How To Cook The Best Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas

Pork is a domestic animal in the Philippines that is either roasted whole or in parts or stewed, just like the recipe that we are going to share with you. In this section, we will help you on how to make the best Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas, or otherwise called Pork and Guava soup.

Pork Guava soup is one of the comfort foods for a lot of Filipinos, especially in the rainy season. But not everyone knows how to cook this dish properly, so in this section, we will guide you on how to make Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas the perfect way.

But what is Sinigang na Baboy per se? Find out more in this article and learn why this recipe thrived throughout the years.

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What is Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas

The word "sinigang" means "stewed (dish)"; it is a normalized Tagalog verb sigang, "to stew." While it is known nationwide, it is culturally considered a dish originated from Luzon. Thus the same sour soups and stews found in Mindanao and Visayas are not the same dishes because they use different ingredients. 

Sinigang is a well-loved sour stew in the Philippines, especially the one that uses tamarind as its souring agent. But Sinigangto na Baboy sa Bayabas one of the many variants of sinigang when it evolved into many adaptations of this dish.

As this recipe evolves, so does the ingredients of this lovely soup dish. The components may vary like souring agents, meat, and vegetables, but the first choice of souring base will always be the tamarind. There are other infamous souring agents that the Filipino has been using for a while now.

These are calamansi, guava, balimbing (star fruit), lemon, raw mangoes, kamias (bilimbi), and santol, or wild mangosteen, which we seriously think is a must-try. Each could give different distinct sourness, which brings different sour stew experience. 

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Ways to Cook Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas

We want to introduce to you some of the methods you can cook this heavenly soup using different pieces of kitchen appliances. These pieces of equipment will surely make your cooking time fun, less stressful, and more enjoyable while cooking it the healthiest way possible.

Crockpot - this kitchen appliance will make your life easier, especially in the kitchen. In this method, using high or low temperature will determine the hours you will let the meat cook until the desired doneness. 

You can cook the pork spare ribs ahead of time together with diced tomatoes and onion (optional) splashing it with fish sauce, let it cook for several hours. Then add all the other ingredients, putting the water spinach while you keep it warm. 

You may want to take the guava from the mix when it is already softened and crush it in a bowl. After squashing all of the guavas, bring it back to the Pot and let it boil some more. In no time, you will have that Crockpot Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas, mouth-watering stew for lunch.

Instant Pot - in this method, your kitchen time will dramatically drop to an hour tops. If you have the pork ribs ready, put it inside the Pot together with the onion, guava, and diced tomatoes. Put the knob steam-release to the ceiling setting and press the meat stew button and let it cook for 30 minutes. 

After that, you want to release the pressure by turning the knob to the venting position. Do not open the lid, not until the device gives you the signal. Let the steam release on its own gradually. 

Open the lid when it is safe then add the taro then. Press the saute button and let it cook for 25 minutes when the taro is cooked through add the remaining veggies and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Then voila! You now have an Instant Pot Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas to feast on for dinner. Serve hot with rice.

Slow Cooker - The slow cooker has the same mechanism as that of the crockpot, where you can cook your meal on a high or low temperature for several hours.

If you have it sitting in your kitchen, you can use that equipment to make this dish. Boil the pork ribs ahead of time for several hours together with the chopped onions, tomatoes, and guava. After then, you might want to skim the scum if you don't want these fatty residues in your soup.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and have it boiled for a few minutes. Serve a steaming bowl of this Slow Cooker Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas with plain white rice for your fantastic meal.

Pressure Cooker - this is probably the most classic type of equipment among the four we have mentioned here. But if this is what you have at home, then it is just as perfect as the rest. Since the standard pressure cooker doesn't have that fancy built-in timer or setting modes, using it can be tricky.

Place your meat inside the Pot and close the lid. Please put it in the stove and let it boil for some time. Then add the other ingredients. Place your Pressure Cooker Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas in a bowl and serve.

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Variations 

As any other dish has adopted many versions, this zesty soup has it, too! There are lots of variants, but we chose the ones we think will suit your needs. Want to know what these variants are? Read on!

Vegan Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas

Vegan Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas is really possible; you wouldn't believe it's almost the same! For this version, you just need to change some of the ingredients like the pork and substitute it with tofu.

Drop some of your alternative ingredients if the primary elements can not be found in your area, like, the tamarind, the best alternative would be lime or lemon juice. You can use the spinach or bok choy or any other leafy vegetables if you can't find water spinach. 

Keto Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas

This tangy soup is a pot of gold during the rainy season. A lot of Filipino love that soupy hot and zesty stew. If you are on a keto diet, this dish is just right for you without changing any ingredients in it (not unless you want to!).

Remember how we did it in Instant Pot? Do the same procedure, and in no time you will be enjoying that sour tang of Keto Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas that lightens up the mood of everyone who will get to slurp it down.

Sizzling Sinigang 

This next version is rather interesting and totally deconstructed, but nonetheless, we believe it is a must-try adaptation of this traditional comforting bowl of heavenly soup.

This resto named Locavore is known for its fantastic reinvention of Filipino dishes with local finds and French techniques. One of their best sellers is Sizzling Sinigang, where beef short ribs in a Sampaloc (tamarind) are infused with gravy on top of a sizzling plate.

