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Filipino Sinigang
Sour, salty, with a hint of sweet and bitter, Sinigang is one of the Philippine’s most loved dishes. In fact, the late Doreen Fernandez, who was one of the most respected food writers in the Philippines, once argued that sinigang should be considered the national dish of the Philippines rather than adobo.
Sinigang is a soup whose flavor is sour with fruits abundant in the Philippines like tamarind, guava, green mangoes or bilimbi (kamias).
As for shrimp sinigang… Imagine big, fresh, succulent shrimp swimming in a savory, sweet, and sour broth…the thought of it instantly sets my mouth watering.
Main Ingredients for Sinigang Recipe
- Tamarind pulp
- Prawns
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Chili
- Rice wash
- Daikon
- Fish sauce
- Morning glory
Cook’s Tips
- The dish is easily adaptable depending on what protein is on hand, but is most frequently made with pork, beef, or prawns. The soup is also rich in vegetables that are easily available in the Philippines like daikon, eggplants, snake beans and water spinach.
- To create that signature sourness, I use tamarind. As a fruit it is quite difficult to come by overseas but tamarind pulp is readily available in Asian grocery stores. To make the base of the soup, tamarind pulp is soaked in hot water for a few minutes and then mashed, strained and added to the pot.
- Sinigang is never complete without a bowl of steaming white rice and what we refer to as sawsawan, a dipping sauce made with fish sauce, calamansi and a bit of chili. Together, with the rice, you have a complete dish.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 157 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Shrimp Sinigang (Sinigang na Hipon)
Ingredients
- 100 g tamarind pulp (soaked in a cup of hot water for 15 minutes)
- 24 pieces fresh prawns
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 red onion (sliced)
- 2 large tomatoes (quartered (or 8 cherry tomatoes))
- 1 green chili
- 8 cups rice wash*
- 1/2 bunch snake beans (cut the size of 2 inches)
- 1 daikon (peeled and sliced)
- 2 Japanese eggplants (sliced)
- 1 bunch water spinach (also known as kang kong or morning glory)
- ¼ cup fish sauce (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a deep pot and sauté the red onion, tomatoes and green chili for two to three minutes.
- Strain the tamarind pulp into the pot and add the rice wash. Bring this to a boil and then turn down to a simmer to cook the vegetables.
For the vegetables
- Add them to the pot according to how long they take to cook. Add the vegetables that take longer to cook first. As an estimate, the snake beans will take around 7 minutes, the daikon and eggplant around 5 minutes and the water spinach around 3 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are done, add the prawns, which should take only around 3 minutes or so to cook.
- Finally, add the fish sauce and sugar and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
As a Newbie, I am constantly searching online for articles that can be of assistance to me. Thank you
I’ve never heard of adding sugar to sinigang. Also, have never used tamarind in sinigang na hipon [that’s usually reserved for Sinigang na Baboy (Pork) or Sinigang na Baka (Beef)]. Our family traditionally uses bayabas (guava) for seafood sinigang. For the veggies, sinigang always has kang kong (water spinach) and the ones using meat always has gabe (taro).
Thanks for your feedback. This recipe is by a guest blogger who is a Filipino.