A Mushroom-Based Condiment That Captures the Essence of Filipino Cuisine

In his debut cookbook, ‘In the Kusina,’ Woldy Reyes provides a vegetarian bagoong that has almost as much complexity as the real thing 

Here’s the thing about plant-based Filipino food: While our cuisine has no shortage of delicious vegetable dishes, many of them, as traditionally cooked, still rely on fortification from fermented seafood, a funk that comes either in the form of fish sauce or the paste known as bagoong.

There are many kinds of bagoong, but what you’re most likely to encounter in the United States is the jammy brown sauteed shrimp paste sold in jars by brands like Kamayan and Barrio Fiesta. It’s thick and salty, best used in moderation as an accompaniment for tart green mangos, a condiment to cut through the rich peanut sauce of kare kare, or as a component of the coconut milk-stewed taro leaves called laing.

Bagoong, of course, offers more than just salt. “It’s a very umami, strong flavor-bomb,” says the caterer, recipe developer, and debut cookbook author Woldy Reyes. Made with sugar, garlic, onion, vinegar, and that magic ingredient, MSG, even the smallest spoonful of bagoong is an exercise in layered flavor. It’s savory, sweet, and slightly toasty, with an alluring hit of dankness that appeals in the same way as dry-aged meat. Bagoong can come from different kinds of seafood, but it is, historically, always made of seafood.

And here’s the thing about making plant-based versions of animal-based foods: Sometimes, despite one’s best efforts, substitution fails to capture the essence of the original dish. Soy sauce so often becomes the de facto sub for fish sauce, for example, though anyone who’s had the two knows that they are, in fact, fundamentally different flavors. In Reyes’s first cookbook In the Kusina: My Seasonal Filipino Cook, out April 8 from Chronicle, he doesn’t omit fish sauce — some dishes just needed it, says Reyes, who isn’t vegetarian but cooks a lot of vegetable-centric food. He takes on the challenge of plant-based bagoong nevertheless — and with compelling results, whether you’re vegetarian or not.

It was Andrea Gentl’s use of porcini powder in a mushroom bagna cauda that helped Reyes realize it might be possible to make a satisfying plant-based bagoong. His version begins with garlic: 20 smashed cloves, softened in olive oil. To this, you add porcini powder, red miso, tamari, and a sweetener of either coconut jam or maple syrup. Reyes says he always keeps the powder in his pantry for enhancing sauces and making dry rubs: “It’s one of my secret ingredients if I want to add a lot more depth of flavor.”

Once you’ve cooked the mixture you let it cool completely before blending it into a smooth emulsion. Does it taste just like shrimp bagoong? No, but it has a similar intensity. Like the real thing, it hovers on the line of too-salty and too-much. What makes it so compelling, however, is that it’s just restrained enough to make you still want another little taste.

This miso mushroom bagoong builds on your palate, with the warmth of caramelized garlic wafting in the background. “Filipino food is always about sour, salty, sweet and a bit of spice,” Reyes says. “I really wanted to celebrate those flavors here.” While it’s not the same as bagoong, it’s interesting in the same way. It captures the essence of the original.

In In the Kusina, Reyes pairs this bagoong with crudites, as one might serve bagna cauda. And since green mangoes are sparse in upstate New York, where he spends some of his time, he serves it with green plums for a similar effect. The bagoong also flavors Reyes’s riff on the chile and coconut milk dish Bicol Express: Instead of the traditional pork, Reyes uses cauliflower. Since one batch of bagoong makes a lot and a little goes a long way, you can experiment. Stored in the fridge, “you can constantly go back to it,” Reyes says.

I especially liked it in Reyes’s aptly named miso-coconut pancit. Pancit refers to the category of Filipino noodle dishes. This pancit is spaghetti, which you cook and then drop into a reduced mixture of coconut milk, ginger, garlic, and a generous amount of the miso mushroom bagoong. The noodles, which are finished with lemon juice, look unassuming, but there’s much more flavor there than you’d think.

Miso Mushroom Bagoong Recipe

Makes 3 cups [720 ml]

Ingredients:

2 cups [480 ml] extra-virgin olive oil
20 garlic cloves, smashed
¼ cup [35 grams] porcini powder
2 tablespoons chile flakes
¼ cup [70 grams] organic red miso (hikari haccho, a.k.a. red miso paste)
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons coconut jam (pika pika) or maple syrup

Instructions:

Step 1: In a medium saucepan over low heat, add the olive oil and garlic. Cook low and slow, stirring often, for 10 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and caramelized. Add the porcini powder and chili flakes. Carefully whisk in the miso until it completely melts in the oil. Let it cook for an additional 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, mash the garlic into the oil.

Step 2: Turn off the heat and whisk in the tamari and coconut jam until combined, about 45 seconds. Let the mixture cool to room temperature so the flavors harmonize. Transfer the solids to a blender, reserving the oil. Blend until smooth, gradually streaming in the reserved oil. Use a rubber spatula as needed to mix and ensure it gets blended and emulsified.

Transfer to a saucepan over low heat and serve right away.

Miso Coconut Pancit Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Kosher salt

1 pound [455 grams] spaghetti
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
One 2-inch [5 cm] piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
One 14-ounce [420 ml] can unsweetened coconut milk
3 tablespoons Miso Mushroom Bagoong
Freshly ground white pepper
1 lemon
1 tablespoon pink peppercorns

Instructions:

Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Reserve ⅓ cup [80 ml] of the noodle water, then drain the noodles.

Step 2: In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Add the garlic and ginger and fry, stirring with a wooden spoon, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the coconut milk and miso mushroom bagoong. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until she reaches a thick and creamy consistency, about 3 minutes.

Step 3: Toss in the spaghetti and mix until each strand of pasta is coated with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, splash in a couple of tablespoons of the reserved pasta water. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

Step 4: Using a Microplane, zest the lemon over the spaghetti, then cut the lemon in half, discard any seeds, and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Sprinkle in the pink peppercorns and stir to combine. Divide the spaghetti among four bowls and enjoy! This is best enjoyed right away.

Excerpted from In the Kusina: My Seasonal Filipino Cooking by Woldy Reyes, © 2025. Published by Chronicle Books. Photographs © Fujio Emura.