THE BEST SOUP IN THE WORLD (Sinigang)

- 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 sampalo? 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 Batuan and Sao Paulo 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.