Tamarind-Tomato-Chili Soup

Tamarind-Tomato-Chili Soup

~3 lbs of meat or meat substitute
10 cups of water
One medium or large onion
Three cloves of garlic
1 packet of Knorr Tamarind Soup Base (Sinigang sa Sampalok Mix)
4 cubes or packets of boullion (according to your meat or substitute)
1 15 oz. can of stewed or diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can of asparagus (drained)
1 15 oz. can of corn kernels (drained)
1 29 oz. can of chili beans w/ sauce (not drained)
Other veggies of choice
1-2 tsp. salt
Seasonings of choice

Directions:

Start heating water to near boiling, but not quite. *In the meantime, prepare your meat or substitute by cutting it into bite-sized pieces -- either trimming off any fat or leaving it on, depending on your preference. After trimming off the fat, you can boil it with the rest of the ingredients and remove it at the end. Also, cut the onion in half, in fourths, or even smaller, and peel and dice the garlic cloves.

Once the water is hot but not quite boiling, you can put the meat pieces, onion, and garlic into the water and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Then, you can add the soup base, boullion, and tomatoes.

Let mixture simmer for 10 more minutes, and then add the asparagus, corn, chili beans, mushrooms, other veggies, and salt to the mix. After mixture has simmered for 10 more minutes, taste the broth and add salt, pepper, and other seasonings until the broth tastes just the way you like. (I often use Lawry's Seasoned Salt, pumpkin pie spice, and pepper.)

If you are using tofu or another meat substitue, you are finished! Otherwise, check a piece (or a few pieces) of meat to make sure it's done all the way through. If so, you are finished. If not, then let mixture simmer some more, until meat seems to be thoroughly cooked.

When finished, turn off stove and let soup sit for a while so that the flavors have time to meld into one another and so that the soup can cool to a safe, yet still very warm, temperature.

Try with a baguette, or by itself. You may also find you enjoy sipping a mug of the broth, on its own. It's that good!

NOTES:
1. Unless you're feeding a large group, you will have leftovers, which is the intention of this recipe.
2. Instead of cutting the meat up at the beginning, you can boil the whole chicken, pot roast, etc. whole for 1-1.5 hrs, remove it, drain it, cut it into smaller pieces, and put the pieces back into the mixture.
3. The other veggies are up to you. Personally, I'm partial to options like sliced mushrooms and/or fire-roasted peppers.

This version is made with tofu: