Pork sinigang has got to be one of the most popular comfort foods in the Philippines. I remember when my mom would prepare this dish she would use fresh tamarind. She would boil it and squish out all the juice for the souring agent.
Thank god for the invention of the dry mix so we don’t have to do it the hard way anymore. Not all dry mixes taste just as good as the fresh version either, but I’m sure a lot of you out there can agree with me that when it comes to Tamarind or Sinigang mix it’s one of the most authentic ones out there.
There are other things you can use as a souring agent such as kamias, fresh mango, or ripe guava (bayabas) and don’t forget the calamansi, especially when fish is used for this dish. It is one of the most popular substitutes when it comes to tamarind. For my version I’m going to go the easy way and use the dry mix, not to mention this is my only option since I don’t have any fresh sampalok. So let’s get cooking!
Ingredients:
- 2 Lbs of Pork Belly cut in 2 in. cubes (Liempo)
- 1 Small radish cut in 2 in. small pieces (Labanos/Daikon)
- 1 Medium Onion sliced thinly
- 1 Small tomato diced
- 1 Eggplant cut diagonally
- 1 Cup of Sitaw cut in 2 in. length (String Beans)
- 3 Cups of Kangkong (Water Spinach)
- 2 Pcs. Of Siling Mahaba (Finger Peppers)
- 1½ Packet of Knorr Sinigang Mix
- 1 Tsp. MSG (Vetsin)
- Salt to taste
- 1½ Quarts of water
Directions:
- In a large pot add water and bring to a boil. Next add pork, cover, and let it simmer for 3 minutes.
- Remove scum from the broth and then add onions, tomatoes, siling mahaba, (finger peppers) msg, (vetsin) and the sinigang mix and let cook for 10 minutes.
- Then add the Labanos, (radish) cover, and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Add eggplant and cook it for an additional 10 minutes after adding the eggplant wait five minutes then add the string beans (sitaw).
- Finally add the water spinach (Kangkong) and add salt if needed. Let it cook for three more minutes and it’s ready.
- Serve with rice. Enjoy!
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Looks good. I’m gonna try this recipe later. 🙂
I love pork sinigang! I linked this post up. Thanks. 🙂
I have been eating pork sinigang all my life even fish sinigang and i love the taste of it. My dad makes his a lil different, just with the ingredients he puts in it, but other wise it tastes the same its amasing.
Who ever hasnt taste this dish is missing something cause this is really good =)
I also include okra aside from other vegetables mention above, ty
Hi!
Your Sinigang looks really delicious!
I’m collecting a list of the best sinigang recipes in my blog, and I included your sinigang recipe (just a link though, hope you don’t mind). You can see it at
http://kumain.com/sinigang-recipes/
Keep in touch!
Tanya Regala
to tell you honestly, I don’t really know how to cook sinigang, but without a doubt, it is really my favorite viand. really. i was so inspired by all their comments that i’ll be willing to try to cook sinigang using your recipe. i’ll cook it when I’m free for a whole day. you make it so easy to cook. thanks! 🙂
honestly i don’t know really how to cook but..only simple food i can cook…….but if i have the recipe i can but the problem is that my taste is not so good for them….so how can i cook perfectly so that i can pass or get the attention of others….
Looks good! Actually I’m making sinigang today everybody love sinigang. I have a question why you don’t put garlic on your sinigang? I use garlic for everything. Is there a taste difference if you don’t put garlic?
Thanks and Have a good one!
Mary Ann,
Traditionally Sinigang doesn’t have Garlic in them to me adding Garlic in Sinigang would totally altered the taste of it. I do used Garlic on most of my cooking, but not on Sinigang try cooking Sinigang without garlic see if you like it that way.
Cheers,
Robert Colinares
wow, ive been looking for a sinigang recipe and this one sounds the most alike as what my mom use to make for me. i will have to try it later. 🙂 thanks a bunch!
You’re welcome Lyn! Let us know how it turns out for you.
My mom makes the best sinigang….I’ve tried to make it but it’s never as good as hers 🙂 anyway, in the middle picture, that white vegetable on the bottom left, what is that called? It’s the one that’s a little crunchy and it’s white. I love that vegetable but never knew what it was called.
Oops I’m sorry, I meant it’s on the bottom right of the middle picture.
Lydia,
That ingredient is call “Labanos” in the Philippines and it’s called “Daikon” in English.
I don’t know if your mom uses another type of root vegetable, but there is another one that is also commonly found on Sinigang it’s called “Taro root” or “Gabe” in Tagalog.
