How to Cook Sinigang Na Baboy

Sinigang na baboy, or pork sinigang, is a popular and traditional Filipino pork soup. It's well-known for its distinctive sour broth, which is typically flavored with tamarind fruit.

Ingredients

Makes 4 to 6 servings

2 tablespoons (30 mL) vegetable oil, divided
2 pounds (910 g) pork belly or pork spareribs
1 large onion, quartered
1 large tomato, quartered
2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 44 mL) fish sauce
2 US quarts (1.9 L) and 2 cups (470 mL) water, divided
10 to 15 tamarind fruits or 1-1/2 packets of tamarind-flavored sinigang mix
3 pieces of taro, quartered
7 ounces (200 g) of string beans, cut into 2 in (5.1 cm) pieces
3 finger chilis or 2 banana peppers, chopped
1 Japanese eggplant, sliced
1 bunch of water spinach or bok choy
1 radish, sliced
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Preparing the Ingredients

1
Choose the souring agent. Tamarind is the most traditional souring agent used for sinigang na baboy. You can prepare the soup with fresh tamarind or use a powdered tamarind-flavored sinigang mix.^{[1]
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- When using fresh tamarind, you'll need 10 to 15 standard pieces of fruit. When using powdered flavoring, you'll need 1 1/2 packages, each weighing 1.41 ounces (40 g). You can also use 3.5 ounces (99 g) of commercially prepared tamarind pulp, if you can find it.
- Even though tamarind is the most common and conventional souring agent, you could also use guava, bilimbi fruit, pineapple, green mango, calamansi, or wild mangosteen. Other flavors of powdered sinigang mix could work in equal portions, as well.
2
Cut the pork into pieces. Rinse the pork and pat it dry with clean paper towels, then cut it into 2 in (5.1 cm) cubes.
- You can use different cuts of pork for this soup, but the most common are pork belly and pork ribs. Cuts of pork that include the bone (like spareribs) will add more flavor to the broth. You can also mix and match different cuts to vary the flavor.
- When using pork spareribs, cut the ribs into individual portions, leaving them roughly 2 inches (5.1 cm) long when possible. Leave the bones in.
- If using pork belly, simply cut the pork into 1–2 in (2.5–5.1 cm) chunks.
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3
Slice the vegetables. Rinse the vegetables and pat them dry with clean paper towels. Chop each one into serving portions.
- Cut the onion and tomato into wedges or quarters. Peel the taro, and cut it into wedges or quarters, as well.
- Cut the string beans into 2 in (5.1 cm) pieces, or trim the ends and tie the beans into knots.
- Chop the peppers and separate the water spinach or bok choy into individual leaves.
- Slice the eggplant into 1 in (2.5 cm) slices on the diagonal. Peel and slice the radish into ¹⁄₂ in (1.3 cm) rounds.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Starting the Soup

1
Heat the oil. Pour 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of vegetable oil into a large saucepan with deep sides. Set it over medium-high heat.
2
Brown the pork. Add the pork pieces to the hot oil. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes or until the majority of the pork browns on all sides.
- If the saucepan has a narrow bottom, you may need to brown the pork in 2 separate batches. Ideally, most of the pieces should be able to touch the bottom of the pan as you brown them.
- After the pork browns, transfer it from the pan to a separate dish. Set it aside and cover it with foil or a lid to keep it warm.
3
Heat the remaining oil. Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of vegetable oil into the same saucepan and reduce the heat to medium.
4
Add the onion. Place the onion in the hot oil. Cook it, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes or until the layers begin to separate.
- As you cook the onion, scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any pork bits. Allow these bits to mix into the onion as it cooks.
5
Toss the pork, fish sauce, and water into the pan. Return the pork to the saucepan. Add the fish sauce and 2 US quarts (1.9 L) of water. Stir them together in the pan to combine them.
- Allow the water to reach a rolling boil before you continue. Once the water boils, use a spoon to carefully skin off any scum or suds that develop on the surface of the liquid.
6
Stir in the tomato and peppers. Add the tomato and hot peppers (chili or banana peppers) to the saucepan. Stir them to combine.
- Allow the mixture to cook for another 4 minutes, or until the tomato and peppers begin to soften.
7
Simmer the soup for 40 to 60 minutes. Reduce the heat to low or medium-low and allow the soup to simmer for at least 40 minutes, or until the pork is fully cooked and somewhat tender.^{[2]
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- Periodically check the level of liquid while the soup simmers. Add more water, as needed, to keep at least 1.5 US quarts (1.4 L) in the pot.
- While the soup simmers, begin to prepare the tamarind.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Mashing the Tamarind

