Sinigang, the Filipino Soup for the Soul

This Filipino food is similar to Indonesia’s Sayur Asem, Vietnams Canh Chua, Thailand’s Tom Yam and Malaysia’s Singgang.

Samples of sinigang are:

• Sinigang na Hipon
• Sinigang sa Miso
• Sinigang na Bangus
• Sinigang na Hipon
• Sinigang na Tilapia
• Sinampalukang Manok ( Chicken sinigang with Tamarind leaves)

If you wish to make one yourself, try the menu we have below:

SINIGANG NA HIPON

·  1 Kilo Shrimp

·  12 pcs Tamarind (Sampaloc) or 1 pack Sinigang Mix

·  1 big Onion (diced)

·  3 big tomatoes (quartered)

·  2 pieces Radish (sliced)

·  1 bundle Sitaw (Stringbeans)

·  1 bundle Kangkong (cut into 2″ long)

·  3 pieces long green pepper

·  5 cups ricewash or water

·  Salt or Patis (fish sauce)

To cook:

• Boil Tamarind in rice wash or water to soften.
• Pound and extract all juices and set aside.
• In a casserole, boil rice wash or water, Tamarind juice, onions, tomatoes and Radish.
• Lower fire; add in Shrimps, Kangkong, Sitaw and green long pepper.
• Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Season with salt or patis.
• Serve hot. 

If you cannot find tamarind in your local store, you can also use balimbi or iba (tree sorrel), bayabas (guava), calamansi, raw mango, sinigang flavor mix or bouillon cubes as substitutes.  Vinegar should not be used in making sinigang for there is a similar Filipino food that uses vinegar as the key ingredient to make its soup sour.  In Filipino cuisine, this dish is called paksiw. 

There are plenty of ways to cook sinigang. Some people use pressure cooker, some cook it through stock pots and some locals prefer to cook it in a clay pot and use firewood for they believe that the smoke from the burnt wood and the heating factor of the clay pots adds aroma and flavor to the soup.

It is best to have this Filipino food during cold season Which ever way you chose to cook it, fact still remains; Sinigang is the Filipinos’ aphrodisiac. The combination of hot soup and sour flavor often awakens ones sleeping senses thus making it the Filipino’s soup for the soul.