Sinigang ng ulo ng maya-maya (fish head in sour soup)
I know, I’ve got so many versions of sinigang (sour soup) on this blog that, perhaps, I shouldn’t bother posting this one. But I will, anyway, for two reasons:
1) The kangkong (water spinach or swamp spinach in the right photo below) that I used here is not the ordinary kind that grows most anywhere without cultivation. Last Sunday’s visit to Farmer’s Market in Cubao, Quezon City led to the discovery of a vegetable called Chinese kangkong. Why it is described as Chinese… I can only guess. It is locally produced cultivated kangkong (below, left). The stalks are thinner and softer and the leaves are sweetish. They a lot more expensive too. While a bunch of the ordinary kangkong costs around PhP 5.00, a bunch of Chinese kangkong, half a kilo in weight, cost us PhP 40.00. It was worth the price, however. This variety of kangkong is so tender that no boiling or simmering is required. Just drop them into the hot broth, turn off the heat and cover. Leave for a few minutes and they’re ready.
2) I used a whole head of maya-maya (above, left), one kilogram in weight, to make this sinigang. I suppose the best way to describe it is that you really haven’t experienced sinigang na isda until you’ve tried sinigang na ulo ng isda. Except for the scales and the bones, everything in a fish head is edible–the meat, the ligaments, the lips, the jelly-like skin, the eyes and even the bone marrow. And everything is just delicious.
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3 Responses to “Sinigang ng ulo ng maya-maya (fish head in sour soup)”
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Hi Connie,
When i was in HongKong,i ate a lot of chinese spinach cooked in with chillies and some preserved tokwa its delish!Here in New Zealand i grow chinese spinach from seeds since i can’t buy them here.The photo looks appetising gutom tuloy ako.
Here in Houston Texas, with the arrival of so many Vietnamese, the produce section of local groceries got plentiful of “asian” veggies. And then Asian market sprung up, and gosh, there were vegetables and herbs that I have not seen before. This chinese kangkong that you are talking about, I did not even know they are different that the local ones I am familiar with.. when I saw them, I just though it was a different variety, and I cooked them the same length of time. But I did notice though the taste. Anyway, since I love kangkong and they are sold in certain period of the year, I did not care if they are chinese or filipino type. I just buy them. Oww, I did not know the Maya Maya is the local name for the “Red Snapper”. Wow!
Gena, I know a dish that sounds very similar to what you described. We add tausi (salted black beans) and chopped lechon kawali though.
Ebba, Chinese kangkong is so much more tender and requires a shorter cooking time. Local kangkong is great only if not too mature.