Sinigang na Baboy

Ingredients

• 1 kg pork ribs or pork belly, cut into portions
• 200 g fresh tamarind pods, shelled
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• 1 onion, quartered
• 200 g daikon radish, peeled, sliced into rounds
• 1 eggplant, cut into chunks
• 150 g long green beans (sitaw), cut into 5 cm lengths
• 150 g kangkong (water spinach), leaves and tender stems only
• 30 ml fish sauce (patis), plus more at table
• 1.5 litres water, divided

Method

1. 1
   Place the pork in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and discard the liquid. Rinse the pork under cold running water. The blanch is complete when the exterior of the meat is grey and the water is clouded with scum — this scum must be removed entirely before the final broth is built.
2. 2
   Return the blanched pork to a clean pot. Add 1.5 litres of fresh water, the shelled tamarind pods, quartered tomatoes, and quartered onion. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook, partially covered, until the tamarind pods have fully dissolved into the broth and the pork is beginning to become tender — approximately 40–50 minutes. The broth is ready to strain when the tamarind pulp has entirely broken down and the liquid has taken on a tawny, amber colour with a distinctly sour aroma.
3. 3
   Remove the tamarind pods and strain the broth if necessary to remove seeds and fibrous pulp. Return the broth and pork to the pot. This is where the dish lives or dies: taste the broth now for sourness. It must be bracingly, assertively sour — enough to tighten the jaw. If the acidity is timid, the result is not sinigang but merely a pork broth with sour undertones. Adjust by simmering with additional tamarind if needed before proceeding.
4. 4
   Add the fish sauce to the broth. Stir and taste — the broth should carry depth and salinity without any forward fishiness. Add the radish slices and simmer until beginning to soften but not yet yielding — approximately 5 minutes. The radish is ready when a knife tip meets slight resistance at the centre.
5. 5
   Add the eggplant and simmer for a further 3–4 minutes until the flesh has softened and taken on the colour of the broth at its edges but holds its shape. Then add the long green beans and cook for 2 minutes.
6. 6
   Add the kangkong last. Submerge the leaves and tender stems in the hot broth, turn off the heat, and allow residual heat to wilt the kangkong for no more than 1 minute. The kangkong is done when it has wilted but retains its green colour — it must not turn grey or army-drab.
7. 7
   Ladle into deep bowls, ensuring each portion contains pork, all vegetable components, and ample broth. Serve immediately alongside steamed white rice, with a small dish of fish sauce (patis) at the table for individual seasoning.