Here we go again…another super typhoon bearing straight down on Metro Manila. As if we needed yet another howler to take off our roofs, wreak havoc with the electric lines, destroy our just replaced capiz garden lights, outdoor Christmas decor, replanted garden, re-stocked freezers, etc. I already had to cancel a planned Christmas office dinner with my team flying in from Cebu, still wondering if I can paksiw an entire 20 kilo lechon ordered for the event, worried about supplies for the next week or two… Hmmm, so at the risk of going off-line for several days with a blackout, I am writing this post now on the Top 20 Soup recipes I have featured in this blog over the past two years. Please click the links to get to the original posts and recipes. I hope all of you based in Luzon and especially those in the path of the storm code named “Durian” of all fruits, remain safe and out of harm’s way in the next day or two…
Without question, the sour soups or sinigangs are definitely my favorites:
1. Sinigang na Bangus a la Marketman – a heady broth of unripe guavas with fish and vegetables…an all-star creation, fantastic. First photo up top.
2. Sinigang na Sugpo – sour broth of unripe tamarind made from scratch with large prawns…so simple, so easy to make, and so incredibly delicious.
3. Sinigang na Baboy – Pinoys and baboy (pork) are made for each other. This rich soup is tasty and cholesterol-laden…pop a Crestor and enjoy it nonetheless.
4. Sinigang na Hipon at Kamias – A variation on the prawn soup, but this one made with Kamias or Iba, a sour fruit.
5. Sinampalukang Manok – Not strictly a sinigang unless I titled it Sinagang na Manok! – yet the concept is the same a soured broth of tamarind fruit and/or tamarind leaves with chicken
6. Tinowa a la Cebu – Not sure where to put this, as Cebuano soups are generally not sour, but this is the staple soup where my grandparents came from (two versions presented here)…
Are your lips puckering yet and salivary glands going on overdrive???
Chicken broth/soups are a universal soother and Filipino soups are no exception…here are my favorites (I could have easily put Sinampalukang Manok in this grouping as well) with a few foreign ones thrown into the grouping as well…
7. Tinolang Manok – A simple but always satisfying chicken Soup. A Classic any Filipino could probably name from its smell and taste, even if blindfolded.
8. Binakol na Manok – A slightly more complex version of tinola but with young coconut added and perhpas some lemongrass. I love this soup as well.
9. Ham & Chicken Soup a la Marketman – An invented soup, inspired by a Pinikpikan, this is my all-time favorite self-invented soup. Utterly satisfying, surprisingly easy. If you haven’t tried this soup, make this first out of all of my recipes. Trust me, you will like it.
10. Pesang Manok – Another simple and satisfying version, here with some potatoes.
11. Pospas/Arroz Caldo – A hybrid soup of Chinese origin, a favorite for those down with a cold or the flu. I like mine well-flavored with patis (fish sauce) and lots of ginger.
12. Indonesian Soto Ayam – The flavors of turmeric/galangal are just terrific and this was my default soup when I worked in Jakarta.
13. Chicken Sotanghon – another hybrid, the mouthfeel of the sotanghon and the comforting chicken broth is always welcome.
Ham broth plays a big role in soups in our home. It is flavorful, tastes like it took hours when it didn’t and is very economical. When in doubt, I throw in a ham bone for flavor and complexity. I could have included my version of pinikpikan here as well…
14. Sabaw na Kundol, Hamon at Sugpo – a version of a Chinese soup that I made one day and is a house favorite.
15. Ham Broth with Sotanghon & Chicken Balls – A variation on a theme.
16. Split Pea & Ham Soup – Easy, nutritious and stores well in the freezer.
And let’s not forget the boiled meats:
17. Nilagang Baka – Beef broth with chunks of beef.
18. Puchero/Cocido – Another top placer in the Marketman household. Involved, time-consuming, lots of ingredients but totally worth it when you have a crowd over for dinner. A totally festive Sunday or clan gathering soup/meal.
Last, but not least, two Italian inspired favorites that are utterly brilliant as well:
19. Pasta e fagioli – Pasta and noodles in a nice tomatoey broth…great for cold or stormy days.
20. Cioppino a la Marketman – The pinnacle of chi-chi soupdom, with outrageously extravagant ingredients… a show stopper and conversation piece soup. Second photo up top.
