Sinigang na Baka is a type of timeless dishes that brings again recollections of chilly days and comfy meals. This hearty beef soup incorporates a wealthy, tangy broth that pairs completely with tender meat and greens. In case you’re craving one thing heat, comforting, and deeply acquainted, it is a recipe value making.
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Sinigang na Baka has all the time been certainly one of my go-to dishes, particularly on chilly or wet days. Again after I was within the Philippines, I’d normally cook dinner this when the skies began turning grey and the climate begged for one thing sizzling and comforting. Once I moved to the US, I continued making it typically, particularly after I lived in Chicago. Winters there have been no joke, and nothing warmed me up higher than an enormous bowl of bitter beef soup full of tender meat and greens.

There’s simply one thing in regards to the tamarind primarily based broth that hits the spot. The sort that makes you return for additional rice with out even pondering. It’s easy, it’s acquainted, and it all the time brings that sense of dwelling. This model with beef bones, taro, leafy greens, and a full load of greens is one I’ve made numerous occasions. It by no means will get outdated.
What’s Sinigang na Baka?
Sinigang na Baka is a Filipino bitter soup made with beef and quite a lot of greens, simmered in a broth that will get its tangy taste from tamarind. The phrase “sinigang” refers back to the cooking technique, which entails boiling meat and greens in a bitter broth.
This beef model is heartier than different varieties, due to the richness that develops from gradual simmering. The meat bones give the soup a full bodied style, and the mixture of greens provides colour, texture, and diet. It’s the type of consolation meals that works simply as properly for a weekday meal because it does for a weekend gathering.
Components for Sinigang na Baka
Right here’s what you’ll want, and why every ingredient issues:
4 lbs beef neck bones – These create a wealthy, meaty broth and provides the soup deep taste. The meat additionally turns into tender after gradual cooking.
50 grams tamarind soup combine (Maggi Magic Sinigang) – This offers the soup its signature bitter taste with simply the correct amount of tang.
15 inexperienced beans, minimize into 2 inch items – These add colour and crunch, they usually maintain up properly within the broth.
5 taro roots, peeled – Taro helps thicken the soup barely and turns delicate and creamy because it cooks.
2 Chinese language eggplants, sliced diagonally – Eggplant turns into tender and absorbs the flavour of the broth properly.
3 lengthy inexperienced peppers – These add aroma and only a contact of warmth that enhances the general taste.
10 items okra – Okra provides a barely earthy notice and contributes to the thickness of the soup.
1 white radish (daikon), roll minimize – This provides a gentle sweetness and balances out the sourness of the broth.
4 plum tomatoes, wedged – Tomatoes increase the savory and barely tangy style of the broth.
3 cloves garlic, minced – Garlic lays down the bottom taste and brings a heat aroma to the soup.
3 onions, wedged – Onions give a delicate sweetness and add depth to the broth.
1 quart rice water – This provides physique to the broth and is a standard base for a lot of Filipino soups.
1 quart water – Helps regulate the amount of the soup because it simmers.
1 bunch water spinach, leaves solely – These cook dinner shortly and convey a contemporary, barely earthy taste to the completed dish.
1 tablespoon beef powder – Enhances the general taste of the soup and provides it a savory increase.
Fish sauce to style – Used for seasoning. It provides salt and depth to the broth.


How one can Cook dinner Sinigang na Baka
Let’s break this down into six simple steps:
- Sauté the aromatics – In a big pot, warmth some oil and sauté the garlic, onions, and half of the tomatoes. Cook dinner till the onions soften. That is your taste base.
- Brown the meat – Add the meat neck bones and cook dinner till the outer half begins to brown. This step helps carry out the meat taste early.
- Simmer with rice water – Pour within the rice water and convey it to a boil. As soon as boiling, decrease the warmth and let it simmer till the meat turns into very tender. Skim off any foam or impurities from the highest.
- Add the souring combine and root greens – Stir within the tamarind soup combine and beef powder. Add the taro and white radish. Let all the pieces cook dinner till the taro is delicate.
- Add extra greens – Add the remainder of the tomatoes, the eggplant, and the inexperienced peppers. Let this cook dinner for about 5 minutes. Then add the okra and inexperienced beans and simmer for one more 5 minutes.
- Season and end with leafy greens – Season the broth with fish sauce. Add the water spinach leaves final, letting them wilt for a few minute. Serve sizzling with steamed white rice.
Useful Suggestions
- Use bony cuts of beef. Neck bones or brief ribs are perfect for taste and texture.
- Be affected person with simmering. Tender meat takes time. Low warmth and lengthy simmering will carry the very best outcomes.
- Layer the greens. Add the agency greens first and the fragile ones final to keep away from overcooking.
- Begin mild on the bitter combine. You’ll be able to all the time add extra when you prefer it extra tangy. Style the broth earlier than adjusting.
- Use clear rice water. Ensure that to make use of the water from rinsing raw rice. It provides a pleasant contact to the broth’s consistency.


