Salmon Head Sinigang sa Bayabas

salmon head, green tomatoes, and yardlong beans in guava broth

Sinigang, the Filipino soup which can be very sour or just slightly sour, is Kulinarya Cooking Club theme for this hot hot month of July. Initially, I was not too enthusiastic; first, because of the heat wave we are having here in the US East coast, and second, although I love sinigang and know by heart how to cook almost all sinigang recipes without using the packaged stuff, unfortunately my family doesn't care for it. After thinking if I should prepare sinigang or skip the challenge, I felt it's no big deal to sweat a little and made a small bowl for KCC and for me, of course, because the last time I had was in 2009 and before that was about 20 years ago. This is only the third time I've cooked sinigang.

Sinigang sa Bayabas (Soup in Guava Broth) was my favorite. My mom used to add a little bit of sugar and she didn't make it too sour either. Her choice of fish was usually milkfish or white kanduli (cream dory?), and occasionally she prepared the soup with thin strips of beef. What I like about sinigang is that I don't have to follow an exact recipe, I just put in whatever souring agent, meat, and vegetables I prefer and season it to suit my taste. I am so glad I made the soup because I really loved the combination of ripe guavas and salmon head, and the green tomatoes and sitaw straight from my garden made the soup a real treat. I had the soup spooned over a mound of hot steamed rice just the way I like. It was delicious and I didn't notice if I perspired while eating. ^_^

Salmon Head in Guava Broth
6 pieces medium size ripe Philippine guavas
4 cups water, divided
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
4 green tomatoes, quartered
2 cups yardlong beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons lemon juice, more or less to taste
1 tablespoon fish extract, plus extra for drizzling
salt to taste
2 tablespoons sugar, more or less to taste
1 salmon head, cut into serving pieces
2 hot green finger peppers

• Cut each guava into 8 pieces. Place in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes or until guavas are very soft and mushy. Strain and press as much pulp through a very fine sieve over a larger saucepan. Discard the seeds and guava pulp that remains in the sieve.
• Add the rest of the water and onions to the saucepan and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the next 6 ingredients and gently boil for 5 minutes or until yardlong beans are half cooked. Add salmon head and green peppers; simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes or until salmon is fully cooked. Serve over hot rice drizzled with fish extract, if desired.

Please visit the blogs of my fellow KCC members for delicious sinigang preparations. 

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Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney (Kath, Trisha, and Trissa), who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.

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