Vegetarian Sinigang (Filipino Tamarind or Sour Soup)
"So Vegetarian is almost an unheard of word in the Philippines, but while in college I still wanted the Filipino tastes while trying to be vegetarian. Since all of the recipes I know had meat (even the veggies are cooked in pork) I had to come up with some of my own. This is one of those. Tofu sinigang apparently isn't unheard of in the Philippines but this recipe came out of trial and error. The soup is pretty sour cooked to "full strength" but can make a pretty nice fast meal with rice."
photo by AugustMim
- Ready In:
- 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes or 3 peeled chopped tomatoes, with their juice
- 1 large potatoes or 3 small potatoes, diced to 1 inch cubes
- 1 large bok choy or 1 large other greens
- 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 lb tofu, diced to 1 inch cubes
- 1 chayotes or 1 zucchini, diced to 1 inch cubes
- 1 medium onion, diced small
- 4 garlic cloves
- 5 2 sour tamarind pods or 2 two sweet tamarind pods and juice of one limes
- salt
- pepper
- 6 cups water (approximate, adjust this to your liking) or 6 cups stock (approximate, adjust this to your liking)
directions
- Chop all vegetables. If you use chayote, just cut it in half from where the dip is. It's similar to a mango with the shape of the pit being flat, but the pit is soft unlike in a mango so there's no need to cut around it. Remove the pit/seed from the two halves. Dice, peeling is not necessary.
- A note about the tamarind soup mix: If you're vegetarian or sensitive to MSG check the ingredients on the packet. I think they all have MSG, and most have pork, fish or beef in them. I found tamarind broth cubes (listed as tamarind powder b/c Zaar doesn't recognize it) which have less of those things in them which is great, but the best is if you can find real tamarind. I have found both of these in Asian grocery stores in the US, though you can occasionally find them in the ethnic foods isle of a grocery store. If you're using tamarind remove the hard outer shell. The insides feel and sometimes smell like the insides of raisins or prunes. If the tamarind tastes sweet it's not going to give you the right flavor for the soup, but can still be close with kalamansi or lemon juice added. It should be a sour taste. Soak the tamarind pulp, seeds and all, in 1 cup of warm water. Mash this with a fork to remove most of the tamarind from the seeds. Fish out the seeds and the membranes and reserve the liquid to add after potatoes are cooked.
- Cook potatoes in water with a touch of salt for about 10 minutes, or until almost cooked through.
- Add remaining veggies and seasoning and cook 10-15 minutes more, or until veggies are cooked to desired consistency.
- Taste broth and adjust water and tamarind seasoning and salt to your liking. Keep in mind that if you're serving this with rice, as I always do, you probably want more intense flavors and a more stew like consistency.
- I typically double this recipe since it keeps well in the refrigerator and it gets eaten quite quickly even with just me and my husband. It is important to cook the potatoes before you cook the other veggies because the acid from the tomatoes and the tamarind mix prevent the potatoes from ever cooking through if you add them straight away. The quantities are still an approximation as I've never measured, so if you make this I'd love if you gave me feedback about your input on amounts of water, what seasoning you used etc.
Questions & Replies
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The only tamarind I get is dried, and it is both sweet and sour. What are 'sweet tamarind' and 'sour tamarind'?
Reviews
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I usually use Chinese cabbage instead of bok choy. Someone mentioned adding young jackfruit, I'll have to try it! -
Hmm! I will try this combo to simmer in tomato broth. But I never "boil" ANYTHING. So I will bake potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil & add that at the end. Just wondering where will the flavor come from & that taste I get say, in minestrone ( a la Jeff Smith e.g.)..I have a Phili guest to totally surprise.
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Very delicious! Thanks for the recipe! Since I've been vegetarian, I've missed Filipino food. This tastes just like my childhood. -
This recipe is delicious! I am currently on a specific kind of fast so I substituted the tofu for mushrooms and used lemon juice instead of the tamarind. I love the flavors and textures. I can't wait to try it with Tofu:) -
This turned out really good! I wanted to keep it strictly vegetarian, so I used tamarind pods - thanks for the directions on how to do it that way! Instead of eating it like soup we dished out the veggies and tofu to eat with rice. Thanks! Made for Fall 2008 PAC.
see 1 more reviews
Tweaks
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I separated the stalks of leaves of the bok choy. I cut the leaves into 1" pieces and the stalks into 1/2" pieces. I boiled the stalks with the potatoes and also the onions to cook them longer. My mom used to make this with young jackfruit, so I added a can of it as well. It's my favorite part of the dish. I used the entire packet of seasoning since this made so much. My pot was filled to the brim. I brought some leftovers to work today and added sriracha just to see how it tastes. It's not bad! The flavor of the hot sauce doesn't really blend with it, but it works to throw in some variety in the week's worth of leftovers I have! This makes more like 6-8 servings since I serve it with rice. Very delicious! Thanks for the recipe! Since I've been vegetarian, I've missed Filipino food. This tastes just like my childhood.
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This recipe is delicious! I am currently on a specific kind of fast so I substituted the tofu for mushrooms and used lemon juice instead of the tamarind. I love the flavors and textures. I can't wait to try it with Tofu:)
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I'm a chemistry grad student with a passion for cooking in my spare time. I'm not vegetarian, but have been and love to explore ways to take typical recipes and make them vegetarian.
