Burong Isda Recipe: Traditional Filipino Fermented Fish with Rice
This traditional burong isda recipe is made with fresh bangus, salted cooked rice, and a homemade lugaw that is added on Day 4. The fish and rice are first fermented before the cooled lugaw is incorporated for the second stage of fermentation. Once the buro reaches the desired sourness and aroma, it is cooked with ginger, garlic, onions, and tomatoes until thick and creamy.
Ingredients
Fish and Cooked Rice
- 1 medium fresh bangus about 750 g uncleaned
- 1 tablespoon sea salt for the fish
- 4 cups cooked rice about 740 g total
- 1 tablespoon sea salt for the rice
Lugaw
- 3/4 cup uncooked rice washed
- 3-9 cups water adjusted according to the desired consistency
For Cooking the Buro
- 1 cup cooking oil
- 2 thumb-size ginger julienned
- 2 whole bulbs garlic minced
- 2 medium red onions chopped
- 10 small to medium tomatoes sliced
Instructions
Prepare the fish
- Clean the bangus thoroughly. Remove the scales, then Butterfly the fish and remove the large center bone and intestines.
- Cut the fish into pieces about 2–3 inches wide. Wash the pieces again and allow them to drain until there is no excess water dripping from the fish.
- Salt the fish
- Place the drained fish in a clean basin. Add 1 tablespoon of sea salt and mix thoroughly, making sure the salt is evenly distributed over the fish.
Prepare the cooked rice
- Place the cooled cooked rice in another clean basin. Add 1 tablespoon of sea salt and mix thoroughly.
Combine the fish and rice
- Combine the salted fish and salted rice. Mix gently but thoroughly so that the rice is distributed around the fish.
Transfer to the jar
- Place some of the rice mixture at the bottom of a clean jar. Add the fish and rice mixture, making sure the top is covered with rice and that no fish is exposed on top.
- Cover the jar and keep it at room temperature. For this traditional method, we leave it covered and do not open it until Day 4.
Prepare the lugaw on Day 4
- On Day 4, wash 3/4 cup of uncooked rice and place it in a pot with about 3 cups of water.
- Cook over medium-low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add more hot water as needed until you reach your preferred consistency. The lugaw should be thick but still very moist. Remember that lugaw will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Allow the lugaw to cool completely before using it.
Add the lugaw
- Transfer the fermented fish and rice to a clean basin. Add the completely cooled lugaw and mix thoroughly.
- Transfer the mixture back into the clean jar and cover.
Continue fermentation
- Continue fermenting the burong isda at room temperature.
- For this batch, I started checking daily from Day 6. Because the weather was cooler due to continuous rain, fermentation progressed more slowly. It took 11 days (Day 11) before the buro reached the sourness and aroma that I wanted.
- Your fermentation may take a different amount of time depending on your conditions.
Cook the buro
- Once the buro has developed the sourness and aroma you want, it is time to cook it.
- Heat the cooking oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the sliced tomatoes and continue cooking until the tomatoes become very soft.
- Add the fermented buro.
- Using a sandok, press the fish as it cooks until the fish meat breaks down and dissolves into the mixture.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the burong isda becomes thick.