Rains happen so that we can enjoy a hot bowl of heartwarming, comforting soup. And the best are those which are easy to prepare, which can be partnered with anything (like a ton of rice), and totally a must for feeling good deep down. Like a clear, STEAMING bowl of ‘sinigang’...SO sour, it will give you laugh lines! But what if it’s ‘Sinigang na Lechon’?!

I heard about this soup from my sister Corito Reyes so many years ago. After a meeting at the Manila Pavilion, she went to the parking lot and overheard some men planning what they would eat for lunch. She heard two of them remark that they were already sawa sa lechon. Curious, she checked them out and saw that they had a huge bowl of cut-up lechon. These men were casino dealers from the upstairs Casino Filipino and they were on their lunch break. Every time someone hits a jackpot, there’s a big blowout and, more often than not, the treat would be lechon.

Too many winners, too many blowouts, lechon to them had already become common fare. Besides, one other dealer in the pack commented: “Parang sinusugal na namin ang high blood namin sa kakakain ng lechon o’ paksiw na lechon!” Ironic, huh...what a quandary!

Perhaps one of them thought of it and bought a pack of instant sinigang mix. And this stirred up a new style with the nation’s favorite cholesterol.

Yes, why not? Sinigang na lechon! When I heard my sister’s account, we immediately bought a kilo of lechon, prepared sinigang broth and voila! We were partaking of a “new” dish. The taste? The smokey taste and aroma of the lechon blended so well with the sourness of the broth that you’d want to catch the flavor blend in every sip. The ending note is a rounded sour-umami taste you can’t forget easily.

Panalo!

TAKE it from the Pinoy to think of recipe innovations. There’s Sinigang na Lechon, and also the now-famous Sinigang na Corned Beef served in Glorietta’s Sentro restaurant, an innovation by Chef  Vicky Rose Pacheco. The dish has become so popular that other kinds of sinigangs have paled in comparison. I like the extra service that Sentro has for its sinigang patrons—they ask the diners for their asim preference and “custom-sour” the soup accordingly.

Personally, I like very sour sinigang, the kind that will make you giggle while sipping the broth. Nothing beats the refreshing feeling after a few sips, and the sweat that follows really lowers the body heat. Coolness from a piping hot soup is another irony—but it adds up!

The Sinigang na Lechon is also being served at the elegant Filipino cuisine place named Pino, in the heart of Cebu. Pino is one of the most popular havens for fine Filipino cuisine which locals and tourists patronize. Imagine the best Cebu lechon, lending its famous flavor to sinigang!

Sinigang na Balut

ANOTHER unique sinigang is that of Ms. Cely Kalaw of Tita Cely’s Sinigang Bar. Once in a while, she serves Sinigang na Balut. Simple: prepare your favorite sinigang broth and throw in the veggies and make sure the broth is piping hot. Just before serving, crack a balut, and don’t waste the au just...put all into the broth and you will have a funky yet tasty umami Sinigang na Balut.

Here, then, are the very simple procedures to prepare Sinigang na Lechon, plus some tips on preparing the perfect sinigang broth from scratch, from the Sinigang Bar Queen herself, Ms. Cely Kalaw.

Sinigang na Lechon

1 kilo cut-up lechon

1 pack sinigang mix (prepare according to package)

about 150 gms over-ripe tomatoes

1 medium onion, chopped

a bundle of mustasa leaves

the usual sinigang veggies: talong, sitaw, okra, kangkong, etc.

In a big stock pot, bring the water to a boil and add the sinigang powder. Get the tomatoes and crush, mash, tear apart with your hand and add to the broth. Add in the onion and let boil for about 10 minutes so that the broth flavor sets in. When boiling, add the lechon, lower the heat to a simmer. Before serving, drop the  sinigang veggies, cover pot and cook for 5 minutes.

Ms. Cely Kalaw’s Tips

1. Never ever use a knife to cut the tomatoes. Ms. Kalaw said, “Use only your hands. This is the ultimate secret for the best sinigang soup.”

2. For balut—order them balut sa puti, which are from 14 to 16 days only. Bigger or older baluts will not look appetizing.

3. For Sinigang na Lechon, if you want to “thin” down the cholesterol, scrape off the fats from the skin and meats before adding to the soup.

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