This classic Filipino hearty soup has a lovely fresh, tangy flavour from the mango and fresh tomatoes. The result tastes exotic but it’s made from basic ingredients. It is best to cut the short ribs into small cubes when making as a starter course, but if making for as a main course, it is kind of nice to leave the short ribs in larger chunks (see Tip**). To finish, this dish is often seasoned with fish sauce to taste. Recipe adapted from the original developed by Chef Anton Amoncio.
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Beef Short Ribs Sinigang
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Total Time: 2 1/2 hours
- Yield: Serves 10 1x
Ingredients
3 lb (1.5 kg) boneless Beef Simmering Short Ribs (thick cut, about 6)
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp (30 mL) canola or sunflower oil
1 red onion, diced (about 8 oz/250 g)
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) diced tomatoes (with juice)
2½ cups (625 mL) reduced-sodium beef broth
3 slightly unripe alphonso mangoes (see Tip*), diced
3 tomatoes, diced
3 cups (750 mL) fresh baby spinach
Fish sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Trim fat from beef and cut into ¾-inch (2 cm) cubes. Pat dry with paper towel. Season all over with salt and pepper to your taste.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or large, heavy pot; brown beef, in batches, turning with tongs for about 10 minutes, until browned all over. Transfer beef to a bowl with a slotted spoon; set aside.
- Drain off all but 2 tbsp (30 mL) fat from the pan; discard excess. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes until softened. Add canned tomatoes (with juice) and beef broth; bring to boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits from pot. Return beef and any accumulated juices to pot.
- Cover and cook in preheated to 325°F oven for about 1½ hours or until meat is fork-tender. Remove from oven; stir in diced mangoes, fresh tomatoes and spinach. Cover and set aside just until spinach is wilted.
- Ladle soup into bowls and serve with fish sauce to pass at the table, if desired.
Notes
Tip* Alphonso mangos are a bright yellow mango variety with smooth, dense flesh originating in India; when ripe, they are very sweet and richly flavoured. For this recipe, slightly unripe mangos (with green-yellow skin) add a pleasant sour-tart flavour to the soup.
Tip** If serving as a main course, use larger pieces of beef, about 2 inches (5 cm) each and increase the baking time to about 2 hours. This recipe makes 6 main-course servings.
