Food Wars: Sinigang na Baboy and Nilagang Baka
We, Filipinos are huge fans of dishes with soup. We can endure long travels to Tagaytay or Batangas just to sip some broth of either Nilagang Baka or Sinigang na Baboy!
What is Sinigang na Baboy?
It was the kind of day that necessitated a steaming pot of Sinigang na Baboy. I had a steamy bowl of soup, thick with the sourness of tamarind and packed with crisp-tender veggies and succulent ribs. The warmth and taste gave a much-needed comfort against the severe cold weather outside. It was filling, delicious, and the ideal way to warm up!
Sinigang is a traditional Filipino soup with a sour and savory flavor. In the Philippines, it usually serves as a comfort food served alone or with some steamed rice. It is perfect on rainy days to keep the chill at bay.
Sinigang, like adobo, refers to a cooking style rather than a specific dish because there are so many varieties. It can be made with tamarind, guava, green mango, calamansi, kamias, batuan, santol, and other souring agents.
What about Nilagang Baka?
Nilagang Baka a.k.a Bulalo is a Filipino beef soup in which chunks of beef are cooked until very soft. It is also spliced with whole peppercorns and onions. Cabbage, bok choy, long green beans (also known as pechay Baguio), potato, and corn are some of the vegetables that can be used. For simplicity purposes, I only used some of the vegetables that I mentioned. Feel free to stick to the recipe as is or add more vegetables to make the dish more interesting.
What is the difference between Bulalo and Nilagang baka?
The main difference is that Nilagang Baka uses cow meat with or without the bone. Meanwhile, Bulalo uses beef shanks with bone marrow exclusively.
My Verdict
Personally, I’ll go with Sinigang na Baboy ever because of its sour flavor that gives off that asim-kilig. It makes my mouth water just by thinking about it.
What about you? What do you prefer between these traditional Filipino delicacies?
