Name: Sour Tamarind Broth with Pork and Vegetables (Sih • nee • GAHNG)
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients: 8 ounces (225 g) long beans; 2 cups (454 g) tamarind concentrate, like Vietnamese n’ó’c me chua, or one 14-ounce (400 g) block tamarind paste, liquefied (see note); 2 pounds (910 g) boneless pork shoulder; 2 medium yellow onions; 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil; 12 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled; Kosher salt and coarsely cracked black pepper; ¼ cup (60 ml) fish sauce; 1 daikon (about 1¾ pounds/800 g); 10 ounces (280 g) whole baby spinach leaves (about 8 packed cups); 2 medium tomatoes; 2 whole fresh serrano chiles; ½ cup (120 ml) lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons); Steamed rice, for serving; 1 Japanese eggplant (about 5 ounces/140 g)

Preparation info

Serves
6 to 8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Filipinx

By Angela Dimayuga and Ligaya Mishan

Published 2021

About

To the cultural historian Doreen Gamboa Fernandez, sinigang was our archetypal dish, found everywhere from the humblest dulang (low hardwood table) to the elaborate feasts of the ilustrados (the educated elite). Above all, it is sour, and by sourness it is judged and loved: Does it bring a pucker to your mouth, or do you all-out flinch? (The calibration is up to you.)

What makes it sour is where the artistry comes in. Fernandez wrote, “The cook who sours with kalamansi or vin