Stimulate your appetite with this Visayan delicacy called ‘ginamos’

Posted at 2:53 pm October 11, 2010

Tags: Exotic Food, Truly Pinoy Food and Drinks

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By KC Santos

CEBU CITY, CEBU -“Ginamus! Ginamus! Tag dos takos! (Ginamos for only two pesos a scoop!)

Vendors in the wet market would often bellow these words when selling this Visayan delicacy. Ginamos is a fish sauce or paste made from anchovy or salted fish, characterized by its gray and sometimes muddy color, and its putrid smell.

To others, ginamos might be repulsive, but for Visayans, this delicacy is the perfect companion when eaten with semi-ripe bananas called saba.

For Cebuanos, a trip to the beach is never complete without ginamos in their picnic bags. The ginamos is highly enjoyable to eat raw when mixed with kalamansi or lime, onions and tomatoes, ready for your choice of steamed raw banana or raw mangoes. Some prefer it sautéed with garlic and onions, which is perfect for grilled fish and freshly cooked rice.

Ginamos is now sold in bottles at groceries, but nothing beats the ginamos sold in the public market, which tend to be fresher.

Other regions in the Philippines have their own version of the ginamos.

Blogger Marketman wrote in his blog Market Manila that this delicacy has many variations depending on the region. In Anilao, the ginamos is one of the products that the local government is developing for fishermen and their families.

Not just Visayans, but many Filipinos based in the US love the ginamos.

Felicity, in her blog Inday’s Kitchen, shares the many ways you can enjoy the ginamos. She adds that the ginamos remains flavorful the longer it is stored. The smell might not be pleasant, but the concentrated salt compound extends its shelf life, even without preservatives.

(Photos taken from Pagkaong Kalubihan, Market Manila and tsubibo via Flickr)