← Nouns Cooking · Indonesian & Filipino

Ingredients

• 1 kg pork ribs or belly, cut into chunks
• 2.5 l Water
• 1 red onion, quartered
• 3 Tomato, quartered
• 3 tbsp fish sauce (patis), plus extra to serve
• 2 Taro (gabi), peeled and halved (optional)
• 4 tbsp tamarind paste (or 400 g fresh sampalok, see tip)
• 250 g Daikon radish, peeled and sliced on an angle
• 150 g long beans (sitaw), cut into 5 cm lengths
• 8 Okra, ends trimmed
• 1 long aubergine (eggplant), cut into chunks
• 3 long green chillies (siling haba)
• 250 g Water spinach (kangkung), leaves and tender stems
• Salt

Method

1. Put the pork in a large pot with the water and bring it to the boil. Skim off the grey foam for 5 min until the broth looks clear.
2. Add the onion, tomatoes and fish sauce, cover and simmer on low heat for 1 hour, until the pork is tender and pulls easily from the bone.
3. If using taro, add it now and simmer for 15 min until soft enough to start breaking up; it gently thickens the soup.
4. Stir in the tamarind paste a spoonful at a time, tasting as you go. Sinigang should be properly sour, so do not hold back.
5. Add the daikon and simmer for 5 min, then the long beans, okra, aubergine and chillies for another 5 min, until just tender.
6. Push the kangkung under the broth and cook for 1 minute until wilted. Season with fish sauce or salt and serve piping hot with rice and a little dish of patis on the side.

Tips

• With fresh unripe tamarind, boil 400 g in 500 ml of the broth for 15 min, mash it through a sieve and stir the sour liquid back into the pot. A packet of sinigang mix is the everyday shortcut.
• Shrimp, milkfish or salmon belly are classic swaps: add seafood with the vegetables so it does not overcook.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Foxy Folksy Panlasang Pinoy Pepper.ph