8 fermented Filipino food you should know

Puto and bibingka are two popular types of kakanin or Filipino rice cakes—the former, dry and steamed with a pleasant rice flavour, and the latter, a rich and buttery cake baked in a clay oven with a more noticeable coconut fragrance. While many modern-day iterations of the two skip this step, traditional recipes call for fermenting the rice flour ever so briefly, achieving a slight tang to complement its otherwise sweet profile.

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With a sharp, fishy flavour and distinguishable scent, bagoong is a pungent Filipino paste made with fermented fish (bagoong isda), krill (bagoong alamang), or other shellfish (such as bagoong na sisi, popular in Visayas). Despite its complex and acquired taste, bagoong is used in a wide range of culinary applications in Filipino cuisine—as a condiment in kare-kare, part of the sauce in binagoongan, or even swiped on green mangoes for a unique snack.

Many different kinds of bagoong vary from region to region and are enjoyed in different ways. One popular regional example is the Visayan ginamos or guinamos, frequently used as a dipping sauce for boiled kamote (sweet potatoes) or saba (cooked banana). Even then, ginamos can be made with a variety of fish like anchovies, sardines, and shrimp, and may take different forms—pink and past-like, or greyish and liquid.

Made with fish entrails (most commonly, from yellowfin tuna), salt, and occasionally rice wine, dayok is a related condiment found in Visayas and Mindanao. It is often compared to the Japanese shiokara and Indonesian bekasang, as both are also comprised of fermented fish intestines. Try it with steamed vegetables, lechon, or grilled fish and meats with a healthy serving of rice.

Related: What do chefs like to eat bagoong with?

Another common fermented fish-based product is patis, or Filipino fish sauce. In fact, patis is actually a byproduct of making bagoong, as it is the liquid that remains after pressing and draining the fish paste after it has been fermented. Its uses are just as diverse, added to broths to impart a salty, fishy, umami flavour, or treated as a sawsawan (dipping condiment), especially when mixed with a souring agent like calamansi juice or vinegar.

See also: 8 Filipino condiments you have to try: banana ketchup, bagoong, buro, and more

Made with carabao, goat, or cow milk, kesong puti is a quintessential Filipino cheese. Like much Filipino food, this white cheese varies from region to region—while traditional fermented kesong puti is still popular, others will instead add vinegar to curdle the milk into cheese, bypassing the fermentation process. Have it sliced in a sandwich, seasoned and baked with a drizzle of olive oil, or even tossed into a salad.

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The Philippines boasts a range of native fermented wines and liquors unique to our food culture. Take tapuey, a sweet, potent rice wine from Banaue and the Mountain province. In Ilocos, you’ll find basi: a local wine made from sugarcane juice. Meanwhile, tuba is Philippine coconut wine made from the sap of palm trees, which can then be turned into bahalina (coconut red wine) or lambanog (distilled coconut palm liquor). Not only has tuba played a significant role in Philippine history, but it has also become crucial in beverage cultures of other countries—most notably Mexico, as the process, distillation, and fermentation techniques used to make tuba would later inspire the creation of tequila.

Related: Proudly Promdi puts forgotten Filipino beverages on centre stage

Vinegar is inextricable from Filipino food. Beyond its use in famed dishes like adobo, fruits and vegetables like green mangoes, papaya, and mustard leaves are commonly picked in local vinegars. It is also used as sawsawan to complement a range of dishes like barbecue, lumpia, and many more.

Sugarcane vinegar is the most common variant in the Philippines, and is the most versatile of the bunch, too. Great as a pickling liquid, it can easily blend with whatever spices and aromatics you toss in.

Considering the abundance of coconuts in the country, the popularity of coconut vinegar is only natural. Whereas suka ng niyog is made from coconut water, the more commonly used sukang tuba is fermented from coconut tree sap—essentially, it is tuba that has undergone further fermentation. With a rounder, softer, and slightly sweet flavour, it makes for great sawsawan, especially when infused with chillies and spices.

Similarly, sukang Iloko (Ilocos vinegar) is made from basi, or sugarcane wine. Reduced to intensify its flavour, the basi is left to ferment in clay jars with a range of leaves, flowers, and bark. The result is a distinctly astringent and sour vinegar, great for cutting through fatty and rich foods like the longganisa or empanada found in Ilocos.

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While soy sauce is most commonly affiliated with Chinese cuisine, the versatile condiment has taken on different forms and become a staple in many other food cultures throughout Asia. Typically made with soy, wheat, and salt, the Philippine toyo is saltier than its Japanese counterparts. It is also distinct from the Indonesian kecap manis, a thick, sweetened soy sauce. 

Toyo is a common ingredient in marinades and sauces, lending a defining flavour in dishes like adobo, patatim, and humba. When mixed with a souring agent like calamansi or vinegar, and at times onions, tomatoes, and chillies, it makes a great sawsawan for liempo, inasal, fried fish, and more.

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