Bagoong
Encyclopedia
Bagoong is a Philippine condiment made of partially or completely fermented fish or shrimps and salt
. The fermentation process also results in fish sauce
(known as patis).
The preparation of bagoong can vary regionally in the Philippines
.
. Common fishes used include the following:
Bagoong made from fish is encompassed by the term bagoong isda (literally 'fish bagoong) in Luzon
and Northern Visayas
. In the Southern Visayas
and Mindanao
, fish bagoong is known as guinamos (also spelled ginamos). They can be distinguished further by the type of fish they are made of. Those made from anchovies are generally known as bagoong monamon or bagoong dilis and those from bonnetmouths as bagoong terong.
Bagoong can also be made from shrimp
fry. This type of bagoong is known as bagoong alamang or bagoong aramang in Ilocano or simply alamang or uyap in the South.
In rarer instances, it can also be made from oyster
s, clam
s, and fish and shrimp roe
.
A kind of bagoong made in the town of Balayan, Batangas
is also known as bagoong Balayan.
away, and left to ferment for 30-90 days with occasional stirring to make sure the salt is spread evenly. The mixture can significantly expand during the process.
The preparation of shrimp bagoong is similar, with shrimp cleaned thoroughly and washed in weak brine solution (10%). As in fish bagoong, the shrimp are then mixed with salt in a 25% salt to 75% shrimp ratio by weight.
The products of the fermentation process are usually pale gray to white in color. To obtain the characteristic red or pink color of some bagoong, a kind of food coloring known as angkak is added. Angkak is made from rice inoculated with a species of red mold (Monascus purpureus
). High quality salt with little mineral impurities are preferred. High metal
lic content in the salt used can often result in darker colors to the resulting bagoong and a less agreeable undertaste. Likewise, oversalting and undersalting also has a significant impact on the rate and quality of fermentation due to their effects on the bacteria involved in the process. Some manufacturers grind the fermented product finely and sell the resulting mixture as fish paste.
To obtain patis, fermentation is longer, usually taking 6 months to a year. During longer fermentation processes, the fish or shrimp constituents disintegrate further, producing a clear yellowish liquid on top of the mixture due to hydrolysis
. This is the patis, it can be harvested once it has developed its characteristic smell. It is drained, pasteurized
, and bottled separately, while the residue is turned into bagoong. If the residual solids are not moist enough, brine
is usually added. The rate of fermentation can vary depending on the pH levels
of the mixture and the temperature
. Exposure to sunlight can also reduce the amount of time required to two months.
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
. The fermentation process also results in fish sauce
Fish sauce
Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to ferment. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in numerous cultures in Southeast Asia and the coastal regions of East Asia, and features heavily in Thai and Vietnamese...
(known as patis).
The preparation of bagoong can vary regionally in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
Types
Bagoong (spelled as bugguong in Ilocano) are usually made from a variety of fish speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
. Common fishes used include the following:
- AnchoviesAnchovyAnchovies are a family of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species in 17 genera, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as an oily fish.-Description:...
- locally known as dilis, monamon, bolinaw, or gurayan (Stolephrus and EncrasicholinaEncrasicholinaEncrasicholina is a genus of anchovies. It currently contains five species.-Species:* Encrasicholina devisi * Encrasicholina heteroloba...
spp.) - Round scadRound scadThe Round scad, Decapterus punctatus, is a species of fish in the Carangidae. It was described in 1829 by the French zoologist, Georges Cuvier. Although the Round scad is considered a good food fish, it is mostly caught for use as bait.-Description:...
s - locally known as galunggong or tamodios (DecapterusDecapterusDecapterus is a genus of marine fishes in the family in the jack family, Carangidae. They are commonly known as mackerel scads, and round scads. They are found throughout the world....
spp.) - BonnetmouthRedbaitThe redbait, bonnetmouth or southern rover, Emmelichthys nitidus nitidus, is a rover of the genus Emmelichthys, found off South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the south west Pacific, at depths of between 100 and 500 m...
s (Redbait or Rubyfish) - locally known as terong (Emmelichthys nitidus, Emmelichthys struhsakeri, and Plagiogeneion rubiginosum) - PonyfishPonyfishThe ponyfishes also known as slipmouths or slimys are a small family, Leiognathidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes. They inhabit marine and brackish waters in the Indian Ocean and West Pacific....
es - locally known as sapsap (Leiognathus, Photopectoralis, and Equulites spp.) - RabbitfishRabbitfishRabbitfishes or spinefoots are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. The 28 species are in a single genus, Siganus. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces–are in the genus Lo. Other species like the Masked...
es - locally known as padas (Siganus spp.) - Bar-eyed gobiesGlossogobius giurisGlossogobius giuris is a goby of the Gobiidae family, available in the Bay of Bengal. It is said to be the largest of the Gobiinae species.- Appearance, Size and Colouration :...
