a quick and easy Filipino dish. Tilapia fish fillets are used in this soup with a sour broth. Although the flavor is sour, it actually makes you feel more hungry. In my home, this is regarded as comfort food.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 15 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- ½ pound tilapia fillets, cut into chunks
- 1 small head bok choy, chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 cup thinly sliced daikon radish
- ¼ cup tamarind paste
- 3 cups water
- 2 dried red chile peppers (Optional)
Instructions
- In a medium pot, combine the tilapia, bok choy, tomatoes and radish. Stir together the tamarind paste and water; pour into the pot. Toss in the chili peppers if using. Bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes, or just until the fish is cooked through. Even frozen fish will cook in less than 10 minutes. Do not over cook or else the fish will fall apart. Ladle into bowls to serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 112 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 13 g |
| Cholesterol | 21 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 13 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g |
| Sodium | 63 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 1 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I used vinegar and brown sugar and messed it up because I didn’t have tamarind.
Very easy to make, cooked in no time. Defiantly would make again (with a little less tamarind next time).
If you appreciate the deep rich flavor that tamarind can bring to a soup, you will enjoy this recipe. Instead of tilapia, I used roasted chicken pieces. Yummy! -Paula Akbari
Ehhhhhhhh Followed the recipe exactly. It was nothing spectacular, didn’t bring me back to the Philippines 🙁 next time I’ll try adding the ingredients mentioned in previous reviews
It was too sour for our taste.
Nice! I found tamarind paste at Whole Foods. I garlic, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce to the base and mushrooms, too. The depth of the broth bloomed after about 15 minutes or so, right out of the pot it was still a bit thin. But it was really good, sour, comforting soup. I also added very thin brown rice noodles.
I love sinigang and this is the first time for me to make it with fish.I didn’t have tilapia so I used haddock,I used a packet of sinigang na sili powder,added eggplant,batchoy,tomatoes,1/2 tsp patis, and two bullion cubes for added flavor and I loved every bit of it!
I was looking for a recipe that used tamarind instead of the Knor flavor packets that you see in most other recipes. If you’re having trouble finding tamarind paste I suggest going to an Arabic or Persian store–tamarind is used a lot in Arabic food along with a lot of other great fruit pastes (apricot, fig, date, etc). I don’t much care for the flavor of tilapia so I used shrimp and cat fish instead. I also added some Chinese long beans and sliced limes since that is how my boyfriend’s mom makes it. It turned out perfectly. I think this will be my go-to Sinigang recipe. I am planning to make it again with pork ribs to see how it turns out.
I thought this was delicious. I needed about twice as much water. I used canned tomatoes, added dried sliced shitake mushrooms and a bit of salt.
I was very excited about making the soup, however, I didn’t like. I was very very sour 🙁 My wife hated it.
I really liked this dish, but I made a few changes to suit my taste. I used regular green cabbage and 1/4 cup lime juice instead of the bok choy and tamarind paste. I also added about 1/3c sliced red onion, 1 tsp beef bouillon, and several tbsp of fish sauce to give the broth more flavor. Very good and different to what I’m used to.
This is a great tasting, light soup. We are on a strict diet in which we cannot have any oil, bread or starchy vegetables. We found this recipe and have made it twice, once with lime juice and once with tamarind. I liked both versions, but the lime juice was especially good. I added salt and apple cider vinegar to kick it up a notch. Also substituted brussel sprouts once and broccoli once for the radishes. This will become a staple in our house even after we are finished with the diet! Next I am going to add fresh ginger, curry paste and fish sauce to round out the flavor.
I did not care for this recipe.
Love the sour broth, my Filipino friend taught me something very similair to this but I used pressure cooked pork necks for the meat. Also, for the green leafy I used some turnip greens. The taste is great. Sometimes we serve this over rice. Very good on a cold day…
Actually it is unrated. but no where to just ask question first. I have trouble finding tamarind. Can I sub with lemon or lime???
Delicious! My wife is Pinay (I’m Mexican) and she loved it! I was impressed at how satisfying the flavor is, definitly Umami.
delicious! tasted just like my mom’s recipe. i made just a few alterations though…i added about 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, white daikon, and long beans to the mix.
I always thought pork sinigang was superior to [ocean] fish until I used [fresh wtaaer]tilapia. This fish has a very delicate flavor and a decidedly un-fishy aroma compared to bangus and over-the-reef fish. Sinigang is awesome comfort food, and as I get older, the more I like it on the sour side. Excellent recipe.
This recipe is sooo simple yet, delicious. Very satisfying, especially since it’s getting colder. I substitute the daikon with brown rice since I didn’t have any on hand. Also, instead of the Tamarind paste, I used Worcestershire sauce, since I didn’t have any of that either. I will surely make this again.
Great recipe and very simple and quick to make. However, I added some things: 1/2 tsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp red curry paste, a couple sprinkles of salt, and 5 tablespoons of fish sauce. Serve hot over steamed rice…great dish! Just like my grandmother used to make it!
I love this soup. It’s light and you would not feel guilty serving along with other main dishes. The original traditional tangy taste calls for tamarind, but lime or tomato is definitely acceptable. Add excitement to your Sinigang by adding prawns, 1/8 cup sliced red onions and 1 tbsp shredded ginger. Some greens like bok choy, or even anaheim pepper (long green pepper) is also good. Since this is soup, I usually add the green veggies sparingly in order not to overpower the character as a soup. Since this is a cultural food, you can deninitely adjust the spices according to your orientation.