- Sinigang—it's sour, it's so comforting,
and apparently, it's one of the best soups
in the world according to TasteAtlas.
So what makes it so special and why do Filipinos
have so many different ways of making it?
That's where the main asim kilig kind of thing comes out.
We're here to interrogate, investigate, and most importantly
taste our way through the mysteries of Filipino food.
This is Patikim.
So what makes sinigang distinct?
Well, the secret lies in our very Filipino way
of adding sourness to everything.
And depending on where you live, those ingredients
can vary greatly.
Sinigang is a verb, and versions will vary
throughout the archipelago.
We often associate sour with acid—
sampaloc, batwan, calamansi, etc—
and most souring agents have citric acid.
But I'm wondering if the level of acidity
in our sinigang is what affects its sourness.
What do you think, Professor Ara?
- Thanks, Erwan.
So the total titratable acidity is one of the basic
and simple tests for us to determine the amount of acid.
So when we say amount, that's the concentration
of acid present in our sample.
So when it comes to food, there are different types
of acids present.
And normally, we report the total titratable acidity
on the type of acid.
So right now we will test four samples,
three of which are fruits.
We have the calamansi, the biasong, the batwan,
and then this will be compared to our instant sinigang mix.
There are different types of acid in food.
Each fruit will have a distinct type of acid.
They may not be the same for all of the samples
that we have tested.
So that is one factor in terms of the total titratable acidity
and in terms of the perceived sourness.
So of course, the acids present in the food
will greatly contribute to the sour taste
of a particular dish.
But it is not normally the amount of acid present
in the food which dictates the sourness.
It also is dictated by the type of acid present.
So during titration, the setup is very simple.
***So meron lang tayong burette and then yung reagent, isang base lang and then indicator for the color change, and then yun na yun. So very straightforward naman yung titration procedure. Ayan, nagpipink na siya. So pag nakikita na natin yung pink, ibig sabihin medyo malapit na tayo dun sa endpoint. So malapit ng maneutralize ng base natin yung acid na nasa sample. Yung reporting nito is in terms of the type of the acid. So for example for calamansi, the dominant acid here is citric acid, so irereport natin siya in terms of citric acid. For sinigang, iba iba rin depende sa type ng souring agent. So for tamarind, it's tartaric acid, for calamansi, it's citric acid, for batwan I also think it's citric acid, for kamias, it's oxalic acid. So those different types of acid also have a different perceived sourness. So it doesn't mean also that the amount of acid, the higher the amount of acid present in the sample the higher also the perceived sourness. So it depends on the type of the acid. Among those acid sa food na related to sinigang, yung high level ng degree of perceivable sourness is the tartaric acid. So kaya tamarind yung common na souring agents for sinigang. Ayan. So meron ng kita agad na pink color. So pag mabilis pa mawala yung kulay, ibig sabihin malayo pa sa endpoint. Pag medyo matagal na magdisappear yung pink color, ibig sabihin malapit na sa endpoint or yung total volume ng base na needed to neutralize the acid. Ayan. So that's the endpoint, pink color. So for the instant mix, yung volume na nagamit niya is around 22.5mL so mas konti siya compared sa calamansi kanina. So yung calamansi is, if I'm not mistaken, 55mL. So 55mL yung volume ng base. So for instant mix, 21.5mL, so ibig sabihin mas mataas yung titrated acidity ng calamansi natin na sample. Ibig lang sabihin mas mataas yung volume or concentration ng acid present sa calamansi compared sa instant mix, but it does not necessarily mean na in terms of perceived sourness mas maasim na si calamansi. So when it comes to taste, we have no instrument that can really measure the degree or intensity of a particular taste. So sabi nga the best instrument parin when it comes to detecting taste is our human tongue. So let's try this biasong na walang added water. Tagal di nagpipink. Very acidic. Ang taas ng... oo. So pag mabilis siya matapos, konti lang yung acid. Pag matagal or mas marami yung volume, mas mataas yung acid. So medyo complex kasi yung flavor profile ng sinigang, so parang balance siya ng sweetness, sourness, and saltiness. So ito naka 50mL na tayo pero di parin siya nagneuneutralize so we need more base. So ito diluted na to nagadd na ako ng water pero ang taas parin ng volume needed to neutralize the acid. Ayan. Faint pink, ayan. So 96.3mL yung volume na nagamit for biasong na diluted na, so added water. So very high din yung total titratable acidity present dito. Try natin yung batwan. 10mL. Try natin na as is walang water. So batwan known to na souring agent sa Visayas area naman. Ay konti lang pink agad. For batwan, small lang yung volume around 3mL para mareach niya yung endpoint. More or less calamansi and biasong magkalapit lang, yes. Kasi ito dinilute natin ng water. So yun yung results for these test.
So after conducting the total titratable acidity test,
we found that the batwan has lower total titratable acidity
as compared to the calamansi and the biasong.
As for the instant mix, it has a lower
total titratable acidity also as compared to the biasong
and the calamansi.
