"“Sinigang” is a sour soup. A good “sinigang” results in the correct blend of saltiness and sourness of the soup. Its main ingredient can either be meat or seafood. Its soup base is either tamarind (usually when using meat) or guava (for fish or shrimp). To make the base for sinigang during my grandmother’s time, the tamarind was boiled, mashed and strained. Then the strained liquid was mixed with the stew. Today, there are a variety of “sinigang” soup mixes available in the supermarket. They are either bouillion cubes or powdered. The vegetables traditionally used with “sinigang” are kangkong, talbos ng kamote (sweet potato tops), sitaw or sitao (a long variety of string beans) taro, eggplant, okra and green chili pepper. Kangkong is a green leafy vegetable that grows in swampy areas. An important vegetable in Southeast Asian cooking, kangkong is also known as water spinach. Talbos ng kamote refer to the tender leaves of the plant. Taro is an edible rootcrop with white flesh. Where kangkong and talbos ng kamote are not available, spinach or mustard leaves are good substitutes. I said OR because I have never tried using both at the same time. Sinigang has also been traditionally prepared using rice washing, instead of plain water, to start the soup. Unless you are very sure about the sanitary conditions under which your rice was packed and bought, I really won’t recommend this, especially if you bought your rice in the wet market where it has been openly displayed and been subjected to dust. Since the purpose of using rice washing is mainly to thicken the soup and to give it a cloudy appearance, the same results can be achieved by including taro among the ingredients. Although sinigang has always been associated with pork, beef, fish and shrimp, I discovered that chicken is an equally good main ingredient. It is important, however, to use stewing chicken–the kind you need to boil longer–to come up with a good stock. Fryers yield an unsatisfactory bland stock. When making sinigang, cook just enough for one meal. It never tastes good after it has been refrigerated and reheated. Slice the eggplant just before adding them to the soup; otherwise they will discolor. Some people soak sliced eggplant in salted water purportedly to get rid of its “bitterness”. I have never done that since I find no “bitter” taste to get rid of. A crockpot will be good for cooking this dish."

• 1 stewing chicken (about 4-1/2 lbs. or 2 kilos)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 2-3 pieces of taro, peeled and cut into 2×2-inch cubes
• 1 bunch of kangkong (leaves and upper stalks only)
• 1 bunch kamote tops (leaves only)
• 2 eggplants, sliced
• 1 green chili pepper
• 1 pack of “sinigang” mix (I used tamarind-based) good for 1 liter of soup
• 1 tbsp. cooking oil
• salt or patis (fermented fish sauce)

Directions:

1. Chop the chicken into serving pieces, setting the breast aside. If you use the entire chicken, you will have too much meat with too little vegetables. AND, you don’t want leftovers. Unless you’re feeding 10 people, it’s best to set the breast aside. Minus the breast, you’ll have about 1 kilo of chicken to cook–just enough for one meal for 4 to 5 people.
2. Heat the cooking oil in a big saucepan or casserole. Saute garlic. Add onions, chili pepper and tomatoes. Stir until onions are transparent and tomatoes start to crumble. Add chicken pieces. Stir until chicken turns opaque. Add 1 liter of water and salt or patis. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover tightly and simmer slowly for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. If using a crockpot, do the sauteing in the saucepan then transfer everything to the crockpot afterwards. Check the liquid occasionally for too much evaporation. You will need 1 liter of soup by the end of the cooking time.
When the chicken is tender, turn up the heat to medium-high and add the taro pieces. When the mixture reaches boiling point again, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 7 minutes. Add eggplant slices. Simmer for another 5 minutes or until the eggplant is almost done. 3. Add kangkong and talbos ng kamote. Stir in the “sinigang mix” and add more salt, if necessary. Simmer for another minute then remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve immediately.