Sabaw recipe: 8 Pinoy comfort food for the family during rainy days

Filipino sabaw recipe: The Philippines has two seasons: summer and rainy. We started off with intense heat and the occasional humidity over the summer. Now that we are in the second month of the year, with the changing weather, sometimes it gets hot and suddenly it becomes cold, affecting many of us. Most people experience cough and cold, and some even catch the flu.

Rainy days are a great excuse to stay in. Coupled with warm blankets and fluffy pillows, the warm hug of a good ole soup dish is just so satisfying. It’s hearty, heartwarming, and filled with nutrients and love—something your kids would definitely enjoy!

In this article, we rounded up these 8 Filipino sabaw recipes that’s surely on any Pinoy’s comfort food list. These dishes have a good mix of protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Serving these is a great way to get your kids to eat healthy (veggies included!) even on a cold day. 

Chicken Tinola: Chicken recipe with sabaw

Nothing beats a comforting bowl of chicken soup on a cold day, especially when the kids come home from a long day at school. One of the most popular chicken recipe with sabaw is Tinola.

This chicken tinola sabaw recipe is a straightforward one that features tender bites of chicken simmering in an aromatic, gingery clear broth. Add some fresh sili leaves and chunks of sayote or green papaya (depending on your preference).

The result is a filling dish that goes well with a steaming cup of white rice—truly a hearty soup loaded with tons of meaty goodness.

Breastfeeding? Add some malunggay to boost your milk supply.

Chicken Tinola Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 pc onion, small-sized, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (2 - inch) pc ginger, cut into strips
• 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into 8 pcs
• 1 liter of water
• 2 pcs Knorr Chicken Cube
• 1 pc sayote or 1 pc small -sized green papaya, sliced
• 2 stalks dahon ng sili

Steps:

• Get a casserole or pot and bring it up to medium heat before pouring in the oil.
• Drop in the onions, garlic and ginger and sauté slowly for about 2 minutes or until you can smell the lovely aroma of the thoroughly cooked vegetables.
• It’s time to drop in those chicken pieces and stir until it turns white in color.
• Pour in the water and add in your Knorr Chicken Broth cubes. Bring this to a simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through.
• You can now add your sayote or green papaya and cook until tender.
• Dahon ng sili is added at the last stage to ensure leaves (and nutrients) don’t dry up. Give this a minute then it is done.
• Malunggay is also another healthy alternative because it is packed with vitamins and minerals which are good for nursing moms and kids as well.
• Enjoy this with patis and calamansi on the side.

Level it Up: Upgrade this classic recipe by creating a Chicken Tinola Rice Bowl instead! Same steps and ingredients apply, but this version is made dry by letting the rice absorb the broth. Finish it off by topping the flavorful rice with chicken and veggies.

Monggo Soup with Malunggay Leaves

Keep your kids strong and healthy this rainy season by feeding them Mung Beans—also known as monggo. These little beans come packed with essential vitamins and minerals to boost their immune system.

Monggo soup is made with stewed monggo beans, aromatics like garlic and onion, plus your choice of meat. It’s an old-time favorite that evokes memories of home.

This budget-friendly sabaw recipe replaces your usual pork chunks for tomatoes to add that contrast of acidity. By adding in a Knorr Pork Cube, you get a meaty taste that elevates the pork monggo dish even further. And if you want it thicker, you can mash half of the beans before cooking them all at once.

Monggo Soup with Malunggay Leaves Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 pc onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 pcs. tomatoes, chopped
• 2 pcs Knorr Pork Cube
• 1/4 cup monggo
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup malunggay leaves

Steps:

• Begin by getting a pot and fill it with water and monggo. Allow to simmer until monggo is tender.
• You can mash half of the monggo seeds to thicken the sauce.
• In a separate pan, over medium heat. Saute onions, garlic and tomatoes. Pour this in to the monggo mixture.
• Throw in the Knorr Pork Cubes and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Taste to check the seasonings.
• Top malunggay leaves and just allow to cook for another minute.

Level it Up: Spice things up by cooking up a mean batch of spicy monggo with tinapa. Replace the usual pork with smoky shreds of fish and add in some fine bits of chili for that heat.

Don’t forget to sauté your garlic and onions first to make them more flavorful. Check out the sabaw recipe here.

Sinigang na Lechon: Pork recipe with sabaw

If you’re after a tangy soup that packs a punch, sinigang is your go-to pork recipe with sabaw!

The more acidic cousin of the chicken tinola, sinigang is a clear sabaw recipe loaded with tons of veggies and meat. The difference, however, is the famously sour tamarind used for the soup base, giving it a kick of flavor. Achieve that mouth-puckering sour taste with Knorr Sinigang sa Sampalok Original Mix!

Start off with some spicy sili, radish and okra, and let it cook for a bit before tossing in your leafy green—watercress (kangkong)—and sitaw beans. This recipe recommends mashing up a gabi in the soup to make it richer and more delicious. And for the finishing touch, top with some meaty slices of pork lechon, and serve with rice. It’s a balanced meal all rolled into one!

