Sinigang na Gulay, Filipino Sour Vegetable Soup
Sinigang is the sour soup at the center of Filipino home cooking, its broth soured most often with tamarind and filled with whatever protein and vegetables are on hand. This all-vegetable version, sinigang na gulay, keeps the tamarind broth and the usual cast of daikon, eggplant, long beans, and okra, with tofu for substance and spinach standing in for kangkong. The tartness carries the whole bowl, which is why it can skip the fish sauce and salt that usually finish it and still taste complete.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Tamarind paste
- 1 Yellow onion, quartered
- 2 Fresh tomatoes, quartered
- 1 tbsp Ginger, sliced
- 1 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1 cup Daikon radish, peeled and sliced into half-moons
- 1 Eggplant, cut into thick half-moons
- 6 oz Long beans, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths
- 6 podses Okra, left whole, tops trimmed
- 8 oz Firm tofu, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
- 3 cups Spinach, packed
- 2 Thai bird chiles, left whole, optional
Method
- Put the onion, tomato, and ginger in a pot with 6 cups (1.4 L) water and the no-salt bouillon. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, pressing the tomatoes with a spoon so they break down and cloud the broth. Softened tomato is part of the sourness and the body here, so mash it as it cooks.
- Stir in the tamarind paste until it dissolves. Tamarind is the soul of sinigang: it is what makes the broth ring with sourness, and that sourness is exactly what lets the soup taste seasoned without any salt. Add more, a teaspoon at a time, until the broth is bracingly tart.
- Add the daikon and simmer 5 minutes, until it turns translucent at the edges. Root vegetables go in first because they take the longest.
- Add the eggplant, long beans, and whole okra. Keeping the okra whole and unsliced is what stops it from going slippery in the pot. Simmer 6 to 8 minutes, until the eggplant is silky and the beans are tender.
- Slip in the tofu and the whole chiles, if using, and simmer 2 minutes just to heat through. Leaving the chiles whole lends aroma and a low background heat without making the whole pot fiery.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach, which wilts in seconds. Spinach stands in for the water spinach, kangkong, of the classic version. Taste the broth one more time for sourness, then ladle it hot over brown rice.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 140 calories, 9 g protein, 6 g fiber, 90 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
