Sinigang na Baboy sa Gabi
Carl Sotomil
2021 Arrival, ES & JHS ALT, Iyo BOE, Train Otaku
Carl Sotomil was the 2023 AJET Social Media Coordinator and had a large part in revamping the AJET website to what it is today. He likes photography, Japanese history, cycling, discussing about city planning and trains. He has ridden on many different kinds of trains in Japan. He often goes on “Carlventures”, so if you ever need advice on trains, or some travel spot recommendations, give him a shout!
About the Recipe
Hey Mikans, long time no see! This is your train and travel guy, Carl back with a… recipe? I do miss Filipino food from time to time so occassionally, I love to stay home and cook my favourites from back in the Philippines and Canada. Today, I’m going to share with you an easy recipe to follow― Sinigang, made with readily available Ehime ingredients!
The fall season is here and that also means imotaki season! So why not give it an interesting twist with a classic dish from the Philippines?
What is “Sinigang”?
Sinigang is a sour, versatile, tamarind-based soup from the Philippines. There are three main ingredients in the soup: meat, vegetables, and the tamarind soup base (if you’re vegetarian you can also attempt it with just the vegetables and the tamarind soup base but I definitely recommend it with a meat; if you’re pescatarian you’re in luck because the most delicious sinigang I’ve ever tasted is sinigang with fried fish).
We’re going to make a pork sinigang today because that is my specialty. If you want to substitute that with another meat, please feel free to do so but make sure to tweak the other ingredients as well to get your preferred flavour.
Definitely enjoy this sinigang with rice! It needs to be paired with rice or else it would just be awkward by itself.
Pork Sinigang with Gabi, Ehime-Style
Servings: 2~3 Prep. Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: ～1 hour
Ingredients
Soup & Meat
1 medium tomato, quartered
½ medium onion (red or white)
1 litre (4 cups) water
450g (1 lb) pork belly
1 pack of tamarind soup base (more details below)
1.5 tbsp fish sauce (substitute with salt if unavailable)
Black pepper, to taste
Vegetables
Disclaimer: Please select your vegetables (at least 5 of these) from the list below. These are vegetables that you are able to find at supermarkets in Ehime from time to time. You may add all of them (highly recommended) for a much better flavour! However, vegetables that are bold are important and must not be removed from your cooking.
5-6 pcs taro (satoimo) 里芋（サトイモ）
250ml (1 cup) daikon radish 大根（だいこん）
6-7 pcs okra オクラ
10 pcs string beans (sayaingen) サヤインゲン
4 pcs mushroom (shiitake recommended) 椎茸（しいたけ）
1 pc eggplant (nasu) ナス
1 pack mustard spinach (komatsuna) 小松菜（コマツナ) OR water spinach (kushinsai) 空芯菜 (くうしんさい)
2 pcs bok choy (or substitute with Chinese cabbage, hakusai, if unavailable)
2pcs green chilli pepper (togarashi) 唐辛子（とうがらし）
1 head of broccoli (ブロッコリー)
Method
1. Boil pork in water. Skim any scum/fat out. Then, add the tomatoes and onions. Boil for 40-50 minutes until the meat is tender.
2. Pour in the pack of sinigang mix and some fish sauce.
3. Add the taro and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until the taro is a little soft.
4. Add the rest of your vegetables from the toughest to the most easily cooked. This ensures that your vegetables are not overcooked.
5. Serve hot with rice.
Tips 👌
✨ If you want the taro to be more mushy, which’ll make the broth a bit more thick & creamy, you could even add it in 10~20 minutes after the pork.
✨ Here’s the recommended vegetable dream team for sinigang sa gabi: Taro, daikon, eggplant, okra, long beans, green chili, + a leafy green (traditionally, kangkong/water spinach).
✨ Make this recipe vegetarian/vegan by swapping out the pork & water for a hearty veggie broth.
✨ You can buy sinigang mix on Amazon (Gabi & sa Sampalok/Original). It’s also sometimes available at Don Quijote or Daitoku (for cheaper!!!). If you use the sa Sampalok/Original mix, you can make the version of Sinigang without taro.
✨ Stores that sell veggies straight from local farms are usually a good bet when you’re trying to find ingredients for sinigang.
➡️String beans are available year round in the frozen section BUT, you can find fresh ones in the spring.
➡️Instead of string beans, use a more traditional bean in this recipe― long beans or, sitaw, in Tagalog. They’re called ささげ豆 (sasage mame) in Japanese and you can find them at Toon City’s local market in the fall (late September/early October).
✨ Try using pork ribs instead of pork belly. The bones add more flavor but also add to the cooking time (～1.5 hours ’till tender). You need to prepare the meat in two steps. 1) Add the meat to a pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Then, drain the pot and wash the scum off the meat. If you’re using the same pot again, make sure to clean the scum off of that as well. 2) Follow the same method as the pork belly described above.
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