Sinigang na baboy (sour soup with pork): it’s all in the bones
September 4, 2007
Filed under Filipino food, Mailbox, Soup recipes
From reader Elaine of New Jersey:
Most Filipino cookbooks specify buntot ng baboy (pork tail) for cooking sinigang. Is there any reason why some other cut can’t be used?
I take it that pork tail is not easily obtainable in New Jersey? Even if it were and the aversion to pork tail is due to something else, well, no, no reason whatsoever why some other part of the pork can’t be substituted. And shame on whatever cookbook specifies pork tail for sinigang without explaining the reason for the choice.
Okay, let’s start with the basics. In Filipino cuisine, a lot of soup dishes are actually main dishes. Sinigang, tinola, nilaga and bulalo are just a few examples. When you cook sinigang, do you intend to serve it as a soup or as a main dish? The answer to that question will determine your choices as to the cut of meat you can use.
If you intend to serve the sinigang as a soup (meaning you have another dish for the main course), then, the important thing is to have the best quality broth you can make. That means bones — lots of bones. If, however, you intend to serve the sinigang as the main dish, you need meatier cuts of pork. Otherwise, you’ll be practically serving rice with broth and vegetables and very little meat.
A practical way to have your cake and eat it too (flavorful broth plus lots of meat) is to use a combination of pork cuts. Or you can prepare the broth separately by boiling lots of soup bones with spices then use the broth for cooking sinigang. The second option is especially good if you want your tureen and soup bowls to contain nothing but meat, broth and vegetables instead of having them cluttered with large pieces of bony pork.
The third option is to use a cut of pork that has enough bones to flavor the broth and also enough meat so that the sinigang can be served as a main dish. Pork tail is one such cut. And that’s why it’s a popular choice for cooking sinigang. My objection to pork tail is the amount of fat it contains. Plus the fact that my kids don’t eat pork rind (except when they are crunchy; you know, like in lechon kawali and crispy pata). I prefer pork ribs. Not the kind used for grilling but the cheaper cut. Pork ribs can be very meaty in good quality meat stores. If you have a suki in the local wet market, you can specify that you want to use the ribs for sinigang and want a lot of meat in them.
It’s the same principle if you’re cooking beef or fish sinigang. In fact, it’s the same principle for any soup dish. The full-bodied flavor comes from bones. For beef sinigang, try short ribs and beef neck. For fish, you have to include the head to flavor the broth.
For the recipe, you can refer to my oxtail sinigang entry and substitute pork for the beef.
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I also love pork sinigang and I always use the ribs. Malaman and may konting taba. And I like it with lots of gabi, kangkong and labanos! Yummy!
Pangit din pag totally walang taba, di ba? And the fat content of ribs is just perfect.
hi connie, timing na timing ang entry mo na ito. i was thinking of re-heating the leftover pork sinigang that i froze last week. tamang-tama kasi umuulan at medyo malamig ang panahon. that and the fact that it’s one of hubby’s favorite pinoy food.
for making sinigang, we always use the soup bones that we get from the grocery. or kung naka-sale ang ribs, that’s what we use as well. mas malasa nga ang sabaw kapag may buto-buto. tapos dinadagdagan na lang namin ng laman at maraming gulay because we usually serve it as the main dish.
after i got married and getting my grrove in the kitchen, for the first few times, i cook sinigang with pork butt, only because they are so fast to cook. but then i like my sinigang with a little bit of fat, so sometimes i mix pork butt and belly, however, i cook the belly first because they take longer to cook to than the pork butt. sometimes i make sinigang with just pork belly or pork neck (buto-buto) with kangkong, but usually if im using pork belly/butt i put sitaw, okra, gabe, and talong!
Just like you said Connie, i do mix ribs with the tail or anything with a bit of fat :).
Oh btw, the first sinigang i ever cooked was based on your recipe, though i can’t find the link anymore. Thanks!
The hubby loves sinigang, too bad I just can’t get the perfect level of asim.
offtopic-I made baked macaroni again (your version) today as my birthday treat for my colleagues per their request (more like demand, really). Judging by the number of queries on what time it’ll be served, it’s gonna be another success, thanks to you.
I’ve been cooking sinigang for years. My father taught me how to cook this Filipino dish. I must say I never knew pork tail was endorsed by some cookbook writers. If it is, then I must be out of the loop coz I’ve never heard of or noticed such preference.
I’ve always used pata, and when I’m out of supply and having sinigang craving, I use whatever cut is available in my fridge.
