The Ultimate Pinoy Surf N' Turf

A sweet and salty pork dish that goes perfectly with a pipping, hot bowl of rice. The secret ingredient to this delectable Filipino delicacy? Bagoong!

If Japan has miso paste and South Korea has gochujang, the Philippines has the infamous bagoong (fermented fried shrimp paste).

Bagoong is a fermented fried shrimp paste that has a salty and sweet taste to it. Of course, there is a wide variety of bagoong from hot and spicy bagoong to bagoong isda (fermented fried fish paste). It kind of smells like a strong soy sauce. In fact, both the taste and smell are quite pungent so a little bagoong goes a long way. What is awesome about using bagoong in this recipe is that I don’t have to use any salt at all!

Pork binagoongan is now my new favourite Filipino dish. I feel that this savoury dish hits all of my taste buds. The pork is so tender and the flavours are sublime! Sweet and salty from the bagoong, spicy from the chilli peppers and a bit sour from the tomatoes and vinegar. I think that this is one of the ultimate pinoy umami dishes out there!

Pork cooked in fermented fried shrimp paste? Sounds like the ultimate pinoy surf & turf!

---

Pork Binagoongan  – Pork with Fried Fermented Shrimp

Ingredients:

The oink oink:

• 700g or 2 slices of pork shoulder

• 2 inches of ginger – cut into chunks

• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns

• 3 dried bay leaves

The flavour station:

• 4 tbsp oil

• 3 tbsp minced garlic cloves

• 1/2 onion – chopped

• 3 thai chilli pepers – chopped

• 1 cup tomatoes or 5 roma tomatoes – chopped

• 1/4 cup white vinegar

• 3 tbsp bagoong (fermented fried shrimp paste)

• 1 tbsp sugar

For added drame:

• 3 stalks of green onion – chopped

---

Instructions:

1. Let’s start with the oink oink! In a pot, place the pork shoulder, ginger, black peppercorns, and dried bay leaves. Fill the pot with water until it covers the pork.

2. Bring it to a boil on high heat then bring it to medium heat. Cover and let it cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

3. Take the pork out of the pot and chop it into bite size pieces. Also save 1/3 cup of the broth for later. Note: The leftover pork broth works well for congee.

4. While the pork relaxes, let’s move on to the flavour station! Chop your onion, garlic, thai chilli peppers, and tomatoes.

5. Heat a pan with oil to medium heat. Sauté the onions until it has softened.

6. Mix in the garlic. Cook until both the onion and garlic becomes fragrant.

7. Add in the tomatoes, thai chilli pepper, and chopped pork. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.

8. Pour in the vinegar. Wait until the smell of the vinegar gets stronger before stirring.

9. Stir in the bagoong, sugar, and the pork broth that was previously saved.

10. Cover and bring the heat to medium low. Let it cook for 20 minutes.

11. Taste the pork and season with bagoong or vinegar if necessary. If you want the pork to be more saucy add in some of the pork broth.

12. Garnish with green onions and serve with rice! This is the best treat to snack on during a rainy day.