Sinigang na Lechon Ingredients:

• 8 cups rice washing
• 3 pcs onions, quartered
• 4 pcs tomatoes, quartered
• 2 pcs gabi, quartered
• 1 kg lechon meat (lean) cut into serving portions
• 2 pcs sili pansigang
• 1 pc radish, sliced
• 4 pcs okra
• 1/2 bundle sitaw, sliced
• 1/2 bundle kangkong, sliced
• 1 (40g) packs Knorr Sinigang sa Sampalok Original Mix

Steps:

• Just like any simple sinigang dish, start by using the water from when you washed your rice and pour this into the pot together with the onions, tomatoes, gabi and lechon.
• Bring this to a boil then lower the heat to simmer and cook until the meat is fork tender.
• The addition of gabi mashed into the dish will make this sinigang rich and thick and definitely more delicious.
• Throw in the sili, radish and okra and let this simmer before adding the Knorr Sinigang sa Sampalok Original Mix, sitaw and kangkong.
• Stir well and cook this further for about a minute.
• Enjoy lechon and sinigang in one, you will definitely see big smiles greeting you at the dining table.

Level it Up: Make it fancy by creating a sizzling sinigang. This meat dish borrows flavors from the classic sinigang dish with cubes of braised pork belly as the star, flanked with crisp vegetables—not before being finished off with a reduced sour tamarind sauce.

Chicken Arroz Caldo

Start the day with a hearty breakfast of arroz caldo—a chicken porridge heavily infused with ginger and strong meaty flavors. Depending on your preference, you can add in some toasted garlic and scallions garnish the top, or even serve it alongside a hard-boiled egg.

Unlike Chinese-style congee, arroz caldo has bolder, meatier flavors, which come from the garlic, chicken and ginger, which are first sautéed together before being mixed together with the sticky rice. Add in a Knorr Chicken Cube for that extra kick! Serve with citrusy calamansi or even fish sauce (patis) and enjoy!

Arroz caldo is a complete meal all together— perfect for both sick days and rainy days. It can be prepared in large batches, can feed a lot of people, and can be kept for long.

Chicken Arroz Caldo Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 pc small -sized onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
• 200 grams cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 1/2 cup uncooked Malagkit Rice, washed 2x and drained well
• 2 pcs Knorr Chicken Cubes
• 4 cups water

Steps:

• Begin by preparing a large pot that’s big enough to cook the rice. Turn up the heat and throw in the garlic and saute until lightly toasted.
• Throw in the onions and ginger, then add the shredded chicken breast. Toss the mixture and once you smell the lovely aroma from the cooked vegetables and meat.
• Add the Malagkit rice and saute until rice is covered with oil.
• When the mixture begins to sizzle, pour the water and bring this to a boil before adding the Knorr Chicken Broth Cubes.
• Cook the malagkit rice slowly over low fire while stirring frequently to avoid the rice from clumping together.
• Topping your arroz caldo with fried garlic and spring onions does not only give it a lovely presentation but it also adds depth of flavour.

Level it Up: Innovate this classic dish by creating an arroz caldo paella!

Instead of creating a porridge, reduce the mixture to a consistency akin to risotto. Pour onto a paella tray, and top with shredded chicken, sliced hard-boiled eggs and some spring onions for the piece de resistance.

Pancit Molo Soup

Taking inspiration from the Chinese Wonton Soup, the pancit molo soup is a dish from Iloilo that features pork and shrimp dumplings in a clear chicken broth.

To create the dumplings, you need to first combine pork, egg, bits of shrimp, and a Knorr Shrimp broth Cube as a seafood substitute, singkamas and cornstarch to create a filling. Place inside wonton wrappers, then roll it up into a ball. When you finish making the flavorful broth, toss in your dumplings along with strips of wonton, and let it simmer until all flavors are well-infused together.

Pancit molo is your taste of home. Reminiscent of your mom or grandmother’s cooking, this warm dish can be served as an accompaniment to rice and viands.

Pancit Molo Ingredients:

• 1/4 ground pork
• 1 pc egg, beaten
• 3 pcs Knorr Shrimp Broth Cubes
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup singkamas, minced
• 20 pcs molo wrappers, cut 8 pcs into strips
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 pc small onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced and fried
• 3-4 cups water
• ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp spring onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced and fried

Steps:

• There are 2 parts in making this dish. Make the dumpling first, then the broth.
• Combine pork, egg (dissolve 1 Knorr Shrimp Broth Cube in beaten egg), cornstarch and singkamas.
• Wrap a teaspoon of mixture into the molo wrapper and seal by brushing the edges with water.
• To make the broth: Get a pan and make it nice and hot over medium heat. Pour some oil and sauté onion and garlic. Add water and the remaining Knorr Shrimp Broth Cube and just bring this to a boil.
• Drop in the molo dumplings and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add strips of molo wrappers and adjust according to taste.
• After simmering for another minute, this dish is done. Serve with a sprinkle of spring onions and fried garlic on top.

Level it Up: Got extra dumplings lying around? You can steam them and serve along with some spicy chili sauce. Enjoy with some chicken soup on the side for a deconstructed molo dish.

Sinigang na tilapia in miso: Tilapia recipe with sabaw

If you are a lover of tilapia dishes, then this tilapia recipe with sabaw is the best for you.

