Sinigang na Isda - Fish Sinigang

Fish in Sour  Tamarind Soup

Sinigang na Isda or Fish Sinigang is a sour tamarind soup of fish.

The usual fish or isda used is Milkfish(Bangus).

It is pretty much the same as doing Pork or Beef Sinigang, but the fish is added in the end and cooked briefly so it doesn't get mushy.

Rice Water is the base of the soup - which you can get from second and third rice washing.

This gives the soup its signature white cloudy color.

The soup is flavored with tamarind juice and tomatoes, together with Patis or Fish Sauce.

The vegetables we usually use with this dish are radishes or labanos and water spinach or kangkong leaves.

Milkfish has quite a lot of fish bones so there's the inconvenience of picking the bones while you're eating.

However, some Asian supermarkets sell frozen Deboned Milkfish if you are willing to pay a premium price.

YOUR SINIGANG NA ISDA SHOPPING LIST:

  • Milkfish (Bangus)
  • Radishes or HeartLabanos
  • Water Spinach (Kangkong
  • Tamarind
  • Tomato

IN THE PANTRY:

  • Onion
  • Fish Sauce(Patis)
  • Pepper
  • Ginger

INGREDIENTS

  • 1-2 Milkfish (Bangus), sliced in serving sizes
  • 1-2 RadishesLabanos, diagonally
  • 1 bunch Water Spinach (Kangkong) leaves
  • 2 pieces Tamarind fruit
  • 1 thumbsize ginger
  • 1 piece Tomato, sliced in wedges
  • 1 medium Onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce(Patis)
  • 1 teaspoon White Pepper
  • 5 cups rice water

PREPARATION TIME : 15 minutes

COOKING TIME : 20 minutes

1 Microwave or heat 1 cup of rice water with the tamarind fruit. Mash, strain and discard the pulp and seeds.

2 Put together in a pot the rice water, radishes, tamarind juice, tomato, ginger, onion and fish sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer until the radishes are softened, about 10 minutes.

3 Add the milkfish, and cook for 5 minutes.

4 Add the water spinach and season with pepper.

5 Serve hot with rice.

(Learn more about COOKING RICE, THE FILIPINO WAY.)


BENG'S TIPS

  • You can use the Tamarind Mix (Sinigang Mix)found in Asian markets to save you the hassle of extracting the tamarind juice. Make sure to taste the dish first before adding any fish sauce because tamarind mixes are already seasoned with salt.

  • Milkfish is the usual kind of fish used for this dish, but you can substitute any white meat fish or any fish of your choice.

  • Ginger is added to most fish dishes to lessen the lansa or funky fishy smell and taste.

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