Bagoong, Pork & Green Mango Rice a la Marketman

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Somehow I managed to cook something whose ingredients were almost entirely on the “off-limits” list for my current diet. I’m sure a psychiatrist would have some interesting explanation for this foodie version of self-flagellation on Good Friday. My justification is that I was simply feeding the crew something good for lunch. :) So here it goes, a riff on the Thai dish that inspired this salty, sour, rich, tasty fried rice.

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Finely shred (or use a mandoline) a large, firm green mango. This one was wicked sour despite its yellowing color. Prepare several tablespoons of ginisang bagoong (with or without chilis to your preference), a cup or more of chopped chicharon, a cup or more of little tampalen cubes, a few tablespoons of pork lard, in this case homemade from tampalen (notice how nice and creamy white it is from very low heat rendering of the fat). Some minced garlic, chopped chilis if you want more spice, and freshly ground black pepper. You also need about 6-7 cups of day old rice.

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In a large wok over medium high heat, add 6-8 tablespoons of lard and as soon as it melts and is beginning to smoke, add the chicharon if it requires crisping (we used old chicharon so it was a bit chewy), garlic and tampalen bits and stir for a few second until they are all warmed through or even crisped up a bit. Add the bagoong and break up the shrimp paste so it is more of a sauce.

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If your green mango is seriously sour, you may want to add it in now, to essentially cook it a bit, otherwise, wait till after you put the rice. Add chopped chilies if desired.

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Add the rice and stir well, breaking up clumps and trying to bring color to all of the rice. You may need to add a few tablespoons of water to moisten this up a bit. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

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I had one tablespoon and it was heaven. You may have to make it 2 or 3 times to get the exact proportion of bagoong and other seasonings right for your own palate. But the salty pungent bagoong married with the fragrant, rich but naturally rendered lard and the hits of sour green mango were a dish all in itself. No need for anything else for a truly satisfying, quick and easy lunch. :)

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28 Responses

  1. Wow! This is already breakfast on its own, no need of ulam. How could you resist the temptation, MM :)

  2. Yum! I love eating this with fish fried to a crisp and some diced tomatoes. For me, this ranks between my beloved adobo rice and tinapa rice.

  3. just received several kilos of green mango from my lolas backyard. this would be a great use of the fruit

  4. forgive my ignornce too, but what is tampalen?i can get all the ingridient here in hongkong but not the tampalen.now pa lang panay na ang lunok ko it look so yummy.thanks marketman.

  5. MM, i’m no psychiatrist (God knows I prolly need one myself)..but i guess it’s your version of “crying out for help”…feeding everybody the things which you can’t have :D and torturing us readers hehehe

  6. it’s pouring rain out here and a chance of snowfall to 500 ft., so this will be the best saturday breakfast when i wake up, lab works due monday be damned, hahahahaha! thanks to you, mm, i already broke my diet and getting ready for a pork meltdown tomorrow..

  7. While my mouth loves this, my love handles certainly won’t. But this is too good to pass up and I’m in awe that one spoonful was all you had, MM. I would have shoved half a platter’s worth into my gaping maw without waiting for the others to have their share.

  8. my wife does cook this at home at least once a month…topped with scrambled egg and paired with tocino strips…served in a bowl…yum!

  9. I like the way the mangoes were added in the pan to cook it a bit. I will try that. I like ‘seriously sour’ mangoes in bagoong rice.
    Sometime ago, I tried adding crispy fried onions and the flavor was heavenly that we never had bagoong rice without crispy fried onions again.

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