Type | Soup or stew |
---|---|
Course | Main course |
Place of origin | Philippines |
Serving temperature | Hot |
Main ingredients | Meat, vegetables, tamarind, fish sauce, onions, siling mahaba, tomatoes |
Variations | Pork, beef, shrimp, fish, chicken |
~120 kcal | |
Similar dishes | Pinangat na isda , paksiw , kansi , kadyos, baboy, kag langka |
Other information | Can be served in many different forms |
Sinigang is a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour and savory taste. It is most often associated with tamarind (Filipino: sampalok), although it can use other sour fruits and leaves as the souring agent. It is one of the more popular dishes in Filipino cuisine. The soup is usually accompanied by rice. In 2021, sinigang was rated as the world's best vegetable soup by TasteAtlas. [1] [2] In December 2023, the website project's TasteAtlas Awards 2023/24 included sinigang among its "100 best dishes in the world". [3]
Sinigang means "stewed [dish]", it is a nominalized in the form of Tagalog verb sigang, "to stew". [4] While present nationwide, sinigang is seen to be culturally Tagalog in origin, thus the similar sour stews and soups found in the Visayas and Mindanao (like linarang ) are regarded as different dishes and differ in the ingredients used. Fish sauce is a common condiment for the stew.
Sinigang is most often associated with tamarind in modern times, but it originally referred to any meat or seafood cooked in a sour and acidic broth, similar to but differentiated from paksiw (which uses vinegar). [5] Other variations of the dish derive their sourness from native ingredients. These souring agents include unripe mangoes, butterfly tree leaves (alibangbang), citruses (including the native calamansi and biasong), santol, bilimbi (kamias or iba), gooseberry tree fruits (karmay), binukaw fruits (also batuan), and libas fruits, among others. [6] [7] Guava, introduced to the Philippines via the Manila galleons, is also used. [8] Seasoning powder or bouillon cubes with a tamarind base are commercial alternatives to using natural fruits. [9] [10]
Sinigang typically uses meat or seafood (e.g., fish, pork, beef, shrimp, or chicken) stewed with tamarind, tomatoes, garlic, and onions. Other vegetables commonly used in the making of sinigang include okra, taro corms (gabi, which serves as a starchy broth thickener [11] ), white radish (labanós), water spinach (kangkóng), yardlong beans (sitaw) and eggplant (talóng). Most Filipinos like to cook sinigang with long green peppers (siling haba) in order to enhance the taste and add a little spice to the dish. Another variation includes adding locally made miso.
Sinampalukang manók or sinampalukan is technically not a variation of sinigang, as the chicken has to be sautéed in ginger first instead of all the ingredients being placed simultaneously into the pot and brought to a boil. Sinampalukan is also distinguished by its use of shredded tamarind leaves, and is usually made together with ginger, onions, tomatoes, eggplant and other vegetables. [16] [17]
Other Filipino dishes that are similar to sinigang but distinct include pinangat na isda from Southern Luzon and linarang from Cebu. Both of which also use sour fruits but are restricted to fish or seafood and differ in the other ingredients used. [18] [19] [20]
There are also similar soured beef stews. They include the cansi from the Western Visayas islands which use beef and breadfruit and is soured with batuan or bilimbi fruits. Because it resembles a cross between bulalo and sinigang it is sometimes known as sinigang na bulalo. [21] Another soured beef stew is sinanglaw from Ilocos which is soured with bilimbi or tamarind, but is unique in that it also includes bitter ingredients like bitter gourd or bile, as is common in Ilocano cuisine. [22]
Around the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, particularly in the states of Kelantan and Terengganu, there is a dish called singgang that is considered as a close resemblance to sinigang. [23] [24] The common ingredients found in singgang are lemongrass, galangal, garlic, chili and asam gelugur as souring agent. Either budu or tempoyak would also sometimes be added to further flavourize the dish. [25] [26] Terengganu's singgang and Kelantan's singgang differs through an addition of turmeric into the former. [26]
Meanwhile, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, another dish that is thought to be similar to singgang is called pindang. [25]
Filipino cuisine is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Filipino cuisine are from the food traditions of various ethnolinguistic groups and tribes of the archipelago, including the Ilocano, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, Visayan, Chavacano and Maranao ethnolinguistic groups. The dishes associated with these groups evolved over the centuries from a largely indigenous base shared with maritime Southeast Asia with varied influences from Chinese, Spanish and American cuisines, in line with the major waves of influence that had enriched the cultures of the archipelago and adapted using indigenous ingredients to meet local preferences.
Tinola is a Filipino soup usually served as a main course with white rice. Traditionally, this dish is cooked with chicken or fish, wedges of papaya and/or chayote, and leaves of the siling labuyo chili pepper in broth flavored with ginger, onions and fish sauce.
Sayur asem or sayur asam is an Indonesian vegetable soup. It is a popular Southeast Asian dish originating from Sundanese cuisine, consisting of vegetables in tamarind soup.
Dinuguan is a Filipino savory stew usually of pork offal and/or meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar.
Kinilaw is a raw seafood dish and preparation method native to the Philippines. It is also referred to as Philippine ceviche due to its similarity to the Latin American dish ceviche. It is more accurately a cooking process that relies on vinegar and acidic fruit juices to denature the ingredients, rather than a dish, as it can also be used to prepare meat and vegetables. Kinilaw dishes are usually eaten as appetizers before a meal, or as finger food with alcoholic drinks. Kinilaw is also sometimes called kilawin. In the northern Philippines, grilled meat dish is also known as kilawin.
