sandrita's Profile

lovely bottles :) great idea!

@lorena in SD: research done by the late doreen fernandez shows that tamarind isn't really a constant. all over the philippines, any sourish fruit or leaf or even flower can be a souring agent. sinampalukang manok (tamarind chicken) uses young tamarind leaves for souring. in the southern regions, batuan (a small sour fruit) is used for sinigang. there's also kamias, guava, even green unripe watermelon.

@kathryn: the tamarind concentrate you used in this recipe is good for malaysian and indonesian assam/sour stews. sinigang generally has a light, clear broth. (except for sinigang sa miso with mustard leaves, which uses white or yellow miso to cloud the broth.) filipinos don't really use potato or carrot in sinigang. radish is almost always present. okra is sometimes used, also eggplant and long beans. but kangkong would be the leafy green most often used, added in the last few minutes of simmering to retain its crunch.

the sourness of sinigang and the lightness of its broth is supposed to be cooling in our humid tropical weather. your recipe is an interesting take that adapts to what's available there. my sister who lives in the netherlands uses lemon, salmon and mustard green for her sinigang. you can try that :)