1
Boil the tamarind until it’s soft. Place the fresh tamarind in a medium saucepan and combine it with 2 cups (470 mL) of water. Bring the liquid to a boil and cook the tamarind until it softens.
- You should continue cooking the tamarind until the outer skins begin to burst. This should take 10 to 15 minutes. Note that the inner fruit should also become very soft.
- If you’re using prepared tamarind pulp, place the pulp in a heatproof bowl set above 3 inches (7.6 cm) of simmering water. Allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pulp is soft enough to mash.^{[3]
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- When using tamarind powder, you do not need to complete any special preparation. The powder can be added directly to the soup at the appropriate time.
2
Mash the fruit. Drain the cooking water, then mash the softened tamarind fruits with the back of a fork, creating a thick pulp.
3
Separate the juice. Transfer the tamarind pulp into a fine mesh strainer. Press the pulp with the back of your fork until juice comes out, and collect the juice in a bowl placed beneath the strainer.^{[4]
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- Press the seeds, too, since they should also produce some juice.
- When finished, discard the solids (seeds, skins, and pulp). Save the tamarind juice for the sinigang.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Finishing the Soup

1
Add the taro. Once the pork starts to become tender, add the taro wedges to the soup. Continue cooking the soup at a low simmer over low to medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the taro softens.^{[5]
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- If using pork spareribs, wait until the pork starts to separate from the bone before adding the taro. If using boneless pork belly, test the pork by piercing it with a fork; if you can cut into it with a fork but it still retains solid form, add the taro.
- If more scum or suds develop at the top of the soup after adding the taro, skim the surface with a spoon before continuing.
2
Add the tamarind to the soup. Pour the tamarind juice into the soup broth and stir to combine.
- Cook the soup for another 5 minutes at a mild simmer. Doing so allows the flavor of the juice to meld with the broth and other ingredients.
- If you use a powdered tamarind mix instead of using fresh tamarind juice, add the powder directly to the broth and stir to mix it in. Allow the broth to simmer for 5 minutes, as you would do with tamarind juice.
3
Mix in the radish and eggplant. Place the slices radish and sliced eggplant in the soup. Stir to combine, then cook for 5 minutes.
- When finished, the eggplant should be nearly tender and the radish should slightly soften.
4
Stir in the beans. Add the string beans to the soup and stir to combine. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- At this point, the pork and all of the vegetables should be soft enough to easily pierce with your fork. Continue to simmer the soup until the meat and vegetables are ready.
5
Add the water spinach. Place the leaves of water spinach in the soup and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and cover the pot, then allow the soup to sit for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Since water spinach can be somewhat delicate, allowing it to cook using residual heat instead of direct heat can prevent it from falling apart. When it's ready, the water spinach leaves should be wilted, yet whole.
6
Season as needed. Taste the soup broth. Add salt and pepper as needed to balance out the flavors. You can also add extra fish sauce, if desired.
- You should flavor the soup according to your own tastes, but to make authentic sinigang na baboy, the broth should be both sour and salty.
7
Serve. Ladle the hot soup into individual serving bowls and enjoy.
- You can either remove the pork bones before serving the dish to your guests or allow each guest to do so after serving the soup.
- Sinigang na baboy is frequently served with a side of steamed rice. Consider garnishing it with chopped scallions, lemon wedges, and additional fish sauce, as well.