Fermented Shrimp Paste

Bagoong is a distillate of the deep sea: tiny krill or fish laid out in the sun, then crushed, packed with salt in open clay pots, and left alone for weeks and in some places for up to two years, slowly turning into a thick paste with the heady funk of ancient things. It’s essentially salt—actually, better than salt—and you can deploy it as such. Use it as an ingredient in Pinakbet and Dry Spicy Bagoong Noodles; a condime