The Bagoong Test

Ahhhh...let me sing the praises of Filipino cuisine. Has there ever been a tastier, more indulgent, more creative kitchen?

Has there ever been one that is unhealthier, for that matter?

Binagoongan, Crispy Pata, Paksiw, Lechon Kawali, Kare-Kare, Adobo, Sinigang...the list goes on and on and on.  And yes, most of them should come with a coupon for a free sample of Lipitor.

But I digress.

My wife's "does this relationship have real potential" test for me was food related: I now jokingly refer to it as the Bagoong (pronounced "Bah-Goh-Ong") Test. We were visiting a friend of hers in the US, and she saw a jar of Bagoong in the fridge. She got all excited, and wanted me to try it.

Now let me interject here to give full disclosure: I love food, and my theory on food is "try anything at least once". At some point in the future I will detail some of the crazier dishes, but let me avoid that segue for now.

Back to the Bagoong Test.

So she opens the jar, and I am surprised by an extraordinarily pungent and strong fish/shrimp/ocean pier scent. The contents of the jar kind of looked like mashed black caviar with a dark copper hue, but had a scent which was more akin to Sardines on steroids. I have heard the smell described as "decomposing mummy shrimp" or "seafood that was buried for twelve days and then dug up", but I thought it smelled kind of enticing.  Go figure.

My mouth was watering.  I have no idea what that says about me, but I was absolutely sold.

Now...to describe the taste (and I have since found out that there are actually many varieties of Bagoong), one has to know what Bagoong is. I quote from Wikipedia: "Bagoong is a Filipino term for shrimp or fish paste. These pastes have strong odors which may be offensive to those unaccustomed to them"

I guess in western-cuisine terms, the closest thing to it would be anchovy paste.

And I happen to LOVE anchovies!

But that does it no justice at all. That description and comparison are akin to saying the Eiffel Tower is "a metal structure in Paris". Or describing a banana as "yellow."

So what does it taste like?

Salty and fishy. And what the Japanese call "Umami". If you want me to be more abstract about it, I would say it tastes "lush, earthy, elemental and quite well rounded on the bottom of the flavor spectrum.  No real acidity or spiky flavors to speak of, but a really nice, rich, full balance on the other end of the scale."

Does that make any sense at all?

Bagoong is like wine: there is a whole bouquet of flavors hiding underneath the obvious saltiness and fishiness, which differs from type to type and brand to brand.  True pinoys (the term Filipinos use for themselves) can have very defined preferences where their Bagoong is concerned, and there are still many who actually make their own Bagoong.

I would dare say that Bagoong is the secret ingredient in filipino food. The closest approximation I can think of is perhaps the use of chili peppers in Latin America, or Garlic: it can be used as either a flavor enhancer, or as a primary ingredient. Many of the poorest Filipinos eat rice with Bagoong as their mainstay, and one could argue that it is at least as big a part of Filipino Cultural Identity as the national hero Jose Rizal.

Other countries have their own versions. Indonesia has "Trassie", and most countries in Asia have a variation on the theme. I think the Filipino version is far superior, however, as it seems to be more...nuanced? I always joke Filipinos that - for me - there are two things that can make almost any dish taste infinitely better: Garlic and Bagoong! They laugh, assuming that I am joking.

I'm not.

As for the "Bagoong Test": I only found out about that much later. Fact is I love it, so it proved to be a non-issue. And despite perhaps knowing better, I'd like to think that love could (and should) conquer a distaste for a specific food. My wife's explanation was this: "I think if we are going to get married, we have to like the same food...and Bagoong is an integral part of Filipino food...if you had been someone who turned out to be nauseated at the smell of Bagoong, we would have had a problem!"

And she was right.

Eight years and 30 pounds later, I have come to consider the Filipino kitchen one of my favorites. If you are hyper-aware of your health or easily revolted, then go elsewhere, because Filipino cooking is full of fat, sodium, ornery animal parts and ingredients the western world would rainse eyebrows at.

But it sure does taste good.

And...just wait until I explain "Aligue!"