Greatest Methods to Get pleasure from Sinigang na Baka
The easiest way to take pleasure in this dish is with freshly cooked white rice. Spoon some broth over the rice and revel in it with a bit of tender beef and a mixture of greens. The mix of sizzling soup and delicate rice is what makes sinigang such a satisfying meal.
Some folks like including a dipping sauce made with fish sauce and crushed chili, which provides the meat an additional punch of taste. And in case you have leftovers, even higher. Sinigang all the time tastes even higher the subsequent day.
How This Sinigang na Baka Stands Out
This model stands out due to its full bodied broth, due to beef neck bones and using rice water as a base. As a substitute of simply counting on water, the starch from the rice water helps make the soup a bit thicker and extra conventional in texture.
The mix of greens, from root crops like taro and radish to delicate greens like water spinach, provides layers of texture and taste. Plus, the stability of tangy, savory, and earthy makes this model one thing you’ll preserve coming again to.
What to Have with Sinigang na Baka
If you wish to spherical out the meal, listed here are some nice aspect dishes:
- Fried Pompano – A crispy fried fish like pompano or tilapia is an ideal match for the soup’s bitter broth.
- Grilled Squid – Provides a smoky and savory taste that goes properly with the soup
- Fried Tuyo – A pointy, salty aspect that enhances the nice and cozy broth and rice.


Urged Recipes
In case you loved Sinigang na Baka and wish to strive extra comforting Filipino favorites, listed here are some recipes you’ll love:
- Hen Binakol – It is a aromatic rooster soup cooked in coconut water with lemongrass and younger coconut meat. It’s mild, flavorful, and ideal for wet days.
- Bicol Specific – A wealthy and spicy stew made with pork, coconut milk, and chili peppers. It’s daring, creamy, and filled with taste.
- Hen Tinola – This ginger primarily based rooster soup with inexperienced papaya and chili leaves is straightforward, nourishing, and full of fresh flavors.
- Pata Kare Kare – A thick peanut stew made with tender pork leg, served with greens and greatest loved with shrimp paste on the aspect.
- Batchoy Tagalog – A garlicky soup with no noodles, made with pork and liver, flavored with ginger and fish sauce. It’s rustic, hearty, and deeply comforting.
Whether or not you grew up consuming this dish or you are attempting it for the primary time, Sinigang na Baka is a type of meals that brings consolation regardless of the place you might be. It’s heat, filling, and filled with taste that reminds you of dwelling. You probably have been craving one thing that hits all the suitable notes, that is the recipe to make. Give it a attempt to let me know the way it seems for you. Don’t forget the rice.
Did you make this? In case you snap a photograph, please make certain tag us on Instagram at @panlasangpinoy or hashtag #panlasangpinoy so we are able to see your creations!


Sinigang na Baka
A comforting Filipino beef soup simmered in a tangy tamarind broth with tender cuts of beef and contemporary greens.
Directions
Sauté garlic, onions, and half the variety of tomatoes till the onions soften.
4 items plum tomatoes, 3 cloves garlic, 3 items onions, 3 tablespoons cooking oil
Add the meat after which proceed to sauté till it browns.
4 lbs. beef neck bones
Pour the rice water. Cowl the pot and let the liquid boil. Simmer till the meat tenderizes utterly. Add water as wanted. Observe: Scrape off the scums utilizing a fats skimmer spoon.
1 quart rice water, 1 quart water
Add Maggi Magic Sinigang sa Sampaloc Combine and beef powder. Stir.
50 grams Maggi Magic Sinigang sa Sampaloc, 1 tablespoon beef powder
Add the taro root and daikon radish. Cowl and proceed cooking till the taro softens.
5 items taro root, 1 piece daikon radish
Put the eggplant, remaining tomatoes, and lengthy inexperienced peppers into the cooking pot. Proceed cooking for five minutes.
2 items Chinese language eggplant, 4 items plum tomatoes, 3 items lengthy inexperienced pepper
Season with fish sauce.
Fish sauce to style
Add the okra and string beans. Proceed cooking for one more 5 minutes.
10 items okra, 15 items string beans
Add the water spinach.
1 bunch water spinach
Cook dinner for 1 minute.
Switch to a serving bowl. Serve sizzling with rice.
Vitamin Data
Energy: 925kcal (46%) Carbohydrates: 21g (7%) Protein: 57g (114%) Fats: 68g (105%) Saturated Fats: 24g (120%) Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g Monounsaturated Fats: 31g Trans Fats: 4g Ldl cholesterol: 215mg (72%) Sodium: 473mg (20%) Potassium: 1524mg (44%) Fiber: 8g (32%) Sugar: 10g (11%) Vitamin A: 2331IU (47%) Vitamin C: 49mg (59%) Calcium: 184mg (18%) Iron: 9mg (50%)