Something Hot, Something Cold in Philippine Foods

ARE you tired of eating the same food day after day? Why not let Alinga Maria treat you to a simple mango sinigang? Aling Maria lives in Bay, Laguna, south of Manila, and she would be delighted to prepare this delicious Philippine soup for you. How does she go about it?

First she picks a few fat, green (unripe) mangoes, and selects some fiery little red or green peppers from her small garden to liven up the taste. Then she scurries to the market to buy a milkfish, although sinigang can also be made with prawns, shrimp, beef or pork. Since it is basically a soup, the amount of ingredients you use is largely up to you, but this time Aling Maria buys two fist-sized juicy red tomatoes, several pieces of okra, string beans, an eggplant, a couple of long, white turnips and plenty of young kangkong leaves. If you don’t live in the Philippines, you may not have kangkong leaves, but spinach or any other edible leaf will taste good too.

When Aling Maria returns home, she slices the mango into thin pieces and drops them into a pot half filled with boiling water. These will be cooked for a while to flavor the broth. When they are soft, she takes them out and mashes them with a fork, so that more flavor is extracted and the pulp and the juice can again be added to the soup. Is it hard to buy green mangoes where you live? Do you have sour green apples, or even green tomatoes? Cooking these in water in the same way as the mango will give the characteristic tart flavor of sinigang. You could even use lemon juice.

While the soup is cooking, Aling Maria cleans and halves the milkfish and then places the pieces in the broth. The tomatoes she crushes with her fingers, dropping juice and pulp into the pot, followed by the okra, string beans and turnips cut to whatever size you prefer for eating. The green leaves and peppers will be added last, since they need very little cooking. Salt and pepper may be added to taste.

This is a very easy dish to make and can be done with so many different kinds of ingredients that it is often eaten more than once a week. It should be served piping hot with plenty of freshly cooked rice.

Something Cold

How will Aling Maria refresh you after the sinigang? Well, until you have tried her halo-halo deluxe, you haven’t really gone native. Into a tall glass she puts spoonfuls of “this and that,” which is what halo-halo means. Almost any fruit can be included​—ripe mango, avocado, banana, strawberry or whatever you like most. The distinctive Filipino touch calls for sweetened jackfruit, pinipig (roasted rice flakes), boiled red beans (yes, beans!) and chunks of macapuno (soft flesh of young coconut). To this concoction Aling Maria adds cream, brown sugar and lots of finely shaved ice, all to be topped off with a scoop of your favorite ice cream. Stir with a long spoon, and you will have something really special to quench your thirst.

Let’s say “thank you” before we go: Maraming salamat po, Aling Maria!

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