Sinamak (Filipino Spiced Vinegar) substitute

Substitutes for Sinamak (Filipino Spiced Vinegar) with ratios

1. 2Emergency Quick Version, Made In The Bowl

   Different taste

   ¼ cup vinegar + 1 crushed garlic clove + ¼ tsp chile flakes + ¼ tsp cracked black pepper

   Mixed straight into the dipping saucer and used within minutes.

   What changes

   It is thinner and less integrated than a proper steeped sinamak, so the garlic tastes raw and sharp rather than mellowed, and the heat sits on top rather than running through. Still enormously better than plain vinegar, and it takes thirty seconds.

   Best for

   a meal you are eating in ten minutes, grilled pork or chicken, fried fish, lumpia

   Grating the garlic instead of crushing it releases far more flavor fast, which is what you want when there is no steeping time. A pinch of sugar softens the raw edge.

2. 3Plain Cane, Coconut Or Cider Vinegar With Salt

   Different taste

   Use the same amount plus a pinch of salt per ¼ cup

   The bare minimum, and honest about what is lost: sinamak is defined by its aromatics, and without them you have a sour dip and nothing more.

   What changes

   It still does the essential job of cutting through fatty roast pork, so the meal works, but nobody will mistake it for sinamak.

   Best for

   lechon and crispy pata when you have nothing else, fried food

   Cane or coconut vinegar is the most authentic base. If you only have distilled white vinegar, cut it with a quarter water, because it is harsher than the Filipino vinegars sinamak is made from.

3. 4Bottled Pinakurat Or Any Filipino Spiced Vinegar

   Close match

   Use the same amount

   If a Filipino shop is within reach, bottled spiced vinegar is essentially the same product.

   What changes

   Pinakurat is the best-known brand and is made with coconut vinegar, chiles, garlic, onion and spices. It tends to be hotter and saltier than a homemade sinamak, so a little goes further and you may not want to add extra salt to the dish.

   Best for

   lechon, inihaw, fried fish, adobo and everyday table use

   Different brands vary a lot in heat. Taste a drop on a spoon before pouring it over food for people who do not want much chile.

4. 5Rice Vinegar With Garlic, Chile And Soy

   Different taste

   3 tbsp rice vinegar + 1 tbsp water + 1 grated garlic clove + sliced chile + 1 tsp soy sauce

   A pan-Asian improvisation that fills the same role at the table.

   What changes

   The soy sauce adds a savoury depth sinamak does not have, so a dip for grilled pork tastes rounder and less purely sharp, more like a Chinese or Vietnamese dipping sauce. Very good, just not Filipino in character.

   Best for

   grilled meat, dumplings and fried snacks, fish, vegetables

   Skip the soy sauce entirely if you want it closer to sinamak, which is a vinegar dip rather than a soy dip.

5. 6Toyomansi (Soy Sauce And Calamansi)

   Different taste

   2 tbsp soy sauce + 2 tbsp calamansi or lime juice, plus chile to taste

   Not a substitute so much as the other classic Filipino table dip, and worth naming because it is what most Filipino cooks would reach for instead.

   What changes

   It is salty and citrusy rather than sour and hot, so grilled fish dipped in it tastes savoury and bright instead of sharp and fiery. Different, equally correct, and probably already in your kitchen.

   Best for

   grilled and fried fish, inihaw, fried chicken, eggs and rice

   Use half the soy sauce you think you need, then taste. It is much saltier than vinegar-based sinamak and easy to overdo on delicate fish.