What is Bagoong

Bagoong is the pungent, salty, umami-rich heart of Filipino cooking: a fermented paste of fish or shrimp that flavours countless dishes and doubles as a dip. Its aroma is bold and unmistakable, but a small spoonful transforms a plate of food, which is why bagoong has been a cornerstone of the Filipino table for centuries.

This guide explains what bagoong is, its main types, how it is made, and the many ways Filipinos use it.

What bagoong is

Bagoong is a traditional Filipino condiment made from fish or shrimp mixed with salt and left to ferment into a pungent, salty paste prized for its umami depth and cheese-like aroma. It is one of the most affordable sources of protein and flavour in the country, used raw as a dip or cooked into dishes to add a savoury backbone. More broadly, bagoong refers to a whole class of fermented Philippine seafood, a family that also gives rise to patis, or fish sauce.

The main types

• Bagoong isda (fish): made from whole small fish, most often anchovies. It is reddish-brown, chunkier, and stronger and fishier in flavour. This is the classic seasoning for Ilocano dishes.
• Bagoong alamang (shrimp): made from tiny Acetes shrimp or krill. It is the version eaten with green mango and sauteed into many dishes. Depending on the region, it can be chunky or smooth, and some versions get a bright pink tint from angkak (red yeast rice).

Rarer versions are made from oysters, clams, or fish roe, showing just how varied this family of condiments can be.

How bagoong is made

Making bagoong relies on salt and time. Fish or shrimp is mixed with a generous amount of salt, and naturally occurring salt-tolerant bacteria slowly break down the proteins, producing the deep, complex flavours bagoong is known for. As it ferments, the mixture separates into two layers: a solid paste at the bottom and a clear liquid on top. That liquid, skimmed off, becomes patis; the paste that stays behind is bagoong.

Traditionally, it is fermented in large earthenware jars, called tapayan in the lowlands and burnay in Ilocos, kept covered and stirred occasionally over roughly one to three months so the salt spreads evenly. Longer fermentation generally means better flavour.

Many regions, many names

Bagoong goes by different names across the archipelago. Shrimp bagoong is called uyap or alamang in the south, aramang in Ilocos and parts of northern Luzon, and ginamos or dayok in the western Visayas. Fish bagoong in the southern Visayas and Mindanao is often known as guinamos. The textures differ too: some regions grind theirs smooth, while others, like many parts of Luzon, keep the shrimp recognisable for a chunkier paste.

How bagoong is used

Bagoong is remarkably versatile, and it anchors some of the country’s most iconic dishes.

• As a side for kare-kare: a spoonful of sauteed bagoong is the essential salty partner to the mild peanut stew, served on the side and never stirred in.
• In pinakbet and dinengdeng: it provides the savoury seasoning that defines these vegetable dishes.
• In binagoongan: a rich pork dish built entirely around bagoong.
• As a dip: most famously with slices of sour green mango, a beloved Filipino street snack, but also with boiled bananas or cassava.

When cooked, especially as bagoong guisado sauteed with garlic and onions, it mellows into a sweeter, caramelised flavour. Because it is so salty and concentrated, it is always used in small amounts.

Bagoong, patis, and its regional cousins

It helps to know how bagoong relates to its neighbours. Bagoong alamang is a thick paste made from shrimp, while patis is the clear liquid fish sauce that separates out during fermentation, so the two are made together but used differently. Bagoong also belongs to a wider Southeast Asian family of shrimp pastes, alongside kapi in Thailand, terasi in Indonesia, belacan in Malaysia, and ngapi in Myanmar. What sets bagoong alamang apart is its form: it is wet, soft, and sold in jars to be sauteed before serving, whereas many of its cousins are pressed and dried into firm blocks.

A taste older than history

Fermenting fish and shrimp with salt is one of the oldest food-preservation methods in the region, and bagoong likely predates written Philippine history. Long before refrigeration, coastal communities relied on salt and time to keep the sea’s bounty edible through lean seasons, turning small, abundant fish and shrimp into a concentrated, long-lasting source of protein and flavour. That deep practicality is why bagoong took root so firmly in Filipino cooking and never left.

How to choose and store bagoong

Good bagoong has a clean, briny smell and a balanced saltiness rather than a harsh, one-note sharpness. Bagoong alamang is usually sold in jars, sometimes raw and sometimes pre-sauteed as bagoong guisado, which is milder and ready to use. Once opened, it keeps well in the refrigerator for a long time thanks to its high salt content. A little goes a long way, so a single jar can season many meals, making it one of the most economical flavour boosters in the kitchen.

Bagoong and Filipino identity

Few ingredients say “Filipino kitchen” as clearly as bagoong. Its bold aroma can surprise the uninitiated, but for Filipinos it is the smell of home cooking, market stalls, and childhood snacks of green mango. It appears on humble family tables and in celebrated restaurant dishes alike, bridging regions and generations. To understand bagoong is to understand a core truth of Filipino food: that some of the deepest flavours come from patience, salt, and the sea.

A little goes a long way

Because it is so concentrated, bagoong is best treated as a seasoning rather than a main ingredient. Stirred sparingly into a stew, sauteed into a sauce, or dabbed onto fruit, it delivers a savoury depth that few other ingredients can match. Learning to use it in the right amount is one of the small skills that separates good Filipino home cooking from great, and it is well worth the practice.

Bagoong in the modern kitchen

Today bagoong is easier than ever to enjoy, sold in jars in supermarkets and Filipino stores worldwide, often pre-cooked and ready to spoon straight onto a plate. A new generation of cooks, both in the Philippines and across the diaspora, is rediscovering it, using it to add authentic depth to modern dishes and to keep beloved classics like kare-kare and pinakbet exactly as they should be. Bold, ancient, and endlessly useful, bagoong remains one of the truest flavours of the Filipino kitchen, a small jar that carries the taste of home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is bagoong?

Bagoong is a Filipino condiment of fish or shrimp fermented with salt into a pungent, salty, umami-rich paste, used both as a dip and as a cooking ingredient.

What is the difference between bagoong isda and bagoong alamang?

Bagoong isda is made from fish (usually anchovies) and is chunkier and fishier, while bagoong alamang is made from tiny shrimp or krill and is the version eaten with green mango.

What is the difference between bagoong and patis?

They come from the same fermentation. Bagoong is the solid paste, while patis is the clear liquid fish sauce skimmed off the top.

What dishes use bagoong?

It is essential to kare-kare, pinakbet, dinengdeng, and binagoongan, and is a classic dip for green mango and boiled root crops.

Conclusion

Bagoong may be humble and strong-smelling, but it is one of the secret engines of Filipino flavour. From a side dish for kare-kare to the soul of pinakbet to a spoonful over sour green mango, this fermented paste turns simple food into something unmistakably, deliciously Filipino.