Sinigang na Hipon is an all time Filipino favorite and an easy soup to make, made of shrimp in savory sour tamarind broth.

Sinigang na Hipon is shrimp in tamarind sour soup is Today's Delight — Sinigang na Hipon is shrimp in tamarind sour soup.

Filipinos have many versions of Sinigang using different souring agent like tamarind, kamias, calamansi, lemongrass and guava. Maybe there’s more that I’m not aware of.

Meat, fish, shrimp and vegetables are commonly used to make sinigang and they all taste different and delicious.

Sinigang is a comfort food among Filipinos especially when it gets chilly outside.

Tips in Making Sinigang na Hipon (Shrimp in Tamarind Sour Soup)

For a flavorful soup, use head-on shrimp. Shrimp head adds so much flavor when making this soup.

Wash shrimp thoroughly and remove the tendrils.

Shrimp cooks quickly in minutes. It will get rubbery, no longer moist and tender when overcooked.

When boiling water, add onion, tomatoes and vegetables that will cook longer.

Shrimp is usually added last, so it doesn’t overcooked.

Shrimp in sour soup. — Shrimp cooks quickly so don't overcook. Cook Sinigang na Hipon in an instant pot or stove-top.

Use salt to season soup but I prefer using fish sauce.

The traditional vegetables used with this soup are kang kong, daikon radish (labanos), eggplant, long beans, cabbage and okra.

Many Filipinos live abroad that doesn’t have access to some of these vegetables. Be creative, substitute your favorite vegetable available to you.

We don’t have kang kong so I used bok choy or spinach. If I have potatoes, I add potatoes too and it is delicious as well. It is not traditional but it works well with sinigang.

Add hot peppers if you prefer a spicy soup. Yummy, more rice please!

When flavoring with Tamarind mix, you can decrease or add more mix depending on how sour you like it to be. Taylor it to your liking. You don’t have to necessarily follow my instructions to the T.

I like my soup sour but I have friends who prefer it more intense while others like it more subtle.

For crisp vegetables, serve soup and vegetables in a separate bowl.

Serve hot with lots of rice and a side of fish sauce. Or if you are watching your carbs, load up on vegetables.

Peel shrimp with vegetabel in sour soup served with white rice. — Serve this soup with white rice.

How to Make Sinigang na Hipon in Instant Pot or Stove-Top

When cooking this delicious and healthy soup in an instant pot, set the SOUP/BROTH program and cooking time. The instant pot is programed to control the temperature so it doesn’t heavily boils.

This is the only difference between cooking Sinigang na Hipon in an instant pot and stove top. Cooking procedure is the same.

Please read the manual, if this is your first time to use your instant pot. Get familiar with the different programs and functionalities for your own safety.

If you want to learn more about using your instant pot, check out my previous recipes. I have detailed and step by step instructions when using the pressure cook program.

Cooking Sinigang na Hipon doesn’t require using the pressure cook progam. The instant pot lid is only used when using the pressure cook program otherwise cover inner pot with a regular pot cover.

Cooking with instant pot or stove top will render the same flavorsome, savory, sour soup.

Sinigang na Hipon in an Instant Pot or Stove Top Cooking Instructions

Sinigang na Hipon, shrimp in sour soup with vegetables. — Separate some of vegetables from shrimp soup so it stays crisp.

Recipe

Sinigang na Hipon

Sinigang na Hipon is a delicious shrimp in tamarind sour soup cooked in an instant pot or stove-top.

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: Asian, Filipino

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 25

Servings:

Calories: 256kcal

Ingredients

2 pounds large head-on shrimp (washed)
1 medium onion quartered
2 medium tomatoes halves or add whole
3 banana peppers or Thai chili for spicier soup
handful of long beans cut
4 bunches of bokchoy or pechay
10 okra remove top
8 cups water
1 ½ tablespoons Knorr Tamarind mix (adjust this to your liking or use whole package 40g for more sour)
fish sauce

Instructions

In a pot, add water, onion and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 - 5 minutes or until tomato is soft.
Instant Pot: Set SOUP/BROTH PROGRAM to 30 minutes. Once it is done, the display will show L000, L001 etc. Press “CANCEL”.
If done before the time set, CANCEL program. Note: You can set for longer cooking time and cancel the program anytime.
Stove: Set temperature to HIGH and once mixture boils then lower heat and simmer.
Add hot peppers and vegetables like okra and long beans that will take a while to cook. Mash tomato with a kitchen utensil.
Add shrimp. Cook until pink.
Stir-in Knorr Tamarind mix.
Toss-in bok choy. Cook for 20 seconds.
Season with fish sauce or salt.
Turn off heat. Serve hot.

Notes

If you think, shrimp will overcook while cooking vegetable, remove shrimp and place back in pot when ready to season soup.
For crisp vegetables, serve separate from soup.
Adjust tamarind mix measurement depending on your preference. My recipe might be too subtle or too sour for your taste.

Nutrition