So Erwan, based on this test, we can conclude
that we really cannot say that a dish will be sour,
perceived as sour, if it has higher
total titratable acidity,
it still depends on the type of acid present on the dish
and of course, the other flavors in the dish.
So what we can do is we can have a sensory evaluation
of different sinigang dish made or prepared
with different souring agents and let the people taste,
let them decide whether or not the perceived sourness
is acceptable or right for them.
- We need to get to the bottom of this.
So we gathered a group of unsuspecting individuals
to put their taste buds to the test.
Do they perceive sourness in the same way?
- Hey, guys!
- My name is Seth and I'm from Manila.
- Hi! I'm Ina and I'm from Bacolod.
- Hi! I'm Trish and I'm from Manila.
- I'm Martin and I'm from QC—
Quezon City.
- Hi! I'm Nika.
I'm from Misamis Occidental in Mindanao.
- Yo, what's that?
(laughs)
***Calamansi yata to eh. Nagulat ako parang sawsawan eh. Lasang sawsawan kasi.
- I like this one.
It kind of tastes like sinigang mix.
- Okay.
(chuckles)
Wow!
***Gumuguhit eh.
- I'm scared.
***Ito ata yung pinakamaasim. Masakit siya sa ngalangala.
- Christ.
(chuckles)
***Parang nagcacramps yung dito ko, wait lang.
- The whole thing?
I can't bite it.
It's not coming...
***Magpa-pasta ka muna, ate. - Hilaw pa to.
- Disclaimer, I have the lowest tolerance to sourness.
- I inhaled it!
(coughs)
I was like, "Oh, Sour Patch Kids,"
then it just kept going more sour and sour and sour.
My mouth is still watering.
- Okay, okay, okay, I get it.
Sinigang isn't just a soup, it's a cooking technique,
it's a way of life, some may say.
It really is a choose your own sourness adventure.
But why are we Filipinos so obsessed with its tangy
kick and flavor?
We're sitting down with Micky Fenix.
I'm sure she'll have the answers.
- I'm Michaela Fenix.
Sometimes I write under Micky Fenix.
I started writing about food in the 1980s.
It was just a hobby of some sort.
After that, people kept on writing me about their food
because they wanted to showcase their food.
It's always been supposed thing about Filipino food
that we like sour.
But it's not only us, apparently.
It's also our Southeast Asian neighbors, ASEAN,
and then around the world.
Bryan Koh wrote something about that in one book
that we did, and he said sourness apparently
releases serotonin and it's something
that makes us feel good.
I would like to add to that that sourness
actually wets the appetite.
And the Filipino... it's so crazy.
You go to any carinderia, you eat there,
the Filipino diner will always ask for soup,
and usually the soup is sinigang.
So I think that sort of establishes it as something
that we need to have in our meals— something sour.
Also, because we have pickles— atchara.
We need something to balance, let's say,
richness with sour so that you temper
the richness of a food.
So the sourness always has to be there somehow,
you know.
And of course, our penchant for soup.
And I think many Filipinos are like that also in a sense.
Like me.
I mean, when I look at the food and see—
what would enhance the food,
what would make it taste better.
We all have the same preference for sourness also
in our ASEAN neighbors.
I was so surprised.
One time I was researching, and then I saw Malaysia
had singgang and then they use kamias.
So I said to myself, "Doesn't that sound sinigang?"
It's very near us.
But they also have other things apart from that.
I mean, it depends on where in Malaysia you are.
They have all this sort of sour food.
And I said to myself, when we were doing the book
"Table for 10," which is shared ASEAN food,
we thought, "My gosh, we're practically the same."
We just...
Even if...
We did call the food the same, "sinigang," "singgang."
You know?
What's nice about sinigang is you can put in anything
and make it sinigang and make it sour.
So I remember when I was in Cebu, they would always chide me
and say, because I am from Luzon,
"Your sinigang is so sour."
They would always say that.
And then, I would return, "Yours lack sourness."
The difference is there but it's the same in terms
of sour soup.
I think the MSG scare is just too much.
You have soy sauce, which is MSG,
and we use it all the time.
And for me, the mere fact that food companies
are doing convenience food helps in promoting our food
in the world, you know,
so at least people will get to know us through that even if...
Because if we teach them from scratch thing,
it's not going to be appealing to them.
First of all, where will they get the sampaloc, right?
Where will they get the kamias?
It's convenience. Yeah.
It's our culture, our penchant for liking sour things.
- The best thing about understanding a dish
and getting to know it intimately, knowing its history,
trying to understand its context, its milieu,
is that it gives you the tools to kind of appropriate it
subjectively in terms of what you think
is the best version of the dish.
Sinigang is something that we all grew up eating,
we all have that shared memory of it.
But as we've seen, flavor is very personal.
So if you're someone that likes to cook at home,
especially when it comes to Filipino food,
especially one of these dishes that's more of a category,
less of a dish, more of a technique
and a cooking style and less of a prescription,
then it should give you the liberty to eventually
make your own recipe regionalistic.
