Sinigang is a Philippine soup. Similar to Indonesian sayur asam, Vietnamese canh chua, and Thailand’s tom yam, its characteristic flavor comes from tamarind which gives it a sour taste and overwhelms the taste of its meat. “Sinigang” also sounds very similar to “singgang”, a tamarind soup dish from Terengganu, Malaysia. (Wikipedia.org)
Procedure:
Boil tamarind in water until the shell shows cracks. Let cool then peal off the shells and with a strainer, pour tamarind (including water) into a bowl. Gently massage the tamarind meat off the seeds, strain again.
Add pork and fish sauce. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes then add the gabi, tomatoes and onions. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the pork is tender.
Add the radish and string beans. Simmer for 10 minutes then add okra and green finger pepper.
Serve hot.
* You can also use commercial sour seasoning or boullion instead of the real tamarind fruit.