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Vegetable sinigang
Sour tamarind vegetable soup
Sinigang na gulay: sour tamarind broth with radish, taro, okra and water spinach
Sinigang is the sour soup that Tagalog families crave when the monsoon arrives between June and October, when rain hammers the tin roofs and a steaming bowl next to rice feels like the only sensible lunch. The sourness traditionally comes from young tamarind (sampalok) boiled and mashed into the broth, and the vegetables are whatever the market has: white radish, taro to thicken the soup slightly, okra, yard-long beans, aubergine and a final handful of water spinach. This vegetarian sinigang na gulay skips the pork or fish and relies on the tamarind, tomato and onion for flavour. The broth should make you pucker a little on the first sip. Chef's tip: add the tamarind in stages and taste between each, since blocks of tamarind vary a lot in sourness.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ⅛ oz tamarind pulpseedless block
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 1 onionquartered
- 2 tomatoesquartered
- 7 oz taro (gabi)peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks
- 7 oz white radish (daikon)peeled, halved and sliced 1 cm thick
- 5 ½ oz yard-long beanscut into 5 cm lengths
- 1 Asian auberginesliced on the diagonal
- 8 okratops trimmed
- 2 long green chillieswhole
- 5 ½ oz water spinach (kangkong)leaves and tender stems
- 1 ½ tsp salt
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What you'll need
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Soak 2 ⅛ oz tamarind pulp in 200 ml of hot water taken from the 6 ¼ cups water for 10 minutes, then squash it with your fingers and push it through a sieve. Keep the brown, sour liquid and throw away the fibres.
10 minStep 3: Add 7 oz taro (gabi) and cook for 8–10 minutes over a medium heat, until a knife slides into the chunks easily and the edges start to melt, clouding the broth.
10 minStep 4: Add 7 oz white radish (daikon) and simmer for 4 minutes, until it turns translucent at the edges.
4 minStep 5: Stir in two-thirds of the tamarind liquid and 1 ½ tsp salt. Taste: it should be clearly sour. Add more tamarind a spoonful at a time until it makes you wince slightly.
Step 6: Add 5 ½ oz yard-long beans, 1 Asian aubergine, 8 okra and 2 long green chillies and simmer for 4–5 minutes, until the beans are bright green and the okra is just tender. The common mistake is adding every vegetable at once: the radish stays hard while the okra goes slimy.
5 minStep 7: Turn off the heat and push 5 ½ oz water spinach (kangkong) into the hot broth. It wilts in a minute. Serve straight away in deep bowls with rice on the side; press the chilli against the bowl if you want heat.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 95 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 21 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vegetable sinigang take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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