Sinigang na Baboy sa Pakwan

From the Pampanga region of the Philippines comes this sour soup with a watermelon twist. For something different, ask your butcher to corn the beef brisket for you. Don’t use silverside, as the beef needs to have some fat for the soup to really shine.

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 Kilos watermelon, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks
2 C sliced tomatoes, seeded
1 K pork spareribs, cut into chunks
2 pcs large taro roots (gabi), peeled, sliced
1 large onion, quartered
2 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
4 pcs finger chillies (siling haba)
1 bundle string beans (sitaw), cut into 2" long
1 bundle Swamp cabbage or water spinack (Kangkong), trimmed, washed
Salt or fish sauce (patis) to taste
200 gms tamarind, boiled, softened in 1 C water

Instructions:

1. Extract the tamarind juice by passing the water with boiled tamarind through a sieve and squeeze juices more out.

2. Blanch the pork spareribs in a pot of boiling water. This step is to remove the impurities.

3. In another clean pot, arrange the watermelon at the bottom. Then add in the tomatoes, taro roots, then the blanched spareribs. Add in the tamarind juice and around 10 cups of water. Cook over high heat until boiling, then simmer until meat is cooked and the watermelon are soft and mushy. This will take around 1 hour.

4. Start adding the vegetables starting with the finger chillies and the string beans. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes until the vegetables are crisp tender.

5. Add in the onions and stems of the water spinach. After about 1 minute, add in the leaves of the water spinach.

6. Season with salt or preferably fish sauce to taste. Serve piping hot with lots of rice.