Gabe is also white like Labanos, but they definitely have different texture. I hope this answer your question.
Cheers,
Robert Colinares
I enjoy making sinigang! Me, my mother and my two sisters have been making it since we were little. We found that using Romain lettuce is wonderful. I only use romain lettuce as my green instead of any cabbage.
This is just so lovely and sourly delicious. Sinigang is my second favorite Pinoy food, second to Kinilaw.
I like this blog; posts are excellently written. Looking forward for your future posts. Cheers!:-)
I really love sinigang, any chance you have a recipe for Gulami?
I just made Sinigang from this recipe but I made it healthier. I used pork ribs. I boil the ribs yesterday with salt, onion, peppercorn and bay leaves. I let it cool when done and then put in refregerator overnight. Today, I scoop out the fat and then fallow the instruction here. Turns out really good. Thanks Robert. I will make my Robert full when he gets home 🙂
I love Sinigang. Haven’t had it in a long time. I making some right now, my first time. My grandpa usually uses pork, but will make fish or beef too. I have never seen it with the daikon or eggplant and there are no Asian food stores here, at least I don’t think there is that sells food so I had to use lemon, still good but not the same, tamarind makes it better. I will have to have my mom send me some mix. Now that I know how to make it, I will a lot more often.
I have been looking for a sinigang recipe that does NOT use a MIX. I find the one that uses mixes like Mamacita, etc. “cheating”. Can you publish a sinigang recipe the “old fashoined way”. I have one myself but want to taste a variety.
Hi George,
Right here where I live getting a fresh Tamarind is hard to come by, so that’s why using instant mix is more ideal than the traditional way. I wouldn’t call using sinigang instant mix cheating to be honest with you I couldn’t tell the difference between the traditional way and using sinigang mix. I was told that Mama Sita’s brand is more authentic than others, I can’t confirm this since to me they both taste the same.
If you really want to use the traditional method and you have some green tamarind (hilaw na sampalok) all you have to do is rinse them and boil it along with the meat for this recipe I would say you need about 12 pieces. When they are soft use a strainer to squeeze them and all you should have left is the skin and seeds in the strainer. That’s basically it, now just add the rest of the ingredient and finish cooking your sinigang.
Note: If you use fish or shrimps you will need to boil the tamarind and squeeze them first before adding your seafood’s. I hope this helps!
Cheers,
Robert Colinares
Thanks for the reply, Robert. “Cheating” is a strong word I guess. I cannot get tamarind here also so, I use lemon concentrate, because I prefer using natural ingredients rather than processed. I learned how to cook here in Canada and am always looking for good substitutes for our Philippine vegetables. I’ve never used daikon and that is what I will try next. Good website, thanks.
hello Robert, I want to cook sinigang na baboy. Ang meron lang ako dito is patatas and cabbage.. ok lng ba itong ihalo? thanks.. by the way thanks again my husband like the sauteed liver i made yesterday! 🙂 its my first time to cook liver..
Hi Cel,
I would not recommend cabbage and potatoes on Sinigang, instead I would use spinach leafs but only add it when you’re getting ready to serve it. Madaling maluto ang spinach, so add it at the last minute to avoid over cooking it.
Cheers,
Robert Colinares
oh my! i dont have spinach either 🙁 instead of sinigang, nilagang baboy nalang para maihalo ko yung patatas at cabbage. ok lng ba?
Yes, you can use them in Nilagang Baboy. Potatoes and Cabbage just doesn’t taste right with Sinigang.
thanks po sa help ican use this in my assignments and aplly in our house npakahelpful po tlaga ng website na to 🙂
Hi Robert, I’m dont usually cook but I love eating Sinigang. What’s the size of the sinigang mix? I’d love to try this recipe. Thanks.
Great site!
Hi Robert,
In your direction on how to cook this sinigang, you forgot to mention when to put the string beans. :)Anyway, thanks for this.
I visited other cooking site and he got also plenty of video cooking collection but I like your site more than I link his. Good job. I hope u will get more cooking collection. cooking is the best!
I use to work in Mindanao(Zamboanga city), many years ago. I love the sinigang esp when prepared with baboy. Now that I am back in Malaysia, I want to try cooking it.The recipe on this page sounds quite simple.
when can you include the string beans, i don’t see it in the Directions 🙂 please, thanks 🙂
Hi xtine,
Thanks for pointing that out. You can add the string beans five minutes after you add the eggplant.
