My entire family loves to cook – from my mom, to my siblings and I, down to our nephews and nieces. Our love for food has transcended all generations. But my favorite cook was probably my Dad. I remember watching him on some Sundays as he made his favorite kinilaw or tokwa’t baboy. Dad loved to eat and enjoyed preparing his meals as well.
an assortment of daing (cured fish) from Cebu
My Dad was born in Cebu and was quite adept with Visayan cooking. Visayans are known for curing their food, especially seafood and my Dad was in love with cured fish or as we call it in the Philippines, daing. Knowing that his love for this cured fish would affect his health, he wittingly found a solution so that he could continue his love affair with this salty fish. He would soak the cured fish in water to remove some of the salt and would dry them out in the sun again. This way, he could enjoy his food (almost) guilt-free! But that’s not all – these salted fish meals were not complete unless paired with his favorite condiment, his revered spicy vinegar or sinamak in the Visayas. Dad (and I cannot stress this enough) LOVED his vinegar. He couldn’t eat his meals unless his small bottle was beside him. In fact, whenever there was a new house helper who was not aware of this, he made it known to them by giving this short speech said in Filipino, “In my life, only three things matter – GOD, FAMILY and VINEGAR.” Yes, we were only a notch above vinegar.
shallots, ginger, garlic, chili, and peppercorns - ingredients for sinamak
I seem to have inherited my Dad’s love for this spiced vinegar and also look for it whenever having your usual Visayan breakfast. So when I looked for it this morning and realized that we had run out, I did what my Dad would’ve done – I made my own bottle of sinamak.
So this is for you, Daddy. I miss you.
Sinamak (Spiced Vinegar)
Sinamak
- 10 shallots, peeled
- 1 garlic head, peeled
- 1/4 cup peppercorns
- 1/4 cup ginger, sliced
- vinegar
- salt
- chilis
Combine all ingredients in a bottle and steep for 2 weeks before using.
Miss Maimai is a teacher by profession, a recreational photographer and an aspiring cook who enjoys spending her free time by the sea.
ginger said
hay, i miss him so ….
i should make my own bottle too … instead of paying $3 …….
thanks for posting this
missmaimai said
$3! Yes, make your own, if only as a reminder for Dad…not that we need it
anthropologist said
Your Dad could cook??? What a lucky girl.
Love sinamak as well…
missmaimai said
Yes, he could and quite well
Thanks for dropping by!
christian said
Good day!!!
in your ingredients, is at a local coconut vinegar??? Also, how many ml is required in your ratio…thanks.
Rose said
My parents both have dementia and all of us are now scrambling to remember the recipes and favorite visayan foods they love. Their vice are food and still is to this day. So when my Dad asks for pinamalhan for example or anything that is a little soupy, he feels at home and for a moment transcended to that time and place in his island home.
I feel sad because I have not learned to cook these. My MoM was a wonderful cook and unfortunately only some of us are able to remember by memory some of her recipes.
Our Kinilaw Will Never Be The Same Again « Kitchen Attempts said
[...] isn’t the first time I’ve made sinamak or spiced vinegar. I’ve made it before for the purpose of having it with Filipino dishes and just as a staple condiment. This time, [...]
S. Lu said
what about Kinurat from the south ? any comparison to ingredients from above sinamak