A classic binagoongan recipe made of pork belly slowly stewed in bagoong sauce made of tomatoes, garlic, onions, and chilies. The pork is tender yet firm; the sauce is rich, savory with a perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness.
This binagoongang baboy will definitely make you come back for a second cup of rice.
Ah binagoongan! My mouth starts watering whenever I smell its powerful, funky aroma. Heck, even the photo above is giving having the same effect on me. I love it so much that it hurts to think that I can’t eat it every day.
We all know that this is not the healthiest dish but it sure does makes every bagoong-lover happy at every bite.
What makes the BEST BINAGOONGAN
Pork Belly – is the best pork cut for binagoongan. It’s both fatty (flavor) and meaty (texture) and goes so well with the bagoong sauce.
Garlic and Onions – use fresh, always. A Filipino dish is never complete without these aromatics, especially the garlic.
Tomatoes – not only does it adds color but also helps in elevating the overall flavor of the bagoong.
Vinegar – I only use just a hint to help balance the richness of the sauce (a.k.a. fat from the pork belly).
Sugar – is used to balance the saltiness of the bagoong. This is especially helpful if you’re using the pink alamang which is on the saltier side.
Chilies – totally optional but I love my binagoongan to have a little bit of zing. I use two kinds, green for aroma and red chilies (bird’s eye chilies) for the spice.
Bagoong-alamang – more on this later
Fried talong – for some odd reason this is such a good pair with binagoongan. You can skip this but it’s highly recommended.
The best type of bagoong for BINAGOONGAN
In this binagoongan recipe, I used the spiced bagoong or bagoong guisado which is pre-cooked and generally sweet. Using this essentially saves you a lot of time because it is already filled with spices, thus requires less time in building the flavor. The good thing about this is it’s commercially available in most Filipino or Asian stores.
Another type of bagoong is also known as pink or raw alamang. This one is made of pure fermented shrimp and doesn’t have any added spices—just shrimp and salt. This is the favorite type of bagoong of most Ilocanos and Pangasinenses. If you’re using this type, I recommend doubling the amount of garlic, onions, and sugar to balance the salt. Compared to bagoong-guisado, this is not as easily accessible. I have tried the jarred version of this and I have to say that the fresh kind (those that are sold in wet markets in the Philippines) is way better and less salty.
Lightly fry the pieces of pork until the fat has rendered. This will make the stew extra rich and flavorful. If you want to lessen the fat, scoop out a few spoons before adding the garlic and onions.
Stir-fry the bagoong-alamang with the tomatoes, garlic, and onions. This technique deglazes the crust from the pork and makes the bagoong sauce super delicious!
Cut the pork in bite-size pieces. To tenderize, add water and cook without a lid on until the sauce has reduced to the preferred consistency.
Don’t add too much vinegar. A couple of teaspoons will do. Too much vinegar can overpower the flavor of the bagoong. This is a personal choice. Some like their binagoongan tangy, but not me.
Drizzle over warm rice and enjoy with fried talong. I enjoy having this with ripe mangoes too!