Pinoy Classic: SINIGANG na HIPON (Shrimps in Soured Broth)

A Classic Filipino dish you can serve this Good Friday: Sinigang na Hipon (Shrimps in soured broth).

Ingredients you'll need: (Good for 4-6 persons)

Your choice of favorite vegetables but these are the usual ones used:

- a bunch of KangKong (water spinach)

- 5 okras

- 2 tomatoes; quartered

- 1 onion; quartered

- 1 eggplant; sliced

- 1 radish, sliced

- 1/2 kg of shrimps

- fish sauce to taste

- 2 shrimp bouillon cubes (to taste)

- 2 green finger chilies (or more depending on your taste)

Other vegetables you can also use in Sinigang are:

- Sitaw (long beans)

- Talbos ng kamote (sweet potato tops)

You'll be needing a powdered tamarind soup base mix such as these: 

(For this dish that I cooked, I used McCormick Classic Sinigang Mix)

Note: But if you can't find something similar, you can use the juice extract from unripe tamarind fruit. Boil about 1/2 cup of water and add in about 100 grams of unripe tamarind. Remove from heat and when tamarinds are soft, mash it and strain to a fine sieve. Throw away the solids. For 6-7 cups of water and 1/2 kg of meat, you'll be needing about 4 tbsp of this tamarind extract or less; depending on how sour you want your broth to be. You can also use tamarind paste, or extract of green mangoes as souring agent.

Directions:

1) In a stockpot, pour about 6-7 cups of water (or rice washing) together with the quartered tomatoes and onion. Bring this to a boil over medium heat.

2) Prepare your choice of vegetables and cut into desired pieces.

3) When the water comes to a boil, lower the heat and add in the radish and eggplant. Let it cook for about a minute or two before adding in the shrimp.

4) As soon as the shrimps starts to turn orange, add in the powdered tamarind soup base.

5) Season according to your taste. (I added about a tbsp of fish sauce and 2 shrimp bouillon cubes)

6) Simmer for another minute at low heat then add in at the last minute the okras and the Kangkong. Do not overcook the vegetables, make sure they are still green and the leaves still crispy.

5) Remove from heat. Serve with steaming hot rice. The Pinoy way of eating this is pouring some of the broth in the rice and eat it with a little bit of everything: the shrimp and veggies.

It's a time to ponder on this life that God has given us and a time to appreciate simple everyday foods like this.

Grace before meals. Have a blessed Good Friday to all! 

Happy Eating! =)