Balao-balao

Whole small shrimp fermented in salted rice for a week, then cooked before eating.

Shellfish. Not vegetarian — contains shellfish.

Ingredients

• 500 g small shrimp, whole, heads on
• 500 g cooked rice, cooled
• 80 g salt
• 1 tablespoon annatto powder
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tablespoons oil, for cooking a portion

Method

1. THE SHRIMP STAY WHOLE AND RAW, which is what separates this from a burong isda made with fish. Heads, shells and all, layered live-fresh into the rice. The shells go soft over the week and the heads are where most of the flavour comes from.
2. SALT IS 16% OF THE SHRIMP WEIGHT and it is not a seasoning -- it is what stops the wrong things growing. Do not reduce it. Weigh it rather than measuring by spoon.
3. Rinse the shrimp and drain them thoroughly. Toss them with half the salt and leave them 1 hour.
4. Mix the cooled cooked rice with the rest of the salt, the annatto and the garlic. The rice must be COLD -- warm rice in a sealed jar sours the wrong way in a day.
5. Pack into a sterilised jar in layers, rice then shrimp then rice, pressing each layer down to drive the air out, and finish with a layer of rice on top.
6. Press a clean weight on top so the liquid that forms covers everything. Anything above the brine goes mouldy.
7. Seal and leave at room temperature 7 to 10 days. It smells strongly sour by day three and that is correct. Pink mould, black patches or a smell of ammonia is not -- throw it away and start again.
8. IT IS NEVER EATEN RAW. To serve, fry a cupful in the oil over a medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until the rice has dried out and caught slightly and the shrimp have gone orange.
9. Keeps a month in the fridge once fermented, and gets sourer. Serve it as a side with fried fish or grilled pork.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Philippines · All recipes