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Beef Sinigang- Filipino Tamarind Stew with Vegetables

Sinigang is the classic Philippine soup meal that is flavored with tamarinds making it tart, sour, savory and salty all at the same time. It is a mélange of meats, vegetables and even seafoods. This is an all-season versatile dish that is best eaten with rice. The souring agents come from backyard fruits and vegetables like tamarinds, kamias or guavas in the Philippines. Here in America, I used a tamarind concentrate and added green mangoes and lemon slices to make the soup broth so tangy and sour, my face puckered up after tasting the soup stew. This recipe was adapted from a previous post on this site and serves 4.
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Asian, Filipino
Keyword: Filipino Beef Sinigang Tamarind Stew Vegetables
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 307kcal
Author: Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Ingredients

  • 8 cups vegetable or beef broth (or use plain water) rice wash (hugas bigas)
  • 2 Tablespoons tamarind concentrate from a block of tamarind solid pulp (from Asian markets), or use tamarind concentrate
  • 1 whole onion chopped
  • 2 whole large tomatoes sliced
  • 1 whole fresh lemon washed, seeded, sliced, include rind
  • 1 whole fresh green unripe mango peeled, pitted, sliced in 2-inch strips
  • 2 pounds beef short ribs bone-in
  • 1 whole daikon or white radish peeled, sliced (from Asian markets)
  • 2 whole Asian eggplants sliced (from Asian markets) or use aubergines, about 2 cups if sliced
  • 2 cups sliced sitaw (long green beans) from Asian markets or use regular green beans sitaw, sliced in 2-inch length pieces
  • 3 cups sliced kangkong (water spinach) stems trimmed to 2-inch length (water spinach is found in Asian markets) or use fresh baby spinach
  • 2 Tablespoons patis (fish sauce) divided, use 1 Tablespoon for broth, rest for dipping sauce on side
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 pound fresh shrimps peeled, deveined, remove tails
  • 1-2 whole large jalapeno chiles optional
  • boiled jasmine white rice for serving

Instructions

  • In a large stockpot, over medium heat, bring to a boil the water or rice wash (‘hugas bigas’ as Filipinos call it), onion, tomatoes, patis (fish sauce), lemon slices, green mango and tamarind concentrate pre-softened in hot water. Allow this mixture to come to a boil, then lower the heat to a slow simmer for about 20 minutes. This makes the broth all sour and tangy-flavored.
  • Add the beef short ribs. Cover and cook over a slow simmer for 60 minutes till the beef softens or falls off the bone.
  • When the beef chunks  have cooked and are tender enough, add the shrimps, radish, eggplants and sitaw (long green beans) and large jalapeno chiles or 'sili' (optional). Cook for 10 to 12 minutes more till vegetables soften.
  • Add the kangkong (water spinach or use fresh regular spinach) and cook for 5 minutes more. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook 5 minutes more.  Serve hot with boiled jasmine white rice and a side dipping of patis or fish sauce.
  • Cook’s comments: Some folks like to add 1 large piece of green jalapeno chili (sili to Filipinos) to their sinigang. It adds a zesty spice to the already sour flavored broth. Feel free to do so if this is your personal preference. When I add chiles, I make sure to remove it the day after so that it does not get too spicy for the family.
  • Recipe notes: In the Philippines, the original sinigang uses green unripe tamarinds for souring. These are abundant in trees grown in backyards or commonly found in markets. The unripe, firm tamarinds are boiled in water to soften, then mashed so the pulp can be added to the soup broth.
  • Video on how to make the tamarind broth is on a previous blog post of Shrimp Sinigang. See it here.
  • Update: For cooking Filipino Instant Pot Sinigang, check out my cookbook "Instant Filipino Recipes" by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino. My books are sold worldwide on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format.
  • Hello, Friends! All the images and content here are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to use my photos or content on your website  without my permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write it in your own words and simply link back to this blog to give proper attribution. It’s the legal thing to do. Thank you.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 691mg | Potassium: 641mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 3.9mg