When Locavore first opened, it made waves for its novel, well-executed takes on homestyle Filipino cuisine. The establishment continues to dominate countless Instagram feeds, with one dish at the forefront of all the hype: sizzling sinigang.
This dish recalibrates the classic braised dish into a crispy, char-grilled indulgence. Instead of a soup, a thick, sinigang-flavored gravy blankets the dish. The result is an intense yet well-balanced stew-like treat.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 10 shallots or baby red onions
- 650g pork belly, cubed
- 100ml water
- 1 pack sinigang mix
- 1 seafood cube
- 1 bunch kangkong
- 125g string beans or French beans
- 12–15 cherry tomatoes
- 5–10 calamansi
- 5g cornstarch
Roast onions: Preheat oven to 375°F. Place red onions in foil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
Cook pork: Place cubed pork belly in a pressure cooker with oil and water and cook for 20 minutes. Remove meat and liquid from the pressure cooker. Alternatively, combine pork belly with oil and water in a pot over high heat. Once water is boiling, reduce heat to low and cook pork until fork-tender, at least 40 minutes.
Make sinigang: Heat braising liquid in a pot over high heat. Add sinigang mix, seafood cube, and 100ml water. Once the mixture is boiling, blanch kangkong for 30 seconds, then set aside. Blanch beans for 2 minutes; set aside. Let mixture boil, uncovered, until liquid has reduced by half.
Make slurry: In a small bowl, combine calamansi and cornstarch. Mix until smooth and add slurry to the pot. Once the liquid starts to thicken, remove from heat and strain through a sieve. Keep warm.
Sear pork belly and tomatoes: Heat oil in a pan, ideally cast-iron, over high heat. Add pork belly and sear until all sides are browned. Set aside. In the same pan, roast cherry tomatoes for 2 minutes.
Plate and serve: Assemble pork belly, roasted onions, beans,and kangkong on the cast-iron pan or serving plate. Pour sauce on top of the plated dish and serve.
Notes
You can use a toaster to roast the red onions.
You can also tenderize the pork by boiling it in water and oil on a stovetop.
If not using a cast-iron skillet to plate, you can use a regular pan to cook the pork belly, tomatoes, and onions; then assemble on a serving plate instead.
