Shrimp Tamarind Soup (Sinigang)

Sinigang is a staple soup dish with different versions from different places in Asia. For example in Thailand, they call it Lemongrass Soup because they use lemongrass as the base for flavoring. The Philippine version uses a different variety of base flavorings to make it sour. You can use guava, santol, camachile, lemongrass but for this particular dish, I use tamarind. You may also substitute different varieties of meat like pork, beef or fish.


In a pot, pour about a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil and add 2 onions sliced in quarters, a slice of ginger and 5 mild green chili peppers (4 inches in length) and saute for 2 minutes. Then add a pound of large shrimps (14 to 16 per pound size) and once they turn red, put the shrimp aside. Add 2 cups of fish stock and 4 tamarinds (unripe and pound it so the flavor is released) with the shell on. Bring to a boil and reduce temperature to medium high for 10 minutes.


With the heat in medium high, add a bunch of watercress (kangkong) with the stalks chopped off, radish sliced 1/4 inch thick and add the rest of the half cooked shrimp and simmer for 5 minutes. Add some fish sauce to taste and serve!