagoóng Alamáng.

Like Terasi and Belcan, or Chinese Shrimp Paste, the Filipino variety is manufactured by allowing small shrimp to ferment with salt. However, in the Philippines, the ‘raw’ product is only used in limited ways (generally as a condiment on cooked rice or fresh fruit), and, instead, it is generally cooked before packaging for sale, often with other ingredients such as garlic, chili or onion. Sometime ago, I actually featured the Lingayen Brand in a foodstuff post (which is a fairly complex variety), but I didn’t specifically identify it as a ‘Bagoong Alamang’. Here, I thought I might use the ‘Barrio Fiesta’ brand as a vehicle for a general discussion of the condiment as it is a pretty decent representative of the type … Read more

I have featured a number of fermented shrimp products in these pages, including the dried paste variety used in South-East Asian cookery known as Terassi or Belacan, and the Lee Kum Kee version of a Chinese style Shrimp Paste. When I saw this particular product on our local store shelves, I initially assumed that it was a sauce of some type intended for stir-frying shrimp but, after closer inspection, I realized that the shrimp ‘fry’ refers to the baby shrimp typically dried and fermented to make culinary pastes and that the word ‘fry’ is used in the same sense as ‘small fry’ when referring to tiny fish.

The Lingayen™ Brand variety is a product of the Philippines (some may remember the name from the WW2 naval battle of Lingayen Gulf), and the paste, I was interested to learn, is a bit different than its Chinese and South-East Asian counterparts… Read more

Hardcore fans of Asian food will likely recognize this brand and product, but if you haven’t come across it yet it really (really) bears trying. I have made, and regularly make my own Sambal Oelek, but this beats mine hands down and I can unstintingly recommend it as the best, and most versatile, commercial chili paste on the market… Read more

My cupboard almost always has a can or two of anchovy fillets secreted away. Unfortunately, most of the recipes I use them in generally only use a portion of the can and, since the fillets really don’t keep well once the can is opened, I usually end up tossing what I don’t use right away. Anchovy paste in a tube, however, while not quite as good as the whole fillets, has the advantage of allowing you to use just a little while keeping the rest for extended periods and is thus extremely useful to have on hand… Read more

Back in October of last year, I featured a commercially produced Lemongrass Paste in a Tube by the same manufacturer as the Basil Paste you see pictured above. I am afraid I wasn’t very kind in my review of the Lemongrass as I found it a little insipid and a pretty poor substitute for the fresh article. This product, on the other hand, is far better and one I have found very useful indeed… Read more

In my recent ‘Foodstuffs’ post featuring Jack Hua Brand Sour Soup Paste, I promised that I would use the versatile paste in a pork dish rather than the typical Tom Yum soup for which it was designed. I had been meaning to do a stir-fry using pork tenderloin but, since I also planned to use fresh pineapple (as opposed to canned) along with the pork, I had to put the experiment on hold until the fresh article turned up on our store shelves again. I thought of substituting something else instead of the pineapple but I was pretty sure that the Tom Yum Soup paste would go nicely with the rich sweetness of the fruit… Read more

After sampling the Tom Yum soup at Bangkok Thai Garden in Ottawa back in December, I remembered a commercially made soup paste that I used to purchase quite frequently and, on an excursion to Chinatown, I managed to find it again. I couldn’t recall the brand name but I recognized the jar immediately and was surprised to see that the manufacturer is the same as for the Thai Crab Paste I featured in another ‘Foodstuff’s’ post last year. Anyway, while I enjoy Tom Yum soup well enough, I don’t make it that often but I discovered, in past culinary adventures, that this paste is extremely versatile and can be used in all sorts of preparations beyond the basic soup… Read more

Chili pastes of one stripe or another are common in many cuisines. Some are fairly straightforward, containing little more than chili peppers, while others are considerably more complex and include a variety of other ingredients, such as garlic, ginger, or other spices. Not that many years ago, the Indonesian variety of simple chili paste known as Sambal Oelek (or Sambal Ulek) was relatively unknown in the west but this has changed in the last decade or so and one brand or another can be found in most supermarkets nowadays, with the Cock Brand, by Huy Fong Foods (makers of the popular Sriracha Sauce), being one of the most common.

Sambal Oelek is a very versatile paste that keeps well and is very easy to make. Strictly speaking, the basic version is nothing more than ground fresh chilies, but salt is also generally added, [particularly if the resultant paste is not to be used immediately). If you scan for recipes on the Internet, you will find many that include other ingredients as well but, since there are a myriad of Indonesian Sambals, all with different names, those that contain additional spices are not, in my opinion, true Sambal Oeleks. Vinegar (or even lime juice) is often included, particularly in commercial preparations, but, while this does enhance the shelf life somewhat, it also changes the finished product considerably. It also, to my mind, detracts from and diminishes the fresh chili taste, which, with just a little salt to act as a preservative, keeps surprisingly well in the fridge. For the version I will be sharing with you here, we will be using nothing more than fresh red chilies, salt, a little sugar to round out the tastes as the  pastes ages, and some oil for grinding and preservation… Read more

Back in October, I featured a commercially produced Lemongrass in a Tube and, as readers may recall, I was not terribly impressed. Indeed, I was actually so underwhelmed by the product that, after just a couple of uses, I tossed it out. Anyway, I recently managed to grab some of the fresh stalks whilst in Ottawa and I decided to make a paste myself. The process is really quite simple and I thought I would share it with you here… Read more