Vegetables Cooked in Tamarind and Miso Paste (Plant Based Sinigang)

This plant based version of the Filipino sinigang really satisfied my cravings for this iconic Filipino dish.  You will love the sour taste of the sauce imparted by the tamarind in this dish complemented with the saltiness of the miso paste.  The sauce leaves a satisfactory feeling to your taste buds especially when doused over brown or white rice.  The medley of vegetables of different colors of red, purple and green impart high and diverse nutritional values to the dish.

Sinigang is a dish in the Philippines that Filipinos love and could not live without.  Sinigang is any dish cooked with meat like pork, beef , fish ( see post on salmon sinigang in this blog) in a broth that has been made sour with tamarind.  Now, though I am practicing as best as I could the plant based approach to eating, I did not want to give up on the main draw of the sinigang that I crave now and then, namely the delectable sour taste imparted by the tamarind.  

I just took a leap of faith that it would work if I cook my favorite vegetables that usually accompany sinigang like tomatoes, onions, green beans, some kind of radish and eggplant with the tamarind paste I had bought from the Asian store.  I threw in also one hot banana pepper for added spunk.  

To completely satisfy my craving for the taste of sinigang, I needed something salty to go with the sour taste of the tamarind and opted for miso paste.  I have to confess I was dying to use fish sauce that is customarily used but I wanted to be completely plant based with this dish.  Wow, the miso did the job and I did not miss the fish sauce which Filipinos not only add to the broth while it is being cooked but also to dip the meat and vegetables into while eating this iconic Filipino dish with lots of rice.  

This is a simple and easy to prepare.  You can use other combination of vegetables you might have like spinach, kale and other green leafy vegetables.  

Vegetables Cooked in Tamarind and Miso Paste (Plant Based Sinigang)

Serves 4

• 1 -2 inches of tamarind paste that has been dissolved in 1/4 cup water, with any seeds and other solids removed if any (Note 1)
• 2 tbsp miso paste (any kind) plus more if desired to dip into while eating
• 1 eggplant cut into 1 inch squares
• 3 cups fresh green beans, ends cut off and sliced about 2 inches long
• 1 large tomato, cut into 8 chunks
• 1 daikon radish or any other type of radish, cut into round 1/8 inch thick slices
• 1 hot banana pepper kept whole during cooking process (Note 2)

Combine the tamarind paste dissolved in water and the miso paste in a pot.  Stir the mixture with a whisk or fork.  Place the rest of the ingredients in the pot and place the lid.  Allow the mixture to boil (more like steam over in the liquid) at medium heat till the vegetables are cooked but not mushy.  Serve with brown or white rice with some miso paste on the side for guests to freely put into a small dish to dip the vegetables into if they do desire.  

Notes

1.  I obtained my tamarind paste from the Asian store.  It is the pulp of the tamarind fruit.  The seeds and stem have been removed but I found some might still remain thus you need to pick over the paste after dissolving in water.

2.  It can remain whole while serving or you can cut off into pieces if your guests do not mind the heat it imparts.

3.  Sinigang is customarily serve like a soup with meat and vegetables thus it has broth that Filipinos love to slurp.  I prefer to serve my version with less liquid and more saucy than soupy but you can add more water if you prefer to serve as a vegetable laden soup.