A week ago, I started a search for the fishballs sauce recipe closest to the one Manong makes. Manong is how we call the streetvendor of fishballs, squidballs and kwek-kwek back in Manila. A strict requirement for a Manong is the skill to make a really yummy sauce, crazy mouth-watering that it would make you dunk your stick again in that jar. (I can't believe I just said that)
A lot (and I mean "a lot!") of recipes for this mysterious sauce can be found online. Friends gave me advice too, how they failed and how tough it is to match the taste. A friend even said, since this is streetfood, it has to be dirty to even come close to the real taste. How about a drop of sweat? Hehe.
After hearing mass last Sunday, my Dad & I went to the Asian store to get fishballs. Wow, 2 bucks for 200g of fishballs? Is that for real? I thought we're talking streetfood here! Well, I better not fail with the sauce, or should I just use my finger for taste test. *gross alert*
I will not dwell with the painful and frustrating process of coming up with the final recipe. What's important and what my Dad needs now is "the sauce" for his afternoon snack. Haha!
I thought my friend Mike was joking when he said it's just flour & water slurry, and sugar. That sauce is too tasty, it can't be that simple....But it is...with a few tweaks.
1 cup water
1-1.5 T rice flour
brown sugar
seasoned vinegar
Bring water to boil. Dissolve the flour in a little amount of cold water (1:2) and pour into boiling water. Bring to boil over low fire until it looks like this:
Now add the brown sugar. Based on my experience, 5 heaping tsp of brown sugar should be OK for a 1-cup recipe. Stir well while adding in the sugar.
Now this is the kicker...the vinegar. You can use cane vinegar, I tried. It tastes good. But what I liked better is seasoned vinegar, the kind that our moms keep in the kitchen. My mom has this seasoned vinegar with garlic, pepper, and about 4 kinds of chili. Datu Puti back home sells bottled seasoned vinegar too which works for my taste as well. Add about 5 tsp. And like in any other recipe where you want the vinegar flavor at it's finest, DON'T STIR. Just let it simmer for 4-5 mins, then stir slowly. Taste. Add more vinegar if needed. Add chili if you want it spicy.
SO TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK! haha! ENJOY!
