A good translation for pork sinigang is “Filipino pork and vegetables in tamarind broth” but it doesn’t completely capture the essence of this sour dish. Although tamarind is the most popular, and common, ingredient for flavoring sinigang, other fruits like kamias may be used. When cooking sinigang with seafood instead of meat, bayabas (guava) is the souring agent of choice.
When cooking sinigang with pork (or beef), choose a cut with bones because it is the bones that make the broth rich and full-bodied. Pork tail is usual but you can also use ribs or even belly with bones.
There are many vegetables that can go into a pot of pork sinigang. Kangkong (water/swamp spinach), sitaw (yard-long beans), talong (eggplants), okra and gabi (taro) are traditional. Add all of them or some of them, it’s really your choice. For tonight’s sinigang, I used kangkong, talong and gabi.
For my family, pork sinigang is comfort food all the way.
Ingredients
- 700 grams pork chopped into 2 to 3 inch cubes
- 4 cloves garlic crushed and peeled
- 1 onion peeled and finely sliced
- 2 large tomatoes diced
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 3 finger chilis
- 2 eggplants cut into wedges
- 1 taro peeled and cut into wedges
- a bunch of kangkong cut up
- 100 to 150 grams fresh tamarind boiled in 2 c. of water until mushy
- patis (fish sauce), to taste
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a pot. Saute the garlic, onion and tomatoes until they start to soften.
- Add the pork cubes. Cook, stirring, until the meat changes color.
- Pour in enough water to cover. Add the finger chilis. Season with patis. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, or until the pork is tender.
- About 20 minutes before the pork is done, add the taro wedges.
- Meanwhile, place a fine sieve over a bowl. Pour in the tamarind with the boiling water. Press the boiled tamarinds through a fine sieve to get the juice and as much of the pulp as you can. For a more detailed tutorial (and more illustrative photos), click here to view how to extract tamarind juice.
- About ten minutes after adding the taro (gabi) to the pot, add the eggplant wedges.
- When the eggplants are almost done, add the kangkong to the pot, pressing them down gently into the broth. Let boil for five minutes. Taste the broth and add more patis if necessary.
- Serve the soup hot.
If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.
Hello and welcome! I'm a retired lawyer and columnist, wife for 28 years, mom of two, and a passionate cook. What is this blog about? Recipes for dishes 
Cabbage and quail eggs soup
We don’t sautee our pork sinigang. Maybe I should try it to taste the difference.
I didn’t either for many years. But sauteing the meat prevents scum from forming once the water is poured in.
Thanks for the tip, I will try to saute the next time I cook sinigang. I have always taken the extra step of putting the meat in very hot water and then rinsing it to prevent the scum from forming.
sure is one of my comfort food. and nothing beats the real tamarind extract for the soup, just like my mommy used to make. altho, i admit i use the tamarind powder nowadays for convenience.
Connie, your sinigang made me hungry… I can eat sinigang for a whole year and never get tired of eating it.. This is definitely what I’m cooking tonight, although I will add baby spinach instead of Kangkong. Actually sinigang is my winter/spring comfort food din :)
I actually use beef more than pork but yours look really good. Did you find the fat be a little tough when you boiled it? That generally happens to me when I boil pork.
After over an hour of simmering, no pork fat stays tough. Unless you’re cooking pata. That takes longer.
I like your sinigang, especially if you make it spicy. It’s my favourite.
Comfort food rin ito for me.
And for salmon, we use miso instead of tamarind; yummy!
maybe i should stop visiting your blog daily connie. everytime i check your blog, i come face to face with the food that i have been longing to eat. it’s been a week i have been dreaming of a pork sinigang especially it’s still winter here and the hot-sour soup sure is very comforting! your sinigang reminds me of the sinigang my mom cooks for us during rainy season back home. nakakamiss magbakasyon tuloy. on the othe hand, i plan to visit restaurants which serve filipino dishes on our coming vacation in the philippines, may i ask you to please recommend me good filipino restaurants that you have tried already ? want to show my husband more of the filipino taste. thanks in advance;
Naku, I suggest you just cook for him instead. The best Filipino food are served in carinderias rather than in posh restos.
I agree with you.Filipino food in posh restos are no longer authentic—-mostly asian fusion or something deconstructed for new appeal!
Just in case frenchadobo ever comes back, I’d love to recommend Abe in Serendra. The food is Kapampangan, known to have some of the best food in the country (sisig, bagnet, etc). When I went, they were even serving adobong field crickets. That’s about as authentic as you can get! Whenever I go back to the Phils, I make it a point to have a meal there.
i use to cook pork sinigang, but i did’nt try sautee, nxt time i will try. is it ok not to put garlic on it?
Hmmmm… It won’t taste as good.
naglalaway tuloy ako :). it looks so yummy!
Hello, Miss Connie. I was surfing the net to look for Filipino dishes as I miss having them since I got here (US) and I happen to see your website and I am so happy as it helped me a lot to learn how to cook (like a chef) :-). May I ask what is the best substitute for kangkong in cooking pork sinigang? Hirap po makanap ng kangkong dito kahit sa Asian store. Can I use pechay po?
Try spinach.
Thank you very very much for this recipe, my boyfriend and I love this soup and thanks to you i can make it. He is Filipino and he said taste very good is our very favorite!!