Enjoy this homemade spicy and aromatic vinegar. This vinegar can be used in cooking or as a dipping sauce. This recipe takes 10 minutes to make.
What is sinamak
Sinamak is a Filipino spiced vinegar originating from Iloilo, Philippines. The spices give the vinegar its spicy flavor and aroma.
Vinegar (also known as Suka in Filipino dialect) is a common ingredient in Filipino cuisine. From cooking adobo to making ceviche, vinegar is essential to Filipino cooking. In addition, it is also the condiment of choice for dipping foods.
This spicy vinegar goes well with my Filipino Fried Chicken, Deep-fried Prawns, and Baked Pompano recipe.
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Why you will like this recipe
- The spiced vinegar is often used as a dipping sauce for barbecue, grilled meat, and fried foods.
- It is also often used as a marinade.
- It is also the main ingredient when making ceviche or kinilaw.
- The sinamak is also famous as sawsawan (dipping sauce) for spring rolls.
- You can use sinamak as an ingredient in making adobo.
Ingredients notes and substitutions
Vinegar - You may use palm vinegar (sukang Paombong), coconut vinegar (sukang tuba), cane vinegar, white vinegar, rice vinegar, and apple cider vinegar.
Chilies - You may use fresh, dried, or frozen chilies. You can also cut or smash them if you prefer your vinegar to be very spicy. Red chilies are common. Some examples of chilies you can use are Filipino bird’s eye chili (siling labuyo), Thai bird’s eye chili, Serrano chilies, or jalapeño peppers.
Ginger - peel the ginger, slice it thinly, and pound it to release its flavor. It adds a spicy taste and aroma to the vinegar.
Onion - peel the skin and coarsely chop. Make sure the onions are small enough to put through the bottle opening. You can use red, yellow, or white onions. Shallots are also a good substitute.
Garlic - peel the skin, then smash it using a mortar and pestle. If you want a subtle hint of garlic, add whole cloves instead.
You may also add:
- Galangal (also called langkawas)
- Whole peppercorns
Equipment
You can use any empty bottle. Another option is to use vinegar dispenser bottles or jars.
How to make this recipe
- Prepare the bottle and the ingredients. You can use an empty bottle or container with a lid. Just make sure that the bottle is washed and dried before using it.
- Add the prepared ingredients to the bottle. The ingredients should be small enough to get through the mouth of the bottle.
- After all the ingredients are inside the bottle, fill the bottle with vinegar.
- Let the spiced vinegar sit on the shelf for at least a week before using it.
FAQs and expert tips
You may change spices and clean the bottle every year. In my experience, we changed it longer, but I will not recommend this.
The spices' aroma and flavor usually disappear after two to three vinegar refills. Therefore, this is the time to add more spices to the bottle or jar. The spices never spoil, so if the spices are not giving more aroma and flavor. You can repeatedly add more spices on top of the old ones.
All the ingredients are just guidelines. You can alter the number of ingredients to add. The more you make this, you will find your preference.
The garlic sometimes may change into bluish and greenish color. This color change is quite normal. See this link for more information.
You will notice that all the spices will be floating at the top of the bottle in the beginning. However, once the spices absorb the vinegar, they sink to the bottom.
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Recipe
Sinamak (Filipino Spicy Vinegar)
Equipment
- 1000 ml empty bottle or jar
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups cane vinegar see notes
- 100 grams chilies or more stems removed
- 1 head garlic peeled and smashed
- 1 small onion chopped
- 50 grams ginger peeled and chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the bottle and the ingredients. You can use an empty bottle or container with a lid. Just make sure that the bottle is washed and dried before using it.
- Add the prepared ingredients to the bottle. The ingredients should be small enough to get through the mouth of the bottle.
- After all the ingredients are inside the bottle, fill the bottle with vinegar.
- Let the spiced vinegar sit on the shelf for at least a week before using it.
Notes
- If you want a milder version, only add a small number of chilies. You can also add more chilies if you prefer a very spicy vinegar.
- If the bottle becomes empty, fill it with more vinegar.
- Add more spices when the spices are not giving any more aroma and flavor, usually after 2-3 refills of vinegar.
- Store the spiced vinegar bottle in an airtight container and leave it on the shelf until ready to use.
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