Bicol express is a delicious spicy pork stew ... The addition of salted, fermented tiny shrimp might seem unusual, but it adds essential umami and saltiness, so please don’t omit it.

In early December, when Chance Anies, 33, the chef and owner of Tabachoy in Bella Vista, went shopping at Hung Vuong Market on Washington Avenue for bagoong, the Filipino shrimp paste, he noticed an ...