Patis
Filipino fish sauce — a thin, amber, intensely savory liquid made from fermented fish, used to season soups, noodles, and dipping sauces.
Patis is pressed and strained from fish that's been salted and left to ferment, similar in concept to Vietnamese nước mắm or Thai nam pla, but with its own distinct flavor. It's less about a fishy taste and more about a rounded, savory depth — the same role MSG or a good stock plays in other cuisines.
It shows up in two main ways: cooked into soups like sinigang and tinola for a savory backbone, and used raw at the table as a finishing seasoning, often with a squeeze of calamansi and chili on the side (a combination sometimes called patismansi).
In noodle dishes like pancit, a splash of patis late in cooking adds a savory lift that soy sauce alone doesn't quite deliver.
Where you'll taste it
Recipes on Pancit.com that call for patis.
Dinuguan
Pork simmered in a savory, vinegar-tinged pork blood stew with chilies.
Pancit Bihon
Savory rice noodles with chicken, shrimp, and vegetables — the everyday pancit every household knows.
Pancit Canton
Wheat egg noodles stir-fried with chicken and vegetables in a savory, glossy soy-oyster sauce.
Pancit Lomi
Batangas-style thick fresh egg noodle soup in a cornstarch-thickened pork broth with liver and kikiam.
Pancit Batil Patong
Tuguegarao's miki noodles topped with minced beef, pork, and a poached egg, served with an egg-drop soup on the side.
Pancit Molo
Iloilo's wonton soup pancit — pork-and-shrimp dumplings and shredded chicken in a savory broth.
Pancit Bato
Bicol's sun-dried noodle pancit from Bato, Camarines Sur — thick chewy noodles with pork, shrimp, and vegetables.
Pancit Cabagan
Isabela's saucy miki noodles topped with crispy lechon kawali, stewed pork liver, and hard-boiled quail eggs.
Pancit Malabon
Thick rice noodles in a bold shrimp sauce, piled high with squid, mussels, and seafood.
Pancit Palabok
Rice noodles topped with a rich shrimp-and-annatto sauce, boiled egg, and crushed chicharrón.
Sinigang na Baboy
Tamarind-soured Filipino pork soup with vegetables — a comfort-food classic.
Tinolang Manok
Chicken simmered in a clear ginger broth with green papaya and chili leaves.
Arroz Caldo
Ginger-chicken rice porridge topped with toasted garlic, scallions, and calamansi.
Lugaw
Simple rice porridge simmered in broth, topped with fried garlic, scallions, and calamansi.
Goto
Beef tripe and oxtail simmered for hours into a rich, deeply savory rice porridge.
Bulalo
Beef shank and bone marrow simmered for hours into a clear, rich soup with corn, cabbage, and pechay.
Ginisang Munggo
Mung beans simmered with pork and shrimp into a thick, savory everyday stew, topped with crispy chicharon.
La Paz Batchoy
Miki noodles in a rich pork-bone broth topped with pork offal, crushed chicharon, and a raw egg.