Confession: Filipino sinigang pork spare ribs is my all-time favorite food. I can eat it multiple times a week and never get tired of it. If I don’t have time to make it, I know five Filipino restaurants within a 10-mile radius that will satisfy my craving.
Sinigang is a tamarind-based soup with pork spare ribs and veggies. Sometimes, it is made with fish like salmon instead of pork spare ribs. The sour punch of the tamarind soup, heat kick from the jalapeno, and the tenderness of the pork spare ribs over rice is what dreams are made of.
When Nate was younger, my BFF Cece would come over and we’d cook. I taught her how to cook sinigang and she tweaked the recipe with all the good leafy veggies I couldn’t decipher at the Asian store. P.S. She knows her Asian leafy veggies…she even showed me how to properly clean them.
We used to heat up two pots of water: one pot was for the first boil and the second pot was for the actual soup.
What is first boil? Ribs are naturally very oily so first boil is when you cook the ribs enough to start making it “sweat the fat” and then you dump the water filled with oil and rib gunk. I know all the good flavoring is in that boil but I like my heart arteries more. After you dump the water (or you can fish out the meat), you put the ribs in the second soup pot. In this case, the second soup pot is the Instant Pot.
The Instant Pot has cut down my cook time significantly. In what used to be a 1.5 hour production on the stove, I can cook this sinigang recipe in less than an hour. I couldn’t find a good Instant Pot recipe online so here it is.
Sinigang Pork Spare Ribs
Filipino sinigang with tender pork spare ribs, a sour tamarind soup base, and lots of Asian green vegetables
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
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First boil ribs in hot pot of water on the stove for 10-15 minutes to get rid of the oil and gunk.
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Turn on Instant Pot to SAUTE.
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Saute onion in cooking oil.
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Place ribs from first boil pot into the Instant Pot.
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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.
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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.
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Once done, natural release (NR) the steam i.e. don't touch it, for 5 minutes. Then, quick release (QR) vent.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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Season with fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
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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.
Kain-na! (Time to eat!)
*This post contains affiliate links so I can continue to feed my army.*
I used this recipe last night. This was my first time making sinigang in the instant pot. So much faster and tender than stove top for an hour. Off to explore your other recipes. Thanks!!
So glad you liked it! Yes, and lightning fast!
Came across this recipe on google and I just have to say thank you!! This tastes just like my Lola’s sinigang but with the convenience of using an instant pot. I’m a terrible cook and this was simple enough to make!
So glad you liked it! Sinigang is really my fave dish!