In the Philippines, one of the common dishes with sabaw is a sour fish soup or sinigang that uses tilapia and miso.

Miso is the name for fermented soybeans. This is typically used as an ingredient to prepare soups. Yellow miso paste, which is made up of fermented soy beans and barley, is called for in the recipe for Sinigang na Tilapia sa Miso. For Filipinos and the majority of people who have had the opportunity to eat sinigang, there is no denying how delicious it is, particularly on rainy days.

Other fish kinds that are readily accessible in your area can also be used to prepare fish sinigang in addition to tilapia.

Sinigang na tilapia sa miso ingredients

• 1 large tilapia, remove the scales and innards
• 2 tablespoons yellow miso paste
• 2 medium tomatoes wedged
• 1 medium yellow onion quartered
• 5 to 7 pieces mustard leaves
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 8 pieces okra
• 1 sachet sinigang mix
• 5 cups water
• Ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup cooking oil

Steps

• Tilapia should be cut in half crosswise. Sprinkle fish with salt. Allow it to sit for ten minutes.
• In a pan, heat 1 cup of cooking oil.
• Tilapia should be pan-fried for 5 minutes on each side at medium heat after the oil is hot.
• Put the tilapia on a fresh platter after removing it then set aside
• In the meantime, transfer around 2 tablespoons of the cooking oil from the frying pan to a cooking pot.
• Warm up the cooking vessel. Sauté the tomatoes, garlic, and onion once the oil is hot.
• The miso paste should be added before the fish sauce and water. Allow to boil.
• Add the sinigang mix and stir
• Place the fried fish in the pot and cook it for 3 minutes.
• Add the okra and cook for 2 minutes
• Turn off the heat. Include the mustard leaves after adding some freshly ground black pepper then cover for five minutes.

Pinoy sabaw recipe: Bulalo

One of the most popular and Filipino favorite Pinoy sabaw recipe is the Bulalo also known as beef shank stew.

Given that the ingredients and preparation methods don't appear to differ significantly, one might identify bulalo as a type of nilaga. The extremely special type of beef we use for bulalo, however, is what makes it unique. In particular, the use of beef shank with the marrow still in the bone is what makes it special.

The preparation of bulalo necessitates a great deal of patience despite the fact that it just only a few ingredients. The only reason for this is because you must wait until the beef is at its tenderest.

Bulalo Ingredients

• 2 lbs beef shank
• ½ cabbage whole leaf individually detached
• 1 bundle bok choy
• 2 cobs corn each cut into 3 parts
• 2 Tablespoons whole peppercorn
• 1/2 cup green onions cut unto 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 onion
• 34 ounces water
• fish sauce to taste optional

Steps

• Put water in a large pot and bring to a boil.
• The beef shank, onion, and entire pepper corn should all be added before simmering for 1.5 hours or until the meat is cooked.
• Add the corn, then cook for an additional 10 minutes.
• Add the cabbage, pechay, green onion, and fish sauce.

A good sabaw recipe features rich flavors and a strong meaty taste, which you can achieve with Knorr Broth Cubes. These bombs of flavor are so versatile that they can be used in anything: soups, stews, and even in sauces! Knorr Cubes come in flavors of Chicken, Pork, Beef, and Shrimp, along with ready-made mixes like the tamarind mix (Knorr Sinigang sa Sampalok Original Mix) for sinigang.

With handy little ingredients like these, you can whip up delightful meals in 15 minutes or less… guaranteed!

For more recipe inspirations, visit https://www.knorr.com/ph/recipe-ideas.html.

Benefits of eating soup when you have cough and cold

Soup can be beneficial for individuals experiencing cough and cold symptoms for several reasons:

Hydration

Staying hydrated is crucial when you have a cold. Soup, especially broth-based varieties, provides essential fluids to prevent dehydration. The warm liquid can also soothe a sore throat.

Nutrient Intake

Soups often contain a variety of vegetables, proteins, and other ingredients that are rich in vitamins and minerals. These nutrients can support your immune system, helping your body fight off the infection causing the cough and cold.

Warmth and Comfort

Warm soup can help ease congestion and provide a comforting sensation. The steam from hot soup can open nasal passages, making it easier to breathe.

Easy to Digest

When you're not feeling well, your appetite may decrease, and your digestive system may be more sensitive. Soups are usually easy to digest, making them a gentle option for individuals with reduced appetite or stomach discomfort.

Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Certain ingredients commonly found in soups, such as garlic, ginger, and spices, may have anti-inflammatory properties. These can help reduce inflammation in the respiratory system, providing relief from symptoms.

Mucous Clearance

Hot soups can help thin mucus, making it easier to expel from the respiratory tract. This can be especially helpful in alleviating congestion.

Restorative Properties

Consuming nourishing soups can provide energy and support your body's overall recovery during illness.

While soup can be a beneficial part of a cold and cough care routine, it's essential to stay hydrated with other fluids as well, such as water and herbal teas. Additionally, if your symptoms persist or worsen, it's advisable to consult with a healthcare professional for proper evaluation and guidance.

Additional information written by: Jobelle Macayan