- locally known as ipon (Glossogobius giurisGlossogobius giurisGlossogobius giuris is a goby of the Gobiidae family, available in the Bay of Bengal. It is said to be the largest of the Gobiinae species.- Appearance, Size and Colouration :...
). - HerringHerringHerring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
s - Clupeoides lila - Silver perchSilver PerchSilver perch is a medium sized freshwater fish endemic to the Murray-Darling river system in south-eastern Australia. The scientific name comes from an aboriginal name for the species recorded by Major Mitchell on his 1832 expedition. It is not a perch, being a grunter in the family Terapontidae...
- locally known as ayungin (Leiopotherapon plumbeus)
Bagoong made from fish is encompassed by the term bagoong isda (literally 'fish bagoong) in Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
and Northern Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
. In the Southern Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
and Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
, fish bagoong is known as guinamos (also spelled ginamos). They can be distinguished further by the type of fish they are made of. Those made from anchovies are generally known as bagoong monamon or bagoong dilis and those from bonnetmouths as bagoong terong.
Bagoong can also be made from shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
fry. This type of bagoong is known as bagoong alamang or bagoong aramang in Ilocano or simply alamang or uyap in the South.
In rarer instances, it can also be made from oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s, clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
s, and fish and shrimp roe
Roe
Roe or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins...
.
A kind of bagoong made in the town of Balayan, Batangas
Balayan, Batangas
Balayan is a 1st class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 79,407 people in 13,843 households....
is also known as bagoong Balayan.
Bagoong isda and Bagoong alamang
Fish bagoong is prepared by mixing salt and fish usually by volume; mixture proportion are proprietary depending on manufacturer. The salt and fish are mixed uniformly, usually by hand. The mixture is kept inside large earthen fermentation jars (known as a burnay in Ilocano). It is covered, to keep fliesFly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
away, and left to ferment for 30-90 days with occasional stirring to make sure the salt is spread evenly. The mixture can significantly expand during the process.
The preparation of shrimp bagoong is similar, with shrimp cleaned thoroughly and washed in weak brine solution (10%). As in fish bagoong, the shrimp are then mixed with salt in a 25% salt to 75% shrimp ratio by weight.
The products of the fermentation process are usually pale gray to white in color. To obtain the characteristic red or pink color of some bagoong, a kind of food coloring known as angkak is added. Angkak is made from rice inoculated with a species of red mold (Monascus purpureus
Monascus purpureus
Monascus purpureus is a species of mold that is purplish-red in color...
). High quality salt with little mineral impurities are preferred. High metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
lic content in the salt used can often result in darker colors to the resulting bagoong and a less agreeable undertaste. Likewise, oversalting and undersalting also has a significant impact on the rate and quality of fermentation due to their effects on the bacteria involved in the process. Some manufacturers grind the fermented product finely and sell the resulting mixture as fish paste.
Patis
Patis or fish sauce is a byproduct of the fermentation process, a clear yellowish liquid that floats above the fermented mixture. Sauces similar to patis exist throughout Asia and are also used in their respective local cuisines such as nuoc mam in Vietnam, nam pha (ນ້ຳປາ) in Laos, hom ha in China, nam pla in Thailand, shitsuru in Japan and saeu chot in Korea. It has a sharp salty or cheese-like flavor.To obtain patis, fermentation is longer, usually taking 6 months to a year. During longer fermentation processes, the fish or shrimp constituents disintegrate further, producing a clear yellowish liquid on top of the mixture due to hydrolysis
Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...
. This is the patis, it can be harvested once it has developed its characteristic smell. It is drained, pasteurized
Pasteurization
Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food...
, and bottled separately, while the residue is turned into bagoong. If the residual solids are not moist enough, brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
is usually added. The rate of fermentation can vary depending on the pH levels
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
of the mixture and the temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
. Exposure to sunlight can also reduce the amount of time required to two months.