Sinigang

Recipe by Gravity84. Wikified by Kenning.

Sinigang
(see nee GAHNG)


Many consider adobo to be the national dish of the Philippines, but to many others, this sour, oft tamarind based, soup is just as beloved. Also like adobo, pancit, and lumpia, there are many forms sinigang which vary from region to region in the Philippines.

The most common sinigang is “sinigang sa sampalok,” and is made with tamarind broth, sampalok (sam PAH lok) being Tagalog for tamarind. This particular recipe is for pork sinigang and is called “Sinigang na baboy.” I like to use pork butt, but some people like to use other cuts that contain bones, this results in a very rich broth. You can also just augment the butt/shoulder with a little bit of pork neck bone.

Most pinoys use soup base packets. There I said it. They do. It’s remarkably rare to see someone actually bust out some tamarind or guava. If you’ve never even had sinigang before, I’d suggest you go this route, as you should really taste just how strongly flavored it is before you try working with souring agents. The packets should have instructions on them, follow them. Good brands are Knorr and Mama Sita’s.

I will admit, it is quite a bit easier to use a packet, but to hell with it, scratch is better and I’d probably get flamed and compared to Sandra Lee if I posted a recipe that was based on a soup packet.

About tamarind: I like to use a product called “wet tamarind.”


It’s basically a brick of tamarind flesh that is seedless. It’s pretty cheap and is very convenient. You can also use whole tamarind pods, these have seeds in them. Measuring wet tamarind is near impossible. It is pretty much a brick of solidified tar. I like to chop off chunks off the end using a cleaver and just eyeball the amount I need.

Base ingredients:
7 cups water
3 tbsp “wet tamarind” or 325 g tamarind pods, shells removed
~2 lbs pork shoulder, butt, stew meat
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 med onion, rough chop
2 tomatoes, rough chop
6 tbsp patis, more to taste
1 jalepeno or serrano pepper, split lengthwise (optional, for heat)
4-5 pieces green sweet banana peppers, rough chop


Heat 2 cups of water in a microwave safe bowl. Soak the wet tamarind or tamarind pods in the hot water for 30 minutes. Massage mixture/seeds with hands until mixed thoroughly. If using “wet tamarind” you can just use a blender. Pass mixture through a sieve using the bottom of a ladle to gently work mixture in the sieve through, stopping when a thick paste of fibers remains in the sieve. Cube pork, season with salt and sear in a pressure cooker/stockpot in batches. Reserve pork and sweat onions and garlic in rendered fat until translucent. Return pork to pot and add tamarind mixture, remaining water, tomatoes, peppers, and patis. Taste for patis/salt, add more if necessary. Bring to pressure and cook for 30 minutes, if using a stock pot, braise until tender. You can also transfer to a slow cooker if you prefer. When tender, consider vegetables.

Vegetables
You can use all kinds of vegetables in your sinigang. The following are the usual suspects:

sitaw (Chinese long beans), ends trimmed, cut into finger length pieces
okra, often washed and left whole, but you can cut into smaller pieces if you wish
kangkong (river spinach), you can just use spinach, too
bok choy
daikon radish, peeled and cut into half moons about ½ cm thick
regular radishes, halved
taro, peeled and cubed
Japanese eggplant, sliced

My favorites are okra, spinach, daikon, and sitaw.

When pork is tender, taste for salt, add water if reduced too much, bring to a boil again. Add vegetables in the proper order to ensure even doneness when serving. For example, with my favs, I’d start with okra, then daikon, then sitaw, then spinach, as soon as the spinach is wilted, I’d serve.

Serve over steamed rice with a bit more patis to taste.

Don’t feel like pork?

Sinigang na Hipon, Sinigang na Bangus, Sinigang na Tilapia
Shrimp Sinigang, Milkfish Sinigang, Tilapia Sinigang


7 cups water
3 tbsp “wet tamarind” or 325 g tamarind pods, shells removed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalepeno or serrano pepper, split lengthwise (optional, for heat)
4-5 pieces green sweet banana peppers, rough chop
1 med onion, rough chop
2 tomatoes, rough chop
6 tbsp patis, more to taste

And either:
2 lbs head on shell on shrimp, trim antennae.
or
2 lbs whole milkfish, scaled, cleaned, cut into steaks
Or
2 lbs whole tilapia, scaled, cleaned, cut into steaks
or any other fish for that matter. My mom makes a mean salmon sinigang. Catfish also works.

The base recipe is the same. Do all of the soaking, sieving, etc to the tamarind. In a stockpot, sweat onions and garlic. Add tamarind mixture, water, tomatoes, peppers, and patis. Taste for patis/salt. Bring to a boil. Then add fish/shrimp and non leafy vegetables. Cook until cooked through. Add leafy vegetables, serve once wilted.

There are other forms of sinigang. Another popular form involves using sour guava and is called Sinigang sa Bayabas. This one is most authentically served with milkfish and I’ve only seen it made from scratch once. Most people use soup base mixes. If someone has a recipe, I’d love to try it. I’ve heard people use green mango, even calamansi as a souring agent. Another I’ve had is miso sinigang, Sinigang sa Miso, tamarind based sinigang augmented with miso paste. Works best with seafood, preferably milkfish. If you’re following this recipe, add 2/3 cup of awase miso paste to the broth before adding patis, and start with a bit less patis, say 4 tbsp and add more to taste, the added miso will mess with salt levels. There is also a dish called Sinampalukang Manok which is a chicken sinigang with tamarind leaves.
I’ve also seen a tofu sinigang for all you veggies out there. It uses soy sauce instead of fish sauce, so I can’t vouch for its flavor, but I’ll post it so people who are willing can try.

www.vegventures.com/ posted:

http://www.vegventures.com/2010/04/01/sinigang-sa-sampalok-or-sour-tamarind-soup-philippines/

6 cups/1.25 l water
3 tbsp tamarind paste or 1/3 cup/0.8 dl wet tamarind*
3 tbsp soy sauce (Gravity84 note: If you're ok with using fish sauce, use it instead of soy)
8 oz/250 g firm tofu, preferably pressed, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup green beans (fresh or frozen) (Gravity84 note: use Chinese long beans, if you can)
2 tomatoes, chopped
(Gravity84 addition: 4-5 sweet banana peppers, this recipe is missing peppers)
half a bok choy or 1 baby bok choy, chopped
(salt to taste)

If you’re using wet tamarind, cook it in some water for a while until it softens and blend. This is not the traditional way of doing things, but this is how I do it. Then, just cook everything together (including either the softened wet tamarind or the tamarind paste) until soft to your liking. Serve hot, as a soup or as a stew over rice. It makes about four portions, possibly more if served with rice.