Binagoongang Baboy (Pork Braised in Shrimp Paste)
Recipe byThe kind of shrimp paste you use will affect the final flavor and aroma of the binagoongang baboy. Not all shrimp pastes are fermented. Some are merely sauteed and used directly. I prefer fermented shrimp paste. The drier, the better. The oilier, the better.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 800 grams pork belly cut into cubes
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 onion peeled and chopped
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 2 tablespoons shrimp paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups bone broth you may need more
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a thick-bottomed pan.
- Spread the pork belly cubes in the hot oil and leave to brown the undersides for a few minutes.
- Flip the pork cubes over to brown the opposite sides.
- Add the garlic, pepper and bay leaves. Cook, tossing, for half a minute.
- Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion pieces soften a bit.
- Pour in the vinegar. Cook, uncovered with occasional stirring, until the vinegar has been soaked up by the meat.
- Add the shrimp paste, sugar and two cups of broth.
- Lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer until the pork is tender. Stir occasionally and scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure no scorching occurs. If the mixture dried up before the meat is done, pour in more broth, no more than half a cup each time.
- Your binagoongang baboy is ready when the liquid has been absorbed and the pork is swimming in a pool of highly flavorful fat.
- To serve the binagoongang baboy, arrange pork cubes on top of hot rice, drizzle in some of the fat from the pan over the meat and rice. Optionally, garnish with scallions.