Sinigang na Dulong sa Kamias

My family loves to eat sinigang. It is one of the most popular Filipino dishes aside from adobo and lechon. There are many variations of sinigang; every region here in the country has their own version of it. It’s that certain sourness that gives sinigang a much-coveted taste.

I lived in Bulacan for 4 years; they used to cook sinigang na baka using guavas. They also use tamarind pods and leaves for their sinampalukang native chicken. My lola who comes from Bulacan uses calamansi and tomatoes for sinigang na sapsap.

A friend of mine from Pampanga called sinigang sa bayabas bulanglang. I was really confused before when she told me that her husband wanted bulanglang but what she bought from the market were ingredients for sinigang sa bayabas. In Tagalog and Ilocos regions, bulanglang is a vegetable dish with bagoong na isda as broth.

In Cebu, a tomato-soured sinigang is called tinowa. In Angono, Rizal, they make barutak, a poor man's sinigang of ayungin flavored with shrimp-head juice.

Aside from the ingredients I mentioned, sinigang broth is also flavored with kamias; santol; green pineapples; green mangoes; green sineguelas; or any sour leaf, fruit or flower.

The accompanying vegetables, which complete the meal in a pot, vary according to what is customary, or in season. Some pinoys use singkamas, alibangbang leaves, leeks and even patola in sinigang. I usually use string beans, eggplant, radishes, okra, taro, onions, and pechay for my sinigang na baboy. Whenever I cook sinigang na bangus or baka sa bayabas, I use banana heart and camote tops. Sinigang na kanduli sa miso (soybean mash) and sinampalukang manok are complemented with mustard green and ginger. But I don’t forget to put tomatoes and green sili to every sinigang recipe I cook.

One of the secrets of tasty sinigang is cook it in rice washing.

Many restaurants here also offer different variations of sinigang. I heard that sinigang na corned beef is really delicious as well as sinigang na lechon. I will try these two one of these days.

I have this not so ordinary sinigang recipe. It is sinigang na dulong sa kamias. Dulong or usually called in English as pygmy goby, dwarf goby or starry goby, is a very small fish which can be eaten with crisp bones just like dilis or ayungin.
I got this recipe from CMC; the maker of Knorr products. Since we’re sinigang addict, I couldn’t help myself but to try different sinigang recipe.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pc small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
1 cup fresh dulong
4 pcs small tomatoes, coarsely chopped
4-4 ½ cups water
1 pack Knorr Sinigang sa Kamias Mix
½ cup sili leaves
siling pansigang (optional)

Procedure:

1. In a sauce pan, heat oil and sauté garlic, onions and ginger. Add the dulong
and cook for about 2 mins. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute more.
2. Add in the water, Knorr Sinigang sa Kamias Mix and sili leaves. Simmer until
leaves are cooked.

Tip: Fresh dulong purchased from the market should be cooked right away to preserve freshness. Malunggay leaves would also be a nice addition to this dish.

I would say that the Sinigang sa Kamias Mix tastes like the real kamias. But as much as possible, use fresh ingredients in cooking.