Pangasinan Baybay Soup: A Clear Seafood Broth Inspired by Ponsia

A delicate seafood soup benefits from staggered cooking: aromatics flavour the broth, vegetables soften, then fish and shrimp finish close to serving. Pangasinan’s Ponsia competition offers the cultural starting point for this home baybay-inspired soup. A restrained fish-and-shrimp combination keeps the broth clear and makes the cooking sequence easy to follow. Source 3

The regional tradition

At the 2023 Ponsia culinary competition, chefs Em Navarro and Kaira Estrada included a baybay seafood soup in their winning menu. The home broth below is independently composed around fish, shrimp and vegetables; it is not their competition recipe. Choosing a small range of good seafood makes timing and sourcing easier than adding every available shellfish. Source 3

Ingredients and equipment

For four modest bowls, use 250 g boneless white fish in 3 cm pieces, 150 g peeled raw shrimp, one chopped tomato, one small sliced onion, 15 g ginger, 100 g pechay and 800 ml water or unsalted fish stock. Optional clean fish bones can flavour the stock, but are not required. Have a fine sieve and food thermometer ready.

Preparation, step by step

1. Keep fish and shrimp chilled while preparing vegetables. Use separate tools or wash and sanitise them between raw seafood and ready-to-eat food.
2. For a quick base, simmer onion, ginger and tomato in the water for about 10 minutes. If using clean fish bones, simmer them with the aromatics for about 15 minutes, then strain carefully.
3. Add pechay stems and simmer for 2–3 minutes. Keep the leaves aside.
4. Lower in the fish and maintain a gentle simmer. Begin checking after about 4–5 minutes; the thickest piece must reach 63°C.
5. Add shrimp and pechay leaves near the end. Cook shrimp until pearly and opaque throughout, usually another 2–4 minutes depending on size.
6. Taste the cooked broth before adding salt or patis. Serve immediately, with calamansi offered separately.

Texture and troubleshooting

Keep fish pieces intact with a gentle simmer and minimal stirring. Shrimp become dry when they cook through the entire broth-making stage. If the broth has bone fragments, strain it before adding the final seafood; straining improves texture but cannot correct unsafe ingredients.

Buying and serving value

This recipe gives four modest bowls alongside rice or another dish. Whole shrimp and fish include shells, heads and bones, while the ingredient list uses prepared edible amounts. Compare prices on that basis and count stock made from sound trimmings only if you actually use it.

• Shrimp hard or dry: Add them only after vegetables and fish approach doneness. Small seafood cooks fast.
• Soup gritty: Clean stock ingredients and strain broth. Unclean trimmings spoil texture.
• Shellfish origin uncertain: Omit shellfish; use verified fish instead. Boiling cannot solve every harvest hazard.

Build the broth first, then cook each seafood addition only as long as it needs. Clear broth and careful sourcing work together.