Vegan Bagoong (Filipino “Shrimp” Paste)

A small bowl filled with homemade vegan bagoong or shrimp paste

Vegan Bagoong (Filipino “Shrimp” Paste)

5 from 7 votes

Bagoong is a Filipino condiment, that’s pretty much a staple in Filipino cuisine. It’s usually made of fermented fish or shrimp, though of course this version is completely free of any fish/shrimp! There are different versions of bagoong but the one I grew up with was salty with some sweetness and a hint of spice. It’s also cooked with a lot of aromatics so it’s really fragrant!

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Course Condiments, Dips

Cuisine Asian, Filipino

Servings cup

Calories 376 kcal

Ingredients

2 tbsp neutral oil
1/2 medium red or white onion finely diced
1 tbsp finely grated or minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 bird’s eye or Thai chilies chopped, sub with 1/2 tbsp chili flakes (optional for spice)
100 g fresh oyster mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms see notes, makes around 1 cup minced
2 1/2 tbsp sugar adjust according to desired taste
1/2 cup doenjang korean soy bean paste, see notes for sub

Instructions

Prepare all the ingredients. For the onion, garlic, and ginger, you can process these in a food processor if you’d like them really finely minced. For the mushrooms, I simply sliced them into very thin strips before mincing them.
Heat a small pan or skillet over medium high heat. Add in the oil.
Once hot, sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger until aromatic, around 3 minutes.
Add in the chilies or chili flakes, if using, and then mix well.
Add in the mushrooms and then cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
Once the mushrooms are cooked through, add in the in the sugar.
Mix the mushrooms well until the sugar has dissolved.
Add in the soybean or miso paste and then mix it with the mushrooms well.
Leave to cook over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until everything is well incorporated.
Taste the paste and add more sugar if you’d like it a bit sweeter and more chili if you want more heat.
Cook the bagoong for 2-3 more minutes over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mushrooms are cooked through.
Turn off the heat and leave the paste to cool completely before storing in a jar.
Refrigerate until ready to use! Keep the jar sealed tightly. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
You can enjoy your bagoong with some Vegan Kare-Kare or Filipino Peanut Stew. You can see my recipe here.

Notes

1. Soybean paste - you can substitute the soy bean paste with white miso paste. Also note that the saltiness levels of soybean and miso pastes can greatly differ so you can opt to add more sugar to counter the saltiness.

2. Mushrooms - I used oyster mushrooms for this version but you can opt to use shiitake mushrooms for an even more umami kick! You can also use dried shiitake mushrooms and simply rehydrate them by soaking them in boiling hot water.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

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