Filipino Condiments

Filipino Condiments: Banana Ketchup, Bagoong, Toyo, Patis, Suka, & More!

Banana Ketchup

Bottles of UFC Tamis Anghang Banana Catsup on Store Shelf. Photos by Angie Pastor.

Banana ketchup is a popular Filipino condiment made from bananas, sugar, vinegar and spices. Its natural color is brownish, but it is colored red to resemble tomato ketchup.

Bagoóng is a paste made from fish or small shrimps that are salted and fermented for several weeks. The liquid byproduct is drawn off and used as a sauce called patis. Different areas of the Philippines have their own version of bagoóng.

Balayan Sauce

Photo: Bagoong Balayan with Calamansi and Sili

“Balayan sauce” is actually a type of bagoong made in the town of Balayan in Batangas province.

Patis

Bottle of Patis Malabon… Product of Thailand… Photo by Mildred Cruz.

Patis is a brown, watery sauce that comes from fermented fish. It is widely used in Philippine cooking to flavor soups and broths, as well as a dipping sauce in place of salt.

Sawsawan: Patiskalamansili at Toyomansili

Sawsawan = Dipping Sauce!

Sawsawan is the Tagalog word for “dipping sauce.”

The classic Filipino sawsawan has to be toyomansi, a mixture of soy sauce and calamansi juice.

Dayok

Dayok is a fermented mixture of fish intestines. The taste is said

Balaw-Balaw

Photo by Mildred Cruz… Balaw-balaw is a side dish that’s a specialty of Rizal province. It has a distinctive pinkish/light purplish color. “It’s like buro but without rice. Just shrimps, coconut milk, bamboo shoots, and ginger.”

Palapa

A staple in Maranao cuisine, palapa is a condiment made from a mixture of Mindanao scallions, luya tiduk, ginger, and burnt coconut.

KBL (Ilocos Style)

KBL by voxmarc.

In the cuisine of the Ilocos region, KBL stands for the side dish combination of Kamatis + Bagoong + Lasuna.