There was a time when I only cooked a new dish if I had a reliable and detailed recipe. But lately I have been getting a bit more adventurous and attempt dishes that I have never even seen cooked for me before, nor with the benefit of a recipe or someone who can coach me with respect to a particular dish. In other words, cooking blind but hopefully with a decent set of taste buds… and a lot less fear of total failure and an inedible result. This time around I was curious about a sinigang flavored with batuan or batwan but since I have made dozens of sinigangs before, I was hopeful this would turn out okay…
In a medium sized pot, add some chopped tomatoes and onions and saute briefly. Add some water, I used about a liter or so, then I added 1/2 bottle of batuan puree (maybe 6-8 tablespoons worth. Boil this for about 10 minutes and season with rock salt. There were so many floaties in the broth at this point, not to mention seeds, so I decided to strain the broth and mash the batuan pulp… not sure if this is kosher but it resulted in a smoother 
broth, albeit with batuan mash floating around in it. Next, I added chopped radish (labanos), long beans (sitaw), eggplant (talong) and eventually the bangus pieces and kangkong. Adjust seasoning to your taste. The result? Excellent. I like the subtle sourness of the batuan. It is a good second or third placer to a classic sampaloc broth (my favorite) and I also like guava broths… It didn’t photograph as well as the santol sinigang, but I can assure you the batuan version was finished first in our household. Will defnitely be doing this again…thank goodness I bought several bottles of batuan! The main advantage of this soup over a sampaloc broth from scratch is that this takes far less time… I wonder why this souring agent never took root in Cebu… come to think of it, not too many soups in Cebu are that sour at all.
Haven’t had your fill of sinigang yet? Here are some other recipes:
Sampalok / Tamarind Broth from Scratch
Sinigang na Sugpo / Prawns in Tamarind Broth
Sinigang na Bangus at Bayabas
Sinigang na Hipon at Kamias
Sinampalukang Manok / Chicken & Tamarind Soup
Sinigang na Baboy
Sinigang na Bangus at Santol
17 Responses
sounds like real comfort food. I was wondering if batuan is readily available in metro manila. where can we buy it? and how does it look like? thanks in advance for enlightening me.
That was quick MM! I was just reading about the Batuan and now here you are with the dish. My Mom is from Iloilo, i think she’ll like this. I’ll be on the lookout for Batuan. Thanks!
I’ve been seeing a lot of bottled batuan lately in groceries. This is a staple couring ingredient in our household, together with kamias. More than sampaloc. I specifically love this with fresh fish! Like bulgan (not sure what that’s called here in Manila). Not really sinigang but just nilaga with batuan giving a very slight sourness.
*Post copied from the other sinigang section
Hi MM! Here’s another sinigang variation that you might want to try. I usually cook Sinigang na Isda using Green Mangoes. The big fish heads are just right for this. I just add onion, sliced green mangoes, green finger chilies and salt. I find that if you add tomatoes, it affects the flavor a lot. After simmering for 15 minutes or so, I then add the fish heads and chilies then turn off the fire. The fish usually cooks by itself in 5 minutes or so. What results is a savory fish sinigang thats not too “fishyâ€. Perfect with some patis on the side. Kangkong may also be added but I would suggest that it be cooked separately since kangkong also imparts its own flavor.
miclimptrp, yes, I saw that comment and I will be doing green mango sinigang… I missed sineguelas this year but apparently people also use green sineguelas, and alibangbang and unripe pineapple, and an obscure fruit katmon as well…
you know…this would really be great with some patis
use only the unripe fruits and put loads of saluyot and any native veggies like okra and sitaw. I love this sinigang sa bangus version. It has a more potent yet smooth sourly broth. I enjoy this especially during rainy days where a lot of saluyot sprouts(local spinach)covers the fertile ground of our backyard and its during this season (end of summer to rainy season)that siniguelas starts to buds with it fruits on its almost leafless twigs. Its pretty easy to make…just boil the fruits (about 8-12 pcs on a liter of water) in a pot then remove the seeds after the flesh separates. boil the fruits along with a piece or two of tomatoes and with your amount of rock salt. let it boil…put the fish..leave it for a couple of minutes…then add your veggies except for the saluyot…after the veggies are cooked to your preference…add the saluyot and put-off the fire.
my first post/comment! hahaha!
i really love reading your entries.
With a motivating factor bottle of batuan in your hands – your guide is your creative talent and impeccable taste buds. Adventure paid off with this rewarding sinigang.
Hmmmm, another new thing for me. Batuan!
the picture looks more like a sinigang na bangus sa miso… with the batuan puree giving it a yellowish tint. MM, i dont think you have an entry on sinigang sa miso, have you ever tried making one? although in Manila, kanduli is the best for this kind of dish. But I guess you can try any other fleshy fish.
its 5am and yet im naglalaway with all the posts and comments about sinigang variations. Which supermarket can i find bottled batwan? Thanks guys!!! :)
We had fish soup soured with batuan last night as a starter in our dinner at the real Pala-Pala. Perfect sour soup to start a mini feast of sizzling marlin, crabmeat, squid adobo, scallops, and shrimp.
@ lee
are you in Bacolod City? Which Pala-Pala? The one on 18th st (is it still there?) or the one in Banago? I love eating in Pala-Pala in 18th st. One of my fave places while I was still living in Bacolod.
hello brenda,
We ate at the one going to Banago. 18th street is the “sanitized” Pala-Pala.
MM, what is Batuan? Where do you find it? Am not familiar with this fruit (or vegetable?).
MRJP and francine, see previous post on bottled batuan…
mm, how about some kbl next? :)