Choosing a dish that is definitive Pinoy for LP’s 1st year anniversary (hosted by Stef) is quite tough that it took me this long to come up with an entry not to mention a busy month packed with traveling and deadlines, and transferring our websites to a new hosting site. (Yeah this blog has a new domain name, a gift!) I thought about dishes I’ve already blogged about – adobo, sinigang, sinaing na tulingan, and few more iconic regional dishes until I thought about the lowly bagoong alamang.
Bagoong alamang or fermented shrimp paste is something that we can’t live without. Having no Filipino store around I always bring a big jar or 2 with me from Manila. We also buy few more if we visit HK and my sis never forgets to bring me some every time she drops by for a vacation. If only I can find here something similar like the Malay variety belacan or the Thai counterpart (kapee?) oh I wouldn’t go into such trouble. Back home give me some of those pinkish alamang from the wet market and I would be more than happy.
Oh the things that you can do or indulge with it… unripe mangoes, steamed leafy vegetables, grilled or steamed eggplants, fried fish, kare-kare, pinakbet, even nilaga and sinigang. The list goes on I am very sure of that depending on which region one belongs to. With its unique yet distinguishable smell, just one whiff and you will know immediately what’s cooking. And when the craving is intense I’m back at the dinner table, plain rice with alamang is good enough for me. Nakakamay pa! Not bad as it is rich in calcium and vitamin B complex. Read this.
Above is a photo I took during a reunion last December. Prepared by my cousin Maribeth, a big bowl of salad stuffed up with skinned steamed eggplants, chopped tomatoes and shredded unripe mangoes. Next to it was a smaller bowl of bagoong alamang guisado sinfully drenched in pork fat. Yeah the perfect match! As for me, I prefer to grill the eggplants, peel off the charred skin and flatten its flesh with fork.
I usually prepare bagoong alamang guisado with fatty pork tidbits but I cook chunky binagoongan (pork cooked in bagoong as shown in the last photo) almost the same way, just a difference in proportions. Anyways, here’s a very simple recipe…
Ingredients:
¼ kilo of fatty pork, cut into tidbits
2-3 cloves garlic, grinded using mortar and pestle
1 onion, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
a bowl of bagoong alamang
Cook the pork in its own juice until it renders fat and sauté until the meat is brownish. Push the cooked meat to one side and fry the garlic using the pork fat until golden brown. Throw in the onions and tomatoes, and sauté together with the pork until the tomatoes are mashed. Add in the bagoong alamang and continue frying over low to medium heat until desired consistency. You may wish to add vinegar, chili and sugar for zest, zing and sweetness. Remove from oil and drain or leave it drenched in pork fat. How about binagoongan sa gata?
Maligayang pagbati sa unang anibersaryo ng Lasang Pinoy! Thanks to Ces & Marco for the wonderful LP button 
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9 Comments
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Hi Iska! Congrats on the new domain
I’ll update my link to your siteASAP.
Definitely, alamang has to be at the top of uniquely Pinoy dishes. It is certainly one of my faves and a regular at our table. I have to admit though that even though I love binagoongan, I never cooked it before because the smell will definitely drive the whole family outside. Plus, I’d be the only one eating it.
You just gave me an idea with the green mango and eggplants. I’ll be trying that out soon.
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Hi Iska, congratulations on your new domain! Is it now called iskandals or still edible experiments?
What a great entry for the 1st anniversary! I love bagoong alamang and have been meaning to cook some but my oriental store currently don’t have any in stock. I cook mine like this too. I blogged about it in my old blog
How i miss it!!! I have to cure my cravings soon or i’ll go crazy
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aba oo nga sister! nakalipat ka na pla ng site! congrats! buti kpa! ako kya klan? kc nga long time no chat tyo…hehe
anyway, parang bigla nag-amoy bagoong ang apt! sa entry mo! lol! d nga..as in! as if you were here, cooking that with the pork bits!!!!almusal pa naman…teka nga…happy anniv to us!
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tapos sunod lutuin yung sinangag sa kawali na pinaglutuan ng binagoongan….sarap naman!
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Congrats on your new site!
Ubos ko na ang 2 jars ng alamang ko!!! Waahh! I need to schedule a (one-hour) trip to d nearest pinoy store soon. I must admit I have not tried to cook pork binagoongan (although I always ate that bought from carinderias when I was still in PI, kapag nakaduty.
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Uy, bago na ang domain, parang showbiz chismis ang title
Since I’m living here in our country, hindi nawawalan ng bottle of bagoong sa fridge. Very useful sa ating mga nanay, dami paggagamitan.
Like Manang, I have not tried cooking binagoongang baboy. I know pag sa iyo galing ang recipe, sure na wagi sa sarap iyan. I will try na talaga.
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I forgot, Happy Anniversary nga pala sa ating lahat!
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i love bagoong na alamang! i always have it on the side whenever i’m at home (sometimes even in restaurants) - with adobo, sinigang, fish, steamed vegetables, any dish with gata, etc! yum!
congratulations on your new domain! happy 1st anniversary!
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well of course! amoy na amoy na lang — you know immediately it’s Pinoy!!! that pic of yours with the tomatoes just triggered my salivary glands into overdrive. it’s killing me!!!!
thanks so much again for joining us, iska. Mabuhay ang LP!
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