Arguably the
dish that best represents the
Filipino but is somehow not considered to be the
national dish. Common knowledge maintains that the
adobo is the national dish but in my book the sinigang is king.
follow me to the kitchen if you please
Ingredients:
- 1 Kilo Pork, Beef, Shrimp, Fish, or Fish Heads
- 250 grams Swamp Cabbage, separated and stemmed
- 2 medium sized eggplants, sliced
- 1 large onion, quarterd
- 2 medium red tomatoes, sliced
- 1 or 2 packs tamarind sinigang mix (Knorr makes a very tasty mix)
- 3 liters rice washing water
- 2 radishes, peeled and sliced
- some salt and patis (salty fish sauce)
- 150 grams sigarillas
- 4 pieces Taro, peeled and halved
- 1 piece green long chili pepper
- 250 grams Okra, ends cut
- 250 grams string beans, cut in 2 inch segments
Start with your choice of your first ingredient, the rice washing water, onion, tomato, and sinigang mix in a big clay pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until meat is soft, pork and beef take longer. Remove scum. Add vegetables in order of hardness, so basically you start with the taro, string beans, and radish, then the eggplant, then everything else, giving 2 minutes interval between veggies. Salt and patis to taste. Serve hot with steaming rice.
Some variations use
Guava or
Miso as the flavoring, but traditional sinigang calls for real tamarinds to get that oh so yummy sour flavor. As with all other
Filipino Dishes, you are given a lot of
leeway when mixing and adding ingredients.