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Sinigang Pork Spare Ribs

Filipino sinigang with tender pork spare ribs, a sour tamarind soup base, and lots of Asian green vegetables

Course Main Course
Cuisine Filipino
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 10
Author Jenille

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs pork spare ribs cut into squarish cubes - at the Asian store, I just say cut for sinigang
  • 4 tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 tomato quartered
  • 1/2 onion
  • 5 cups water enough to cover ribs
  • 2-3 packets Sinigang tamarind soup base
  • 1/2 jalapeno cut in half lengthwise, de-seeded (unless you want the extra kick, keep seeds)
  • 1 bag fresh green beans
  • 1 bag boy choy or any other dark leafy greens
  • 1 eggplant quartered lengthwise
  • 1/2 head of cabbage cut into quarters
  • fish sauce to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. First boil ribs in hot pot of water on the stove for 10-15 minutes to get rid of the oil and gunk.

  2. Turn on Instant Pot to SAUTE.

  3. Saute onion in cooking oil.

  4. Place ribs from first boil pot into the Instant Pot.

  5. Pour in water enough to cover ribs and toss in one packet of tamarind soup base. I fill the pot 2/3 full of water. Add tomato.

  6. Close lid, make sure your vent knob is set to seal, and press MANUAL high pressure 25 minutes on the display. If you don't want fall-off-the-bone ribs, use 20 minutes.

  7. Once done, natural release (NR) the steam i.e. don't touch it, for 5 minutes. Then, quick release (QR) vent.

  8. Once the lid pin has dropped, carefully remove the lid. You will see a layer of fat on the top of the broth. I use this ladle to skim off the fat. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP. Have you had greasy soup before? Not good.
  9. Turn on Instant Pot back to SAUTE. BUT, if you're cooking like me (yes, for the said army), this is where I transfer the Instant Pot contents to a bigger pot on the stove.
  10. From here, I add more water so that there is enough space for soup and veggies. Add additional packets of tamarind soup base if need be to your liking. I like my sinigang sour!

  11. Start adding the veggies in order of their cook times. I'm never a good estimator of time so some veggies cook faster than others. I usually put them in this order: first green beans and jalapeno; a few minutes later, eggplant; then cabbage and bok choy.

  12. Season with fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

  13. Serve over fresh white rice.

Recipe Notes

  • The Sinigang tamarind soup base packet I use can be found at any Asian market in the packaged soup section. But if are so inclined, you can also work with fresh tamarind too.
  • When I'm adding water to the Instant Pot, it is usually hot water from the kettle. This will help speed up the pot coming to pressure and speed up cook time.