Sinigang is a Filipino soup dish with a tamarind base which is well known for its sour taste and the variety of ingredients that you can put in it. The dish often incorporates fish (bangus), pork, shrimp, or beef, along with vegetables like string beans, kangkong, okra, pepper, radish, and kamatis (tomato). Sinigang has always been a childhood favorite and is still one of those dishes that can make my mouth water upon merely hearing its name. For some reason, I can’t stand the taste of shrimp sinigang or sinigang na bangus; my favorite kind is beef sinigang though pork sinigang is good too.

The best kind of sinigang is one that’s mouth-curdling sour but with the right amount of salt and spiciness. I attempted to make beef sinigang a couple of months ago and I’ve yet to achieve the precise flavor I love in my sinigang. But here’s the recipe I used if you’d like to give cooking sinigang a shot:

INGREDIENTS

2 cloves crushed garlic
1 onion
6 medium-sized tomatoes
1 tbps patis
1 kilo beef, cut in serving pieces
6 cups water
3 cups kangkong leaves
2 pieces long sili
1 1/2 tsps salt
3 cups crushed tamarind (crushed in hot waster)
1 pc tamarind broth cube (optional)

Saute the garlic in cooking oil until golden brown. Add onions and cook until they become transparent. Toss in the tomatoes and the tamarind, then add the patis. Put in the beef and cook covered for five minutes. Pour in the rice water and cover tightly. Let boil. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat and simmer until beef becomes tender. Put in the kangkong and sili then season with salt.