There’s nothing like the smell of shrimp paste cooking during lunch time to get you to come over to the kitchen and easily down two servings of steaming white rice. That’s what happens every time there’s Crispy Pork Binagoongan in our house. If you are not Filipino or someone not used to the taste and smell of shrimp paste, you would probably think I’m crazy or stark raving mad to eat something that smells so…so…..should I say, delightfully pungent.But you should try it.
Traditionally, Binagoongan is pork and eggplant stewed in shrimp paste swimming in sauce. My pork binagoongan starts with homemade shrimp paste that has a sweet-salty taste and has no sauce at all. You can also use the salty shrimp paste if you prefer it without any sweetness.
The secret to it’s crispness is the use of pork neck which has a lot of flavor too!
- 500g pork neck, cut into bite-size pieces
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1½ cup sweet shrimp paste [bagoong alamang]
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Fry pork neck pieces in heated canola oil until it’s golden brown.Set aside.
- Sauté garlic in 1 tsp oil. Add shrimp paste and simmer for a few seconds
- Mix in the fried pork neck until each piece is coated with shrimp paste.You can add more shrimp paste, depending on your taste.
- Serve with steamed rice and fried eggplant as a side dish. I also use banana as a side dish to this delectable dish.
If pork neck is too fatty for you, I suggest you use pork belly. It would be a nice LECHON KAWALI BINAGOONGAN.
Hmmnn.. I think I should do a post on how to cook shrimp paste….
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