Prawn Sinigang
In this traditional Filipino soup, peeled prawns sit in a sour tamarind and tomato broth. Serve this as a tasty side dish or a simple meal with rice.
Introduction
Sinigang is considered by many to be the true national dish of the Philippines due to its unique sour characteristics. I have noticed that the majority of cooks who attempt to make sinigang regularly rely on the ‘ready-made’ powder mix to obtain the nostalgic taste, and this always used to make me feel like cooking sinigang from scratch was either too complex or impossible without the mix. But it’s not! This recipe is perfect as a soup starter or a side soup with rice and other viands.
Ingredients
| 2-16 | frozen medium prawns, shells and heads on, defrosted |
| 1 litre | water |
| 60g | tamarind extract or concentrate |
| ½ | red onion, thickly sliced |
| 3 | tomatoes, quartered |
| 30g | ginger, peeled and thinly sliced |
| 6 | garlic cloves, crushed |
| 8 | whole black peppercorns |
| 20g | chicken or fish stock powder/2 cubes |
| 1 | long green chilli or red chilli |
| 2 tbsp | fish sauce, or to taste |
| Juice of ½ | lemon, or to taste |
Method
Peel the prawns carefully, keeping the shells and heads. Reserve the peeled prawns for later.
Place the peeled shells and heads in a pot with the water. Bring to the boil and then lower to a simmer, skimming off any scum or foam that rises to the surface. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Carefully strain and discard the shells from the stock.
Add all of the remaining ingredients for the sinigang broth except for the fish sauce and lemon juice. Boil and simmer for a further 20–30 minutes.
Taste and season with the lemon juice and fish sauce. It should be quite sour but not unpleasant. Feel free to add more lemon juice to your liking.
Reviews
Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.
Our team will respond to any queries as soon as we can - this may take longer over weekends. You do not need to resubmit your comment.
Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use.
