Rice and fish fermented together until sour and pink, sautéed before eating. It is a Kapampangan speciality of Pampanga, where fish or shrimp are packed in salted cooked rice with angkak and left to sour for a week.
It is an ambient ferment of raw fish in a sealed jar, where the salt and acidity balance has no reliable domestic gauge, and freshwater fish carry parasites that souring does not reliably kill.
What goes into it
- freshwater fish or shrimp
- cooked rice
- salt
- angkak — red yeast rice, for the colour
How it is made
The fish is salted for a day, then packed into a jar in layers with cooked rice and angkak and sealed. Lactic bacteria feed on the rice starch and acidify the jar over about a week, souring the fish; the angkak turns the whole mass pink. It is always sautéed with garlic and tomato before eating.
How long it takes: about a week in the jar
How it is eaten
Sautéed with garlic, onion and tomato, eaten with rice and mustasa leaves.
History
Kapampangan speciality of Pampanga, where fish or shrimp are packed in salted cooked rice with angkak yeast and left to sour for a week.
Frequently asked questions
What is Burong Isda?
Burong Isda is a fermented & pickled from Philippines: rice and fish fermented together until sour and pink, sautéed before eating. Kapampangan speciality of Pampanga, where fish or shrimp are packed in salted cooked rice with angkak yeast and left to sour for a week.
How is Burong Isda made?
The fish is salted for a day, then packed into a jar in layers with cooked rice and angkak and sealed. Lactic bacteria feed on the rice starch and acidify the jar over about a week, souring the fish; the angkak turns the whole mass pink. It is always sautéed with garlic and tomato before eating. It takes about a week in the jar.
Can I make Burong Isda at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is an ambient ferment of raw fish in a sealed jar, where the salt and acidity balance has no reliable domestic gauge, and freshwater fish carry parasites that souring does not reliably kill.
What goes into Burong Isda?
Freshwater fish or shrimp, cooked rice, salt, angkak — red yeast rice, for the colour.
How is Burong Isda eaten?
Sautéed with garlic, onion and tomato, eaten with rice and mustasa leaves.
