What is Sawsawan?

Sawsawan is a Tagalog word for a dip typically made with vinegar with garlic, onion, chillies, peppercorn, sugar and salt. Everyone has their own sawsawan, and I started experimenting with different kinds of vinegars and chili peppers.

My mom’s sawsawan for broiled or fried fish is soy sauce, vinegar, chili peppers, salt, and tomato.

Mine varies depending on the ingredients I have on hand. Shown is one I made recently with 2 Serrano peppers, Tuba (coconut) vinegar, garlic, and salt. I serve this sawsawan with roasted pork, like my crowd-pleasing lechon.

How do you make your sawsawan?

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condiments, Filipino

Author

Denise de Castro

I'm a Native New Yorker who now lives in Connecticut. I love food – cooking, eating, taking photos of food, attending cooking demos – all things food, and don’t forget about drinking wine. It could be anywhere – in my hometown, to abroad, anything food and drink goes here.