One of the tastiest Filipino dishes that I have tried is pork binagoongan. It is a type of pork stew wherein pork slices (usually the belly part), are sautéed in onion, garlic, and tomato, and then cooked with shrimp paste.
Shrimp paste or bagoong are fermented krill, which are small crustaceans that resembles a shrimp. This is an important ingredient in Filipino cuisine. It has been a part of many popular Filipino dishes such as kare-kare and even batchoy.
Binagoongan is usually eaten for lunch along with rice. This can also be consumed for dinner if you prefer to have something heavy. Aside from pork, chicken and beef can also be used as alternative ingredients.
Eggplant is a good addition to the dish because it balances the flavor. Bagoong can be too salty depending on the variety. Adding a piece of eggplant is always a good idea. It can also help reduce your rice intake because it makes the dish less salty, which can mean lesser rice during consumption.
How to make it
We will need 3 tablespoons of cooking oil first, which we will heat up in our pan. Once this is hot, you can add 1 onion you’ve chopped, 3 cloves of garlic you’ve minced, and 2 tomatoes you’ve cubed. Proceed to sauté these vegetables together, and then let the onion and tomato soften. Once it does, you can place 1 ½ cup of pork belly inside the pan. We will also sauté this, but only until the pork gets light brown.
Here comes the essential ingredient for that unmistakable binagoongan flavor. You can now put 4 tablespoons of bagoong alamang, otherwise known as shrimp paste, in the mix. Let this cook for 1 minute, and then pour 3 tablespoons of white vinegar inside. Mix this well into our ingredients, and then add 2 ½ cups of water.
Now wait for this to boil with your heat turned on. And then you can cover your pan, and continue cooking until your pork gets nice and tender. This would take about 45 minutes.
Afterwards, it would be time to put the 1 eggplant you’ve sliced into the mix as well. Once again, we will cover our pan, and just cook this all up for 5 minutes. Add 2 long green peppers you’ve sliced, and then just finish this off with ⅛ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
Great job! You’ve made some Pork Binagoongan, which you can just transfer to any serving plate you like. Just have this with some white rice, and you’ve got yourself a perfectly savory Filipino meal.
Couldn’t finish the 4 servings? No problem! Here’s a short briefer on keeping your Pork Binagoongan good for eating.
Storing your Pork Binagoongan
The first thing to keep in mind, as is with most hot, savory dishes, is that you need to let this cool down. Then once your binagoongan is at room temperature, you can transfer this into an airtight container or a jar. The less likely air could enter this, the better. And so you should also make sure the cover is nice and secure.
Now place this in your refrigerator. The shelf life for this in the fridge would be about 3 days. It is also best to double-check the dish’s quality before you consume it just in case, especially since different refrigerators’ temperatures vary.
And what about when we’re ready to dine again? Let’s look at how to reheat this flavorful dish.
Reheating your Pork Binagoongan
Thankfully, one of the best ways to warm this up again is very similar to the way we make the dish. You can easily take your pan, and pour your Pork Binagoongan inside. Set the heat to medium to low, and cook this up until it’s as hot as you would like it to be. But keep an eye on the dish so as not to overcook it.
You could go for another simple method, which would be microwaving. Grab a microwave-safe container, and place the binagoongan inside. Then toss this into your microwave, and reheat this for about 2 to 3 minutes. If it still is not hot enough, put the container back in for more reheating within 2 to 3 minutes. You can stop once you are satisfied with the heat of the dish.
Did you love this bagoong-rich recipe? Filipinos truly are shrimp paste enthusiasts because of how helpful this is in elevating a dish’s flavor. We’ll go through a couple more Pinoy recipes that make use of this lovely component.
Other recipes with bagoong to try cooking
Bicol Express
This signature spicy dish from the Philippines isn’t a party favorite for nothing. Bicol Express has notes of various flavors from the irresistible kick of chili to the light, creaminess of coconut milk. But another component that gives it a lot of life, and that would be our salty shrimp paste. We have a couple more spices and seasonings that truly tie this dish together. Despite the abundance of ingredients, this isn’t too difficult to cook.
The steps towards creating Bicol Express resemble the process for many other local recipes. We mainly just mix in our ingredients at the right time, and let this simmer nicely to achieve a beautiful blend of flavors.
Oxtail Kare-kare Peanut Stew
Speaking of a beautiful blend of flavors, this Oxtail Kare-kare Peanut Stew is both that— and a satisfying mix of various textures. This recipe has an amazing variety of vegetables that will never leave you bored as you eat. You get some eggplant, bok choy and string beans to build the dish.
Another understated perk of this recipe is that it is quicker to make than most other kare-kare dishes. The cooking process would take a little bit more than an hour, but it would be worth it to get that oxtail delightfully smooth, and that peanut butter-infused sauce as thick as you would like.
Got more bagoong dishes you would like to learn? Leave a comment for any suggestions for recipes, as well as feedback you would want to give!
Pork Binagoongan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup pork belly
- 2 tomato cubed
- 1 eggplant sliced
- 2 long green pepper. sliced
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 4 tablespoons bagoong alamang
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan. Saute onion, garlic, and tomato.
- Once onion and tomato softens, add pork. Saute until pork turns light brown.
- Add bagoong alamang (shrimp paste). Cook for 1 minute.
- Pour vinegar. Stir. Add water. Let boil. Cover the pan and cook in low heat for 45 minutes or until pork tenderizes.
- Add eggplant. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Put long green pepper and season with ground black pepper.
- Transfer to a serving plate. Serve with warm white rice.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. We love it!
Love the color of the dish! Looks delicious