Sinigang na Baboy with Gabi

Sinigang na baboy with Gabi is a Filipino pork soup with taro cooked in a sour broth. Sinigang is my comfort food, and one of the first few dishes that I tried to make way back when I was starting to learn how to cook.

I grew-up enjoying its many version and variation until today. There is something in this top Filipino food that makes people cook it again and again. I personally like how it makes me feel when sipping the hot sour broth. It gives me a feeling of comfort and warmth during cold weather. It also gives me the same relaxing feeling when I eat it during warm summer days, but the warm broth somewhat makes me feel cool literally, for some reason.

When I am younger, my mom makes us sinigang during the weekend.  I am the go to guy when it comes to purchasing the ingredients. At a young age, I approach small stalls located outside of our subdivision to purchase ingredients for whatever our dinner will be during the day. It is something that I look forward to every day. It helped me discover and learn different types of ingredients. It helped myself discover my interest in cooking.

In this part I will teach you how two cook Sinigang na baboy with Gabi

This specific recipe uses pork belly as the main protein ingredient. I also use okra, daikon radish, snake beans (sitaw), ong choy (Chinese kangkong), and long green chili peppers (siling pangsigang). I use more vegetables because my kids love it.

Start to cook sinigang by boiling onions and tomato. This provides flavor to the broth. Do this by boiling water in a wide and deep cooking pot. Add these ingredients after the water boils.

Pork belly goes into the pot. Cook it for 25 to 30 minutes between low to medium heat. Add the taro and continue to boil in medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until the pork gets very tender. I like it when the gabi or taro melts into the soup and creates a thick consistency. This is the reason why I cook it longer. I also mash a piece or two in the middle of the cooking process.

I add my Knorr Sinigang sa Sampaloc recipe mix afterwards. This is my go to ingredient when cooking sinigang. I have been using this since I started cooking. Back in the days, my mom will just say “bili ka ng pang sinigang na baboy” and I know exactly what to purchase. I also cook sinigang using other souring agents such as fresh sampaloc and kamias, but the convenience and result that this product gives me is remarkable.

The seasonings can be added after putting the mix into the pot, or you can do it once the dish is cooked. For this recipe, I added fish sauce and ground black pepper right after the sinigang mix. Daikon radish is also added at this point. Let the radish cook for 5 minutes before adding all the remaining vegetables.

My family loves super sour sinigang. For this reason, I use more sinigang mix than what is suggested in the recipe below. If you prefer the same, you can always add more sinigang mix based on your preference. I also like to have a sauce with spicy fish sauce on my side when eating sinigang na baboy.

Any cut of pork can be used to cook sinigang na baboy. There are no restrictions. In fact, the most tasty sinigang na baboy is made using pork neck bones. Other common cuts of pork that can be used to make this dish are pork shoulder, picnic ham, and pork loin.

The most important thing to consider in making sinigang dishes is the level of sourness of the soup. There are many ingredients that you can use to make this dish sour. Traditional ingredients are unripe tamarind, bilimbi (kamias), and guava. The latter will provide a mild level of sourness. Personally, I like mine very sour and I discovered that using “sinigang sa sampaloc mix” provides just the right level of sour that I want. It also saves me time.

When is sinigang na baboy best eaten? It can be anytime you crave for it. However, I like it better for dinner especially when the weather is cold or if it is rainy (or snowy for that matter). Having sinigang makes me feel warm and toasty.

Try this Sinigang na Baboy with Gabi Recipe. Let me know what you think.