Spicy Sawsawan

Just as ubiquitous as it is to find ketchup, mustard or hot sauce as a condiment, sawsawan is the Filipino word for dipping sauce. Rather than being one specific recipe, sawsawan is more of a category of sauces that can vary depending on the dish, region, and whatever flavor you’re feeling at the moment. That means my sawsawan can be super different than that Filipino friend from your work that brings lumpia to the company potlucks.

You'll typically find Filipino dipping sauces made with ingredients like vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, calamansi, onions, garlic, chilies, and sugar. It’s used to cut through the fattiness of rich or grilled dishes. The beauty of sawsawan is that there's no single "correct" version. It's meant to complement the food you're eating, so in the words of TI, “you can have whatever you like.”

Ingredients:

1 cup cane vinegar
1/4 cup water
2-3 teaspoons fish sauce (patis)
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 pieces green chilies (siling haba) or jalapeno, sliced
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

1. In a bowl or jar, add the chopped onion, garlic, green chilies, and whole black peppercorns. Combine the cane vinegar, water, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Stir until the brown sugar is mostly dissolved.

2. Taste your sawsawan and adjust it to your liking. Want it sweeter? Add brown sugar. More sour? Add vinegar. Saltier and more savory? Add a little more fish sauce. Want to turn up the heat? Add more chilies.

3. For the best flavor, let the sawsawan sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

The measurements are a starting point, customize it the way you like