12 Responses
the sinigangs sound good even for the hot and humid spell we’ve been having here in davao. MM, in case you’re stuck with one lechon and no party, you need not paksiw everything. you can freeze a quarter and turbo that (hehe, am taking after your “judicious” use of nouns as verbs) later, and it will come out crisp and delicious (“healthier” pa, i think, because some of the oil will drain out during cooking). the rest you can use for a sort of chinese adobo (with star anise or maybe some of your 5-spice powder), sinigang, and nilagang lechon, which is my family’s all-time favorite. (sometimes we buy lechon legs just to cook into nilaga!).
Hot soup during a strom is the best! Thanks for a great round up :) Binakol is definitely a favorite of mine, as well as sinigang. My husband does a great sinigang with beef short ribs…falling of the bone meat and a delicious broth! He is our official sinigang maker so I’ll shar this post with him :)
Keep safe during the storm!
First and foremost, I trust that you and your family are fine. The roof can always be fixed but life and safety is the most important. I hope the strong wind will find its path somewhere where no one will be affected – lives and properties. Lechon in a flour tortilla with lots of cheese is very good warm it up in oven or stove top- quesadilla with tomato salsa and guacamole on the side it is to die for. With all the soups you listed above even a finicky palate will love them all with a good patis on the side and bowls of rice, I am in heaven.
“Pinoys and baboy are made for each other.” With eye popping insane lines like this I have become addicted to your blog. Mabuhay ka.
I’d love to try my hand at making some stone soup. =)
In general though I’m not too sure if Filipinos a soup-eating people. Or maybe that’s just my family — every time I cook soup for dinner I end up with enough leftovers to last a week.
Here’s a post-Thanksgiving sabaw… Here in Hawaii, lugaw/pospas is known as “jook”. This past Tuesday I made some jook for my officemates with the frozen leftover turkey and rice from our office Thanksgiving party last Wednesday. I thawed out the frozen leftovers freezer on Monday afternoon, brought it home to cook on MOnday night. I sauteed a few pieces of ginger, cut in larger pieces so it can easily be discarded, followed by garlic and onion; threw in the leftover turkey, diced in cubes, fried until almost golden brown (BTW, this gives a nice color to the soup, in case you don’t have kasubha or saffron). Refrigerated the sauteed mix.. Brought in a crock pot, chopped green onions and a couple cans of chicken broth Tuesday morning so I can assemble the pospas at the lunchroom before starting work (Got to work before 7:30 am!). I placed the sauteed turkey into the crock pot, rinsed out the guisadong turkey container with water to remove the pieces of garlic and onion stuck on the sides, added the leftover rice, followed by chicken broth, and left the crock pot on low. By lunch time, we had our lugaw ready, and we just added the green onions before serving.
BTW, Pesang Manok was also a family favorite. Back then, we used the Purefood Chorizo de Bilbao. Here I use Marca Rey Chorizo de Bilbao, which seems to be on the drier side, ie less fatty. Somehow, Marca Rey isn’t as flavorful as Purefoods. M
oops, I pressed the button too soon… more on Pesang Manok: My mom substitutes pepperoni for chorizo de bilbao in her pesang manok.
Hope this typhoon does not cause too much damage!
@ Foodie – I think the word “jook” comes from the cantonese word for lugao
@ Marketman – I love the sabaw ng kundol,ham and sugpo. Suggest that you omit the sugpo next time and add quartered shitake mushroom and asparagus to the broth. As for ham, one version I loved had salty Chinese ham in tiny bits, but having tried prosicutto recently, I think it would work as well, as it would give the soup a quick salty burst in the mouth.
MM, what do you call the seafood soup on the second picture? Do you have a post for its recipe too? Thanks.
MRJP, the second photo is the Cioppino, it is the last link in the post above…
aridelros, I like bulalo, I just haven’t made it myself yet… but one of these days…
Marketman…
Nice collection of soup dishes…i love most of your postings… specially i cant eat without soup beside any of my meal…it has to be always with soup dish…anytime of the year even in hot summertime…
But i noticed you miss some of the Filipino All time favorites specially True Blue bloodied Ilocanos… Its the Ilocano version of PINAPAITAN ( with pinispis as bitter flavoring)…its a soup of mixed internal organs of either baka, kambing or kalbaw…its a exotic food…my all time favorite>>.I recomend you can try it and come up with your own marketman version..
And Also how about Sinigang sa MISO? and LAUYA( PIG SKULL deskined) nilaga buto buto with green papaya as vegies its a ilocano style nilaga…