Sunday, January 22, 2006

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.










12 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi lani..thanks for dropping by my site..at last you can post a comment na! sorry again about that..
incidentally, sinigang na baka sa bayabas was my LP4 entry..my mom makes it a lot esp. when i'm home from abroad..hehe..spoiled..love it!
karen also asked me if it was the same as bulanglang, just like what you said bulanglang for the ilocanos has bagoong..but come to think of it..it somehow tastes the same, right?

Kai said...

True, there's a whole gamut of sourness from using different souring ingredients, much as there are many islands in the country. The glaring difference I've experienced is that in the Visayas their sinigang is bland, just a hint of tomato and ginger, while the Tagalogs like sweet sinigang (as well as sweet nilaga, for that matter, adding saging to it), and in the Ilocos tarty sourness is prized. But I had to laugh at that bulanglang as sinigang episode.

I've seen aquarium fishes in sinigang in the Visayas, but first time I came across dulong in a sinigang, though. I only cook them in torta or as pate. How did you like them?

Nick Ballesteros said...

Lani, I have tried sinigang na corned beef and it was indeed delicious. Sa Glorietta sya. I posted about it last year too but rely on my memory to recall the name of the restaurant :-).

I was wondering what Dulong was. Thank you for the explanation. And yes, bulanglang in our home in Baguio means veggies with bagoong as soup base. Parang dinengdeng sya :-).

Anonymous said...

hello lani,
i might try this one,looks good specially noe its snowing here....hmmmmmmmmm yummy soup!

Lani said...

Tin:
I'll do the meme in my other blog.

Kalungkot naman pala pag winter diyan walang fresh fish na available. Bawi ka na lang kapag abundant na ang supply.

Ces:
Yes! sa wakas nakapag-post din ako ng comment :)

Parehong masarap talaga.

Kai:
Nalito talaga ako doon, tagal na namang magkausap di pala kami nagkakaintindihan :)

Watson:
Really? I heard sa Cafe Bola daw nasa menu rin nila ito.

I love bulanglang and dinendeng.

Eden:
Hay, hirap namang magpapayat kasi ang sarap talagang kumain laluna at malamig grrrr......

God bless all.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lani! Your sinigang sounds delicious! I too am curious...how was the dulong? I love how we have a ton of sinigang versions, all the more to discover and savor :)

Anonymous said...

lani my cebuano has slipped I have been calling this cooking sinigang i forgot the cebuano word

thank you for TINOWA...great research on variety of names for this sinigang.

my sour taste is triggered now

Kai said...

I think that sinigang na corned beef is at "Sentro" in Glorietta 4, beside Bubba Gump's.

Lani said...

Joey:
Next time, I'll post the pic of dulong.

How's the preparation?

Sha:
You're welcome!!!

Kai:
Thanks, I'll try this pag nagawi sa Ayala.

God bless all...

Anonymous said...

hey lani, i love sinigang. YUM!!! I love your other blog too but i have trouble seeing as I dont understand tagalog (other than words such as "bangus" "turon" "mabuhay" "my sarap" "longanisa" and i can go on with the food. lol

Anonymous said...

step 1 isn't necessary, you dont need to saute it. just boil the meat with tomato and onion(this is what will add flavor to the dish aside from the sour ingredient). and when the meat's already soft enough to eat, add the souring ingredient and follow through with veggies.

Lani said...

@Tanya - it's my pleasure, you can use my link.