Sinigang Na Baboy

Sinigang Na Baboy
Originally uploaded by CuriousEpicurean

One of the ultimate in comfort foods for Filipinos. I don't care who are you are.
Everyone has their own recipes to this. Everyone has their own preference as to what meat they put in it. Mine always change. Jack's in Oregon tonight so I made mine with pork ribs. He likes his sinigang with shrimp.
I translate this to non-Filipino peeps as tamarind soup.
Old school way is buying one of those tamarinds and doing this to it (how to make tamarind broth)

My generation doesn't do that so much. We go to the Asian market and buy the tamarind "sinigang" mix in the packet for .89 cents.

Here is my mother's recipe as I translated it from her email (which she composed in Tagalog). Oh yeah, she doesn't do measurements.

Sinagang:

Ingredients:
Pork (any kind) or shrimp with the shell still on.
3 tomatoes, diced
1 onion, quartered
2 heads of baby bok choy
half of a daikon (radish), peeled and cut in 1/4 inch thick slices
string beans
2 jalapenos (one cut in half), one left whole
1 Japanese eggplant, cut into halves, lengthwise
1 zucchini, cut-up
(Optional veggies: 4 taro roots, peeled and quartered or halved depending on size; fresh okra; kang-kong (or water spinach)

DIRECTIONS:

1) In a large pot, boil the meat in about 5-6 cups of water until tender
2) Add tomatoes, onion, & rest of veggies
3) Add jalapeno pepper (the whole and the one that's cut in half)
4) Season with 1/2 to 1 packet of sinigang mix (to taste), fish sauce or salt
Simmer for a few minutes

* I serve with brown jasmine rice. My niece and Jack puts the rice in the bowl - to make a rice/sinigang soup.

IF MAKING WITH SHRIMP

* Boil water first
* Do steps 2,3 & 4 - simmer - and add a 1/2 pound of shrimp with shell & tail
Remember it only takes but a minute to cook shrimp.