hollerrr!! SINIGANG! It totally hits the spot on a cold cold day. I myself do not make it, but my mom does and it's pretty amazing. I will have to try this out to see if I'm capable!

One of my favorite Filipino dishes. My family doesn't use tamarind concentrate, and the soup we get afterward is usually clear. Yours looks a little different from the family recipe, but I'll definitely give yours a shot though.

I can see why it hits the spot on a cold day, it's so rich and hearty and yummy! I've eaten 3 bowls already.

this is the one filipino dish i cook and cook often. i have never used potato or carrot in sinigang and have never seen it with either. i would leave out the fish sauce and instead offer it as a side to add while eating.

Sinigang is as varied as the islands in the Philippines -- every island has different foods available to them and thus, the dish is customizable. Of course, the constant is the tamarind-- my family uses fresh tamarind. I'm still working on a vegetarian version for myself, since I no longer eat meat.

Instead of green beans, I use sitaw. The long long beans make me think of Sinigang. Also, it's preferable to use the fish sauce as a condiment onto the soup.

so glad you featured sinigang! here is a link to a site that outlines how to make the broth from scratch:
http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/sampaloc-tamarind-broth-for-singang

I agree with Lorena in SD that recipes for sinigang can be really varied. The vegetables in our family recipe are different than the ones you use (I like potatoes, no carrots, and like ajcolberg, I use sitaw, the 'yard long' beans). Also, I haven't heard of a recipe that uses the dried shrimp and tomato, so the broth in our sinigang is clearer as well. Fish sauce is the perfect condiment, so I would leave it out of the cooking phase and just add it at the table too.
My kids love this dish.

Thanks so much for the input! Yeah, I did find some photos of sinigang where the broth was clear, but I figured since there are so many different recipes for it, there must be different ways to make it. I'll leave out the fish sauce next time and try it as a condiment.

This is my comfort food! I think the tamarind paste (thai or indian) may have been the reason for the dark color. Megamags' link is how it's usually done. Adding dried shrimp is very Thai. I'm curious to try it though as I've never seen it used in sinigang. In our family we add okra and lots of kangkong (swamp cabbage) for vegetables. We also use pork cubes (with fat attached) boiled in the broth until the fat is close to a pulp. Doesn't sound healthy I know but I swear the taste of the fat makes a big difference.

@lorena in SD: research done by the late doreen fernandez shows that tamarind isn't really a constant. all over the philippines, any sourish fruit or leaf or even flower can be a souring agent. sinampalukang manok (tamarind chicken) uses young tamarind leaves for souring. in the southern regions, batuan (a small sour fruit) is used for sinigang. there's also kamias, guava, even green unripe watermelon.

@kathryn: the tamarind concentrate you used in this recipe is good for malaysian and indonesian assam/sour stews. sinigang generally has a light, clear broth. (except for sinigang sa miso with mustard leaves, which uses white or yellow miso to cloud the broth.) filipinos don't really use potato or carrot in sinigang. radish is almost always present. okra is sometimes used, also eggplant and long beans. but kangkong would be the leafy green most often used, added in the last few minutes of simmering to retain its crunch.

the sourness of sinigang and the lightness of its broth is supposed to be cooling in our humid tropical weather. your recipe is an interesting take that adapts to what's available there. my sister who lives in the netherlands uses lemon, salmon and mustard green for her sinigang. you can try that :)

@kathryn: looking at your ingredients again, you can actually just double your tomatoes or use green/less ripe tomatoes to make your sinigang sour.

@sandrita, thanks so much for your input. I'll try the green tomato trick next time!

I LOVE sinigang! My mom made it all the time (along with adobo, chicken tinola and kare kare, mmmm...). I remember hers being a lot more soupy and we would ladle the soup over a bowl of rice. She used bok choy and all kinds of different leafy greens, depending on what was on sale and looked fresh at the asian market. When I was little, I was always "scolded" for helping myself to all the yummy greens in the soup, not that she could get that mad at me for my veggie overload! I think I know what I'm making this weekend...

This, y'all, is why I love the Kitchn.

this looks really good.
THis may be a silly question but it says to cut the meat into one inch pieces, then cook until its falling off the bone... but i imagine when cutting rib meat into 1 inch pieces you would be cutting it off the bone?

Yum! This is one of my favorites. I put tomato, onion, mushrooms, spinach, and salmon in mine and eat it over rice. Can't beat this on a cold day, or any other day for that matter! =)

The color of that sinigang is definitely not the color you want. It would probably have my mom shaking her head saying "what kind of sinigang that?!" - so I'll make sure she doesn't see it! First things first, sinigang does vary place to place. In the region of the Philippines my mom is from, the sour flavor for the sinigang is from a tiny citrus fruit called Calamansi. Whereas, my dad's region uses a tamarind based flavor for sinigang. I grew up having it with a tamarind based, but on occasion if I have fish sinigang, I'll have it with a lemon base for a more subtle flavor.

Your sinigang broth should look somewhat light and clear in color and definitely not that vibrant color.

In a traditional sinigang there is NO potato or carrot. You definitely want to stay within the family of:
-daikon radish
-baby bokchoy or potato leaves
-string beans
-eggplant

Also, the dried shrimp doesn't belong in a pork sinigang. Whatever source of protein you're using (pork ribs, beef, shrimp or fish), you want that flavor to the be star and base of the broth. The souring agent is meant to brighten that flavor, without completely overpowering it. 1 jar of tamarind concentrate is crazy! Go easy on the sour flavor! If your mouth is puckering and your eyes are squinting from the sourness, you put too much tamarind/calamansi.

You can also skip the whole first step of sauteing your onions and garlic and browning your ribs. There's also no need to chop up the tomato because it's going to break down into the broth after hours of simmering your pork. Your ribs, onion, garlic and tomato can go into a pot of water and straight to a long simmer. You also want the fish sauce on the side as a condiment.

If you have any questions, ask away!

I usually seed the tomato to keep the broth clear. Daikon radish sounds like a great addition. I love vegetables that soak up the broth.

Sinigang is the ultimate comfort soup for Filipinos and can be made in so many different ways.

Fish/Seafood: Salmon or catfish or huge shrimp or halibut or tilapia. My Dad adds ginger when making sinigang w/ seafood.

Meats: Pork or chicken or beef oxtail. The combo of pork and chicken rocks.

Veggies: Okra, radish, eggplant, bokchoy, sitaw, tomatoes (always), regular spinach, mustard greens, daikon, water spinach/kangkong... There must be more veggies to use. These are just the ones that I've used/tasted.

When making seafood sinigang, we put the sour stuff in toward the end of the cook time. With the meats, we put it in early on...

Sometimes I use a yellow chili pepper to give the soup some spicy bite. :)

I've never had sinigang with carrots or potatoes or garlic.

Patis can be added during or used as a condiment.

I use Knorr's mix. I also do not like the MSG, etc, in theory, but the mix makes the soup come out perfect and we don't eat this soup so often that it would affect us. I think.

I'm glad to see Sinigang in 'The Kitchn'. :D Your version looks tasty but it might be better re-named as a tamarind stew.

Addendum to previous post:

I forgot to add bangus/milkfish as an ingredient. I love milkfish but I rarely cook it unless I buy it boneless. Bones are tiny and plentiful.

I agree that Filipino dishes are cooked differently depending on the region or province BUT I haven't seen or tasted a sinigang cooked or prepared this way. So I can only assume that this one is either Thai Style or Malaysian Style Filipino Sinigang :).