Cheers,
Robert Colinares
my mouth is watering.
Looks tasty, wanna try doing myself!
Thanks for this! Cooked my first sinigang 🙂
Where is the Gabi? There are two basic versions of sinagang, the one with meat, and the other with fish/seafood. The meat one features gabi, the fish, just sampalok (tamarind).
Also, to the people wanting a “natural” version but meaning “authentic”, it actually doesn’t get more authentic that what the author has done. I would guess 99.9999% of all sinagang made in the Filipino home uses a packet.
Regardless, looks very tasty. Making it right now.
I highly recommend Beef Sinigang. Its one of my favorite
My wife makes this for me all the time yummy I really love it. Balut is still something she has yet convinced me to try.
I have noticed that a lot of people put onions in their sinigang. I was told by my mother that there are no onions in sinigang, just tomatoes and then in nilaga, you put onions. My husband once cooked sinigang with onions and I felt that it gave a sweetness to the sabaw that kinda neutralized the asim of the sampaloc. Oh well, I guess it just depends on how our parents or grandparents taught us. Mabuhay ang sinigang! Cheers!
ano po ba ang ulam na kapartner nito?
Hi Karen,
Ano pa nga ba? Syempre Kanin. Rice. White steamed rice. 🙂
Cheers,
Robert Colinares
Tysm for this! Though i put the string beans first then the eggplant. I added potato and green beans too! 😉
Delicious, ty again! <3
Hi Robert,
Karen is actually asking kung anong pwedeng i-partner na ulam sa sinigang. Me I prefer pritong isda. Most people usually wanted two ulam :)in one kainan..Sarap ng sinigang..=)
Agreement with beef sinigang over pork- oxtail is awesome, but neck bones added with some shoulder or another cheap cut(since oxtail so so expensive!) works really well also. I prefer Mama Sita’s tamarind mix to knorr… and everyone’s concern seems to be over cooking spinach. I’d suggest a heartier more flavorful green. Chinese Mustard greens are awesome. My niece and husband’s favorite part- the sabaw and rice with the mustard greens. We always have to keep adding them!
Oh, I just noticed further comments about a sour-ish element that is also slightly starchy- we use daikon rather than something like potato. You get a lot more flavor, and they don’t break down as easily leaving the sabaw more clear. But, as has been said- everyone has their own family recipe style! When you use daikon and mustard greens though, it does get really strong after second day.
Hi Abby,
Sinigang is always a good compliment with anything inihaw (grilled). So, if your cooking meat sinigang prepare a grilled pork liempo and likewise if your sinigang is seafood.
Cheers,
Robert Colinares
Hi, thanks for the recipe. My wife has been in the hospital for a week and is going to come home tomorrow. All she has been asking for is sinigang. I have never made it before and your instructions make it seem pretty easy. I am going to attempt it and surprise her when she gets home. Now I just have to go find an Asian market to get the soup mix. Wish me luck.
Hi there, thanks for this coz none of our group knows how to cook sinigang,we took some tips and the sequencing in cooking of the superb sarap sinigang…well here in Kuwait where pork is actually forbidden we still tried to look and buy from our kabayan to AtLEAsT make a difference in our taste buds and since it’s been a year Orr too that we are craving for pork sinigang so here are we… In the absence of some ingredients we opted to used the ice berg lettuce,okra and with knorr sinigang mix na may sili” well hope the group will enjoy!!!
My coworker once cookef sinigang for us and it tasted so delicious..she fried the liempo first before adding its soup… It was heavenly! 🙂 love your version too 😀
pwede po ba ilagay patatas sa sinigang , wal akasi me gabi, hmmm
Hi Net,
No. I would not use potato to substitute taro root (gabi). If you don’t have taro root I would use Daikon (labanos) or skip that ingredient if you don’t have Daikon. Potato is for Nilaga and not for Sinigang.
Cheers,
Robert Colinares
Just made this for dinner and it was perfect! Thanks for the thorough steps and recipe!
Hi Steffi,
I am glad you liked it and thank you for sharing it.
-Robert
I am always craving for Sinigang na Baboy! I miss the Filipino food, I miss Philippine Cuisine. I will try this recipe later. Cheers!
Wow!!! So good!!! I did this over the weekend and it turned out to be supurb!
Thanks for the tips!
Happy Eating!
Vincent
WOW!! I did this over the weekend and it was supurb! Delicious!!
Thanks for the tips!
I did it again!!! So yummy!!