Sinigang
The Philippines’ beloved sour soup: pork simmered in tamarind broth with vegetables added in waves. Comfort that puckers.
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 50 min
- total
- 1 h 5 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- easy
Sinigang is proof that a soup can be sour as its entire personality and still be comfort food. Tamarind provides the pucker, pork provides the richness, and the vegetables go in by cooking time so nothing arrives mushy.
How sour is correct? Filipino consensus: a little more than you were planning. You add tamarind until the broth makes you sit up.
Sinigang is one of the world's classic dishes from 67 countries.
method
Simmer the pork in the water with the onion and tomatoes, skimming, for 30 to 40 minutes until tender.
Stir in the tamarind paste and fish sauce. Taste: it should be assertively sour. Add more tamarind until it is.
Add the daikon and simmer 8 minutes, then the beans and whole chilies for 5 more.
Turn off the heat and push the greens into the broth; they cook in the residual heat.
Serve hot with rice and the fish sauce bottle on the table.
chef's tips
- Stagger the vegetables; one-pot-dump sinigang is a textural tragedy.
- The whole chilies perfume without punishing; crush one in your bowl if you want punishment.
- Shrimp or fish sinigang works the same way with a tenth of the simmering time.