We can actually get different ingredients
from different parts of the Philippines
and come up with something different.
And I feel the combination of batwan and sampaloc
is absolutely beautiful when it comes to this soup.
Right, Jed? Awesome.
Let's get cooking.
So that goes into our pot here.
And right away with our tomatoes
and my onion.
So these will just be quartered.
All that goes into our pot.
So these will just be quartered.
All that goes into our pot.
Give some water, Jed.
Thank you, sir.
Add your water inside.
With some fish sauce.
Just a little bit for now.
Just a preference, slices of ginger.
And we're gonna wait for that first boil to come up,
and then skim off some of that protein.
So you've got a nice clear-ish broth.
Obviously, this is not supposed to be a clear soup.
If you wanted to be really kind of particular about it,
you could clean it up with, like, a egg white raft
or something.
I'm gonna add some crushed tomatoes here.
There's nothing else in here.
It's just gonna give it a nice color.
And I'm gonna add the tamarind and the batwan in here.
And I think if you're a restaurant...
This is maybe controversial, but personal opinion.
If you're a restaurant, like a proper sit-down restaurant
making sinigang, I really don't think you should be
using sinigang packs,
because you go to restaurants, you know, for food,
be prepared with love, and it should be a labor of love.
And if you're using a pack in a restaurant,
unless it's a fast food place, I really don't think it has
its place there.
But I'm not a hater.
I don't not like it.
I just think there's a time and place for it.
So you'll see the batwan and the tamarind
have kind of doubled in size.
And this has a lot of flavor.
So when you kind of press this down
and you get kind of that milky pulp,
that's where the main "asim kilig" kind of thing comes out.
So this is just a more modern way of doing it.
So basically you could kind of mash it,
but I do feel like there's way more flavor trapped
in there.
So I'm going to go ahead and blend it
because it is soft enough.
So I'm going to transfer all of this into my blender.
Okay, let me blend this.
You can see the color of our brothel
is cooked crazy milky, which is how I like it.
And there's no taro or anything in there, right?
So we got that milkiness just from the tamarind
and the batwan, and that's why I like blending it.
We go in with our radish and with our eggplant.
Our kangkong stems.
And then right before serving, we're gonna add in
our kangkong leaves.
And at this point is when you can kind of season
a little bit, and then we're going to add
more seasoning later as needed.
Try this out.
When I have friends who come to the Philippines
for the first time, you know, I always get asked,
you know, "Where should we go? What should we try?"
and everything.
Filipino food is so diverse, right?
And a lot of what we do here in FEATR talks
about how diverse it is and how many different types
of cuisines and cultures have kind of imbued
the local flavors.
But things that are sour and acidic are so distinct
to a Filipino.
If you were to ask me what is one flavor profile
that makes Filipino food different from the rest,
I would say it is our love for and our penchant
for things that are sour.
And you can see that through dishes like sinigang,
but you can also see it through our sauce.
Our sauces always have something acidic, citric acid,
or has some sort of sourness to it as well,
to balance our love for richness and our love
for kind of fattiness.
Dinuguan—the sourness is also key to make that dish
more palatable.
So Jed brought all his friends.
***- Wow. Bango.
- Okay. Who wants to try it?
- We all want to try it, of course.
- Let's go!
- Did you sauté the...?
- No, boiled it.
- Oh, you boiled it. Okay.
- Did you sauté your stuff for your sinigang?
***- Delikado yung knife. - Grabe para nga siyang may gabi.
- So what do you guys think?
Yes, I used tamarind and batwan.
- Delicious.
- I love the sourness.
- It's also tender.
- So sometimes it's really hard to get the sourness
we now associate with it, but I think this is pretty close.
Like, obviously sinigang pack would be way more sour
than this.
So, final thoughts?
What do you guys think?
- I like it.
- I mean, Trish, do you know when people taste from food,
usually you don't double dip.
- Oh, sorry.
- Oh!
- That's why it became more sour!
- My grandmother said it's going to spoil.
(laughs)
- So I hope you guys have learned something
in this first episode of Patikim.
The idea is to kind of explore Filipino food
through a different lens, sprinkling a little bit of science,
sprinkling a little bit of broscience, and sprinkling all
our subjective biases as well.
This was sinigang.
Who knows what we're going to tackle next.
- It's delicious.
***Actually mas gusto ko yung sinigang na may gabi. Pero yung creaminess niya para siyang may gabi na rin. So it's a yes. - The Jed approved. - Pero mas gusto niya raw yung may gabi, sabi niya. Sabi niya. (laughs) - Pero masarap parin siya, very delicious. - So is it sinigang? - Yes. - Say yes it's sinigang. - Yes, it's sinigang. - Yey! (cheers and applauds) - This is sinigang. Ano kaya yung gagawin namin sa susunod? - Subscribe mga kaFEATR! (laughs)