I watched a Korean making Pork Sinigang yesterday in Youtube and it was a bit hilarious. When you’re a Filipino, it’s so easy to forget that some people need a recipe for sinigang. It’s nice to see too, that despite other people’s aversion to sour dishes and strong tastes, they are trying our traditional Filipino food. This sour Filipino stew is like a giant hug in a bowl – it warms your soul and lifts your mood on a gloomy day.
What Is Sinigang
While sinigang is typically made with different proteins like fish, chicken, or meat, pork is one of the most popular and classic varieties. The meat just seems to soak up all the delicious sourness from the tamarind broth. Whether you’re craving something hearty or just want something cozy to sip on, pork sinigang is sure to satisfy.
So today, since it’s a bit chilly, and everyone is in a foul mood, I decided to put this recipe up. As the rain pitter-patters outside, there’s nothing more comforting than curling up with a hot bowl of pork sinigang. It’s a definite palate pleaser and even just a picture of it can make you happy. I’d choose sinigang over adobo any day, as the best comfort food for the sick, the tired, and the hungry. It’s really asim kilig. Just a slurp of the soup can ease your unease.
How To Cook Sinigang
For my sinigang, I like it sour and “malapot” or thick, hence I usually use Sinigang Mix with Gabi. This recipe uses Sampalok (this is how we made it in the province) but feel free to use the mix and add it in the same order.
There are a lot of flavors available now in the market -there’s a mango flavored sinigang, pineapple flavored sinigang, the quintessential guava flavored sinigang, calamansi, santol, and even watermelon! Aside from the gabi variant, my favorite is guava also because of the thickness, though it is not as sour as the others. I also saw a rosemary flavored sinigang mix on the supermarket the other week.
One of the best parts about sinigang is how easy it is to make. While the broth develops maximum flavor overnight, you can also do a quicker “express” version in under an hour. All you need are the basics – pork, Sinigang tamarind mix or paste, pork stock/broth, vegetables. Beyond that, feel free to customize it to your liking with different veggies, herbs, or chili peppers. Get kids involved by letting them choose which veggies to add. They’ll love plucking out chunks of meat and veggies to eat.
Pork Sinigang Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 kilo pork, cubed
- 5 cups water
- 1 onion, sliced
- 4 pieces tomatoes, sliced
- 10 pieces sampalok
- salt or patis (fish sauce) to taste
- 2 pieces radish, sliced
- siling pangsigang (finger chili)
- 1 pc gabi (taro) sliced
- 1 bundle kangkong, cut into 2 inch lengths
Instructions:
In a casserole, boil pork in water until tender. Add onion, tomato, gabi, and sampalok.
Remove sampalok when tender then mash to extract the juice. Strain the juice then add back to the pot.
Add remaining vegetables and cook until done. Season with patis to taste.
Notes:
Sinigang is best with patis and finger chili dip. Just mash the cooked chili in a tablespoon of patis and prepare loads of rice!