Pinangat na isda, also called pangat na isda, is a Filipino dish from Southern Luzon consisting of fish and tomatoes stewed in a broth soured with fruits like calamansi, bilimbi, tamarind, or santol. It can also be used to cook shrimp. It is similar to sinigang, but it is not as tart.
Philippine adobo is a popular Filipino dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine of, in its base form, meat, seafood, or vegetables first browned in oil, and then marinated and simmered in vinegar, salt and/or soy sauce, and garlic. It has occasionally been considered the unofficial national dish in the Philippines.
Prawn soup, also referred to as shrimp soup, is a soup dish prepared using freshwater or saltwater prawns as a primary ingredient. Several varieties of the dish exist in various areas of the world, including Penang prawn mee in Malaysia, Peruvian chupe de camarones, Thai kaeng som kung and Mexican caldo de camarones. Prawn and shrimp soup can be prepared as a broth- or stock-based soup, as a cream-based soup, or as a chowder. In the United States, cream of shrimp soup is mass-produced and distributed canned or frozen.
Bulalô is a beef dish from the Philippines. It is a light colored soup that is made by cooking beef shanks and bone marrow until the collagen and fat has been melted into the clear broth. It typically includes leafy vegetables, corn on the cob, scallions, onions, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce. Potatoes, carrots, or taro can also be added. It is commonly eaten on rice with soy sauce and calamansi on the side. Bulalo is native to the Southern Luzon region of the Philippines, particularly in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite.
Paksiw is a Filipino style of cooking, whose name means "to cook and simmer in vinegar". Common dishes bearing the term, however, can vary substantially depending on what is being cooked.
Hot and sour soup is a popular example of Sichuan cuisine. Similar versions are found in Henan province, near Beijing, and in Henan cuisine itself, where it may also be known as hulatang or "pepper hot soup" (胡辣汤). Also popular in Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan and the United States, it is a flexible soup which allows ingredients to be substituted or added depending on availability. For example, the American-Chinese version can be thicker as it commonly includes corn starch, whilst in Japan, sake is often added.
Nilaga is a traditional meat stew or soup from the Philippines, made with boiled beef or pork mixed with various vegetables. It is typically eaten with white rice and is served with soy sauce, patis, labuyo chilis, and calamansi on the side.
Sinampalukan, also known as sinampalukang manók or tamarind chicken, is a Filipino chicken soup consisting of chicken cooked in a sour broth with tamarind, tamarind leaves, ginger, onion, garlic, and other vegetables.
Ginataang isda is a Filipino fish stew made from fish and leafy vegetables in coconut milk with garlic, ginger, onion, patis or bagoong alamang, and salt and pepper. It is a type of ginataan. A common version of the dish, known as ginataang paksiw na isda or paksiw na isda sa gata, is additionally soured with vinegar. Ginataang isda is a type of ginataan.
Sinanglay is a Filipino dish made from stuffed fish wrapped in leafy vegetables and lemongrass or pandan leaves cooked in a spicy coconut milk sauce. It is a type of ginataan and originates from the Bicol Region.
Cansí is a Filipino beef soup originating from Bacolod which is spread across the rest of the Western Visayas region. It is made with beef shank and bone marrow boiled until gelatinous. It is uniquely slightly soured with fruits like batuan or bilimbi. Cansi is usually cooked with unripe breadfruit or jackfruit, lemongrass, tomatoes, garlic, onions, fish sauce, and siling haba or labuyo peppers. The soup is usually orange in color due to the use of annatto seeds (atsuete). It is also sometimes called "sinigang na bulalo" in Tagalog regions, due to its similarity to sinigang and bulalo.
Kadyos, baboy, kag lanka, commonly shortened to KBL, is a Filipino pork soup or stew originating from the Hiligaynon people of the Western Visayas islands. The name of the dish means "pigeon peas, pork, and jackfruit"; the three main ingredients. The soup is also traditionally soured with batuan fruits. Other souring agents like tamarind can also be used. Other ingredients include leafy greens, lemongrass, fish sauce, onions, and siling haba peppers. The pork cut used is typically the hock (pata). The dish is characteristically purple in color due to the use of pigeon peas. It is similar to another Hiligaynon dish known as kadyos, manok, kag ubad which uses chicken and banana pith instead.
Kadyos, manok, kag ubad, commonly shortened to KMU, is a Filipino chicken soup or stew originating from the Hiligaynon people of the Western Visayas islands. The name of the dish means "pigeon peas, chicken, and banana pith"; the three main ingredients. It is similar to another Hiligayon dish, Kadyos, baboy, kag langka ("KBL"), except that it does not use a souring agent, and it uses chicken and banana pith instead. Like KBL, KMU is also characteristically purple in color due to the use of pigeon peas. Other ingredients include onions, lemongrass, thinly-sliced ginger, siling haba pepper, and salt and pepper.
Lauya is a Filipino stew. Its name is derived from the Spanish-Filipino term "la olla", likely referring to the native clay pots in which stews were made in. It is now often associated with the Ilocano stew typically made with pork or beef. The term is sometimes used in Ilonggo cuisine.