I cook my sinigang to the point that the meat is so tender that eating the fatty part is actually a pleasure. (Sounds disgusting. Haha)
peterb, i lost a lot of recipes when the dbase went berserk in December 2005. That’s probably one of them.
soloops, turn it into a business already! hehehe
jein, it’s a tagalog thing. if you eat in marikina restos, they only use pork tail for sinigang.
dj, ah pata is another wonderful choice. when the ligaments melt into the broth, the broth becomes thick and sticky and just wonderful.
nakakagutom tignan ang sinigang mo.
oooOhhh sinigang! my favorite…. I agree with the pata dj.. For me its the best for sinigang baboy… I’m going to cook sinigang today.. Nakakalaway na…..
Pork (ox) tail is not difficult to come by from where I live but to get to the butcher’s that sell them require a little “determination”
Often I make do with ribs meant for BBQ. Ok na din especially when the local supermarket has gabi. And when I have no sitaw I use green beans instead. And if there is no pak choi, I use baby spinach.
You’re so right Connie, the bones, it’s all in the bones. That’s why you often see chef, in cooking shows, inform their viewers to save the bones for stock.
I myself, have used the feet portion (one of my favorite parts)..
And I believe the feet is a part of the pig that groceries actually have in The U.S
I have been craving for sinigang to I bought some pork belly and lots of kangkong, gabi and sitaw.. and when I was ready to cook.. lo and behold! no sinigang mix. Got crazy and started raiding the pantry so I called my sister and told her if I can use the fresh calamansi she gave me. (I had a bucket full of it). Of course she said, and I went ahead and juice about half-glass (straining the buto of course). Oh wow… the broth taste so fresh and I had this feeling of dejavou - I told myself this what it tasted like when sinigang was served by my mom or aunt in the Philippines - the times when there was no sinigang mix yet. It taste so good. Well, I still have my “rasyon” of calamansi from my sister (as well as they are sold now in a Filipino store - $1.29 lb) and from now on - I will use only fresh calamansi (since we don’t have kamias here in Texas) for my sinigang or any other sour-type of dish.
auee, spinach is so good in sinigang.
Nick! I didn’t know you read food blogs.
And, yes, the part of the pata that is all bones, ligament (litid) and rind is so good for soups. In Shopwise here in Antipolo, pork soup bones are that part of the pata.
Ebba, the mom-in-law of my hubby’s brother (they’re based in Chicago) use lemon juice for sinigang. Ang bango-bango daw.
sarap itsura nito. gagawa ako ng sinigang na bangus. mamamatay na yata ako sa kakaisip nitong picture na ito.
Hi Connie, sarap talaga ng sinigang. isa sa mga paborito ng mga bata - at nakapaka dali nilang pakainin pag sinigang ang ulam. Where I live, most Filipinos used neckbones - malasa din at mura pa! I hope hindi ma-figure out ng market na mabenta pala baka itaas ang presyo! That’s what they did with salmon heads. Sinisigang din namin. We used to get it for free, tinatapon na lang kasi dito, ngayon - hindi na free at medyo may pagka mahal na din. =)
Re #17. Try mo boneless bangus belly but throw in an extra head or two to flavor the broth.
Re #18. Sharon, salmon is my weakness. I made a soup a couple of days ago (for the cookbook) using salmon head. Hay, heaven!
HI ms. Connie, i love cooking siningang because its my favorite, & i enjoyed cooking siningang more vegables, like gabi, sitaw, okra & kangkong..but now i have prob for this menu because walang pork dito sa QATAR, kaya grabe yan ang namimiss ko sa Pinas.pag uwi namin magluluto agad ako ng siningang my hubby also favorite nya yan lalo n kapag RIBS.. hay naglalaway nako sa sarap…Hmnmmm..thanks connie
hi! there’s no excuse for me to say that i can’t cook since i quit my job to get married to a hearty pinoy eater. i’m starting with salads and appetizers first before going to main meals. your site has been very helpful to me with your tips on substituting ingredients and what food goes with what.
thanks much!
the best talaga sinigang! pork, beef or shrimp!
you have a great website. thank you for sharing your thoughts and recipes to us fellow bloggers. pork sinigang and filipino style spaghetti are the only meals that i can cook by heart. i’m just lucky enough to live in a city where there’s a filipino store that sell everything we pinoys love. as my friend called it shoemart (SM) ng southern California. the only thing i couldn’t find are fresh tamarind, my mom cooks sinigang the old school way, boiling the tamarind and mashing it to make the broth sour. i resort to knorr sinigang mix. but still yum. i use pork neck and ribs for my sinigang.
thanks connie.
gutom na ko T_T
hi! our moroccan friends loved the beef sinigang that they tasted when they went to lunch with my husband and theother filipinos in their company for lunch. My husband has invited them to dinner in our flat and i was thinking if you have any suggestions for another dish that can be a good accompaniment for beef sinigang (that was their requested dish for dinner). thank you so much for your time! =)
Grilled fish.