Why don't you try this version if you are up for a little adventure? Sizzling Sinigang is definitely an out of this world-Sinigang; you can boast in a family reunion.

Sinigang na Bagnet

Bagnet is locally known as "chicharon" in Ilocano. It is a Filipino dish using pork belly deep-fried in hot oil until it is crispy with the use of garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorns, and salt for its seasoning. 

But do you know that you can actually tweak your Sinigang with it? Yes, you can! Using all the ingredients, we posted it here, except that you will use a bagnet in place of the pork ribs. If you try this version, please hit us in the comment section below!

Bagnet, traditionally known as "chicharon" in Ilocano, is a Filipino dish consisting of pork belly boiled and deep-fried until it is crunchy. It is flavored with garlic, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and salt. Sinigang na Bagnet would surely bring giggles and praises on the family table.

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Troubleshooting

Troubles in the kitchen are unavoidable; however, you have already mastered a dish. So in this section, we listed some remedies to salvage your food from flying to the trash bin.

• Too sour -  to combat the acidity or sourness of your Sinigang soup, say aside from the guava you put tamarind, also. You got carried away in doing so; we suggest you put more ripe guavas as its sweetness will balance the sourness or tone it down a bit. 

Or you can add sugar. Vegetables like carrots and potatoes are  good absorbent of tanginess, too! 

• Chewy meat - we know that not all cuts are melt-in-your-mouth tender, and to help you solve this problem, we suggest you physically tenderize the meat. How? 

With the use of meat mallet lightly pound the meat just enough to break down the tough knotted fibers.

Do not pound it into oblivion, or it will become mush.

•  Overcooked veggies - This dish consists of several vegetables to make that savory taste at the end. Still, if you accidentally overcooked them, the only thing you can do is take it out from the Pot and ice it to prevent further cooking.

Another way would be to take all the veggies out and make a separate soup of it and put new batches of the same vegetables into your Sinigang.

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Trivia

To encourage you more to cook this zesty biting soup, we listed down some of the essential health benefits that you can get from consuming a hot bowl of it. 

• Guava - Guava is an amazing immunity booster. It contains vitamin C 4 times more than you can consume in orange or other fruits. Vitamin C plays a crucial role in maintaining good eyesight, healthy skin, and nails. 

Not only that, but it also helps lower the risk of cancer due to its quercetin, lycopene,   vitamin C, and other polyphenols, which are potent antioxidants.  

There are many health benefits that you can get from this fruit, and if you want to know  more of them, please click here.

• Okra - Okra is packed with many nutrients like vitamin K1, and C. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps prevent blood clotting. It is worth noting that okra is low in carbs and calories, and it includes some proteins and fiber. Many vegetables and fruits lack protein-making okra unique.

• Taro - Taro may surprise you when it comes to its nutritional contents. Taro root has the necessary amounts of different nutrients that people don't get enough on a daily basis, such as magnesium, potassium, fiber, vitamin C, and E.

• Water Spinach (Kangkong) - kangkong is the leading source of vital minerals such as magnesium, calcium, and iron. Calcium and magnesium are highly crucial for the health of the teeth and bone. 

Kangkong comprises 21% of your daily calcium need and 18% of your daily magnesium per 100 grams.

• Eggplant - The minerals and vitamin content of eggplants are quite extensive. They are an excellent source of vitamin K, C, B6, thiamine magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, manganese, folic acid, fiber, copper, potassium, and more!

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Tips

We love giving away tips that could make your cooking experience more fun and enjoyable. We listed down below some bits of advice that we think might be useful to you.

• Gabi (taro) - when you peel off its skin, we suggest you use plastic gloves as it may cause severe itchiness and irritation on your hands due to its oxalic acid content. 
• If you want a thicker soup without using any thickening agent such as flour, add more taro.
• Sinigang sa Bayabas (guava) does not really make it sour, but somewhat sweet. If you want your soup to be slightly sour, you may add a few tamarind fingers or lemon juice.
• Boil first the meat with tomatoes, onions, and guavas then add the fish sauce for that umami taste.

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Best Served With

This umami dish is definitely a recipe to pair with another plate of food. Although its soup is enough to get you by without anything, to get that enjoyable experience of savoring it, we listed some food that we think you might want to try. 

• Sinangag (fried rice) - The crunchiness of the rice drench with the sour soup will give you all the bursting flavors. The combination will be much textured and flavorful. Who would not love that?
• Stir-fry Veggies - these two combinations are extremely savory due to the layers upon layers of flavors that somehow contrasts but complementing one another. It's like ying and yang if you know what we mean.
• Buko Pandan - To wash that tartness of the soup, splurge on a few bites of Buko Pandan. The refreshing sweetness of it will make you come back for more bowls of this Sinigang.

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Conclusion

For many Filipino, Sinigang is more than a medley of vegetables and meat combined. For them, it is a dish that brings good memories and comfort. We hope we have encouraged you to try to make the best Sinigang na Baboy sa Bayabas for your family while giving it your own tweak.

If you did try this dish, please, we want to hear about it! Please give us a comment down below, and don't forget to rate this dish!

For more delicious recipe, visit Eat Like Pinoy!

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