Your in-laws are coming for dinner and you are searching for easy recipes to impress them. Why not try sinigang? It is easy to get the perfect taste of this dish with the help of a sinigang mix available in stores.
If you are not familiar with this tamarind-based soup, here are some things you should know about sinigang.
Sinigang is one of the favorite viands of the Filipinos. For generations, it has been a staple in Filipino kitchens. The dish contains pork meat or fish with different vegetables such as string beans, okra, taro combs or gabi, eggplants, and water spinach or kangkong. Other ingredients may include tomatoes and onions. What makes it distinct from the typical soup is its sourness, as the traditional sinigang uses tamarind. In other parts of the Philippines, different sinigang versions use guava, calamansi, or even unripe mangoes.
While it is hard to achieve the distinct sour taste of the soup, cooking the dish is now made easier because sinigang mix is now available. For one, this saves you from looking for fresh tamarind in the market and mixing the ingredients to attain the perfect sinigang taste.
Usually, a pack of the mix can be good for a kilo of meat or fish. You may pour the mix before or as the meat or fish boils. Once it is cooked, add the vegetables. Sinigang is best served hot with plain rice.
Such seasoning can help make cooking a lot faster. At the same time, it gives you the perfect taste of the dish. For example, if you are cooking adobo, packs of seasoning for adobo are also available in stores and supermarkets.
Keep a collection of such cooking ingredients at your kitchen. This is advisable because in case of an unexpected visit by your in-laws, you do not have to rush to the nearest store and look for the right herbs and spices. Many recipes require a specific type of ingredient. For example, whole garlic goes well for your adobo but if you want to impress your guests with gourmet dishes, you may need garlic in powder, minced, or granulated forms.
This goes well with pepper, which comes with different types. Keeping small bottles of ground and whole black and white pepper can save you a lot of time when cooking. At the same time, your dish can have the ideal taste and appearance.
For hot spices, keep chili powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, ground ginger, and cloves. Different dishes require the exact spicy taste and these ingredients can be valuable.
As to herbs, make sure you have bay leaves, oregano, sage, rosemary, and thyme. These do not just add flavor but also aromatic appeal so your guest can be excited to try your dish.
Be it sage leaves or paprika that you need for other dishes along with your sinigang, it is easy to find brands that specialize on cooking mixes and ingredients.