Sinigang - Sour Soup to Warm my Belly
comfort food recipes
Sinigang was included in the Oxford English Dictionary in June 2015, eight years after its more prominent cousin, adobo. Like adobo, it is a precolonial dish that preserves well in the country’s climate.
Sinigang originates from the Tagalog verb that directly translates to “to stew” — sigang. It’s one of the staples of my household, and my (white) husband’s favorite. He has endeared himself to my large Ilocano family, because he eats everything. He draws the line at dinuguan (chocolate meat) and kare-kare (oxtail stewed in peanut butter sauce).
Sinigang is one of my comfort foods, especially on a rainy day, which was every day in Baguio City, where I was born and raised. Later, I will write about my other comfort soups: arroz caldo (chicken soup with rice) and tinola (chicken stew with sayote).
I have simplified the standard recipe below by removing eggplant, okra, and daikon (white radish), because I am not particularly fond of them. At the end of this article, I provided links to the other recipes and the varied ways to extract sourness from fruit.
When I was a little girl visiting my grandmother in Ilocos, she would send me to Nana Paring’s house to harvest camias. I could reach the fruit because it grew on the trunk and branches. I would fill a basket, and Lola Andang sliced them crosswise and dropped them in the sinigang. She dried the rest for later use.
When camias was unavailable, she used green mangoes or not-quite ripe guavas.
I use the convenient method of adding a pack of tamarind powder. Others add the tamarind powder after everything has cooked. I vaguely remember an aunt saying that adding the tomatoes or sour fruit first prevents the meat from becoming tender, but I have had no problem with that. I like the sourness to permeate every fiber of the meat.
As with adobo, each household has its version. There is no right or wrong way and the dish relies mostly on available resources.
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb pork (or fish, shrimp, chicken or seashells)
1 large onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced (I ran out, and used cherry tomatoes which made the dish more sour than usual)
ginger, about the size of two thumbs, sliced and crushed
1 packet of tamarind powder
long green beans
mustard greens (or any leafy greens)
chile pepper (optional)
patis (fish sauce) to flavor
DIRECTIONS:
In a large pot, boil about 2 liters of water.
Pour the contents of the tamarind powder (or less if you desire lower acidity)
Add the onion, tomato, and ginger.
When the tomato has disintegrated, add the meat.
Simmer on low heat for about 1-2 hours.
Flavor with salt or patis to taste
Bring back to a boil, add the long green beans.
When cooked, add the leafy greens
Serve with rice.
Enjoy!
Recommended reading:
Why piping-hot ‘sinigang’ is the national dish
Philippines’ National Dish: An Unending Debate & the 3 Best Picks
this made me crave my dad's sinigang 🤤 he always uses spare ribs!
So delish!