Recipe: Sinigang

This week I've got the apt to myself, so decided to do some dishes that I enjoy from childhood. In high school I stopped eating all meat and chicken, so my grandmother would sinigang with fish when she knew I was stopping by. This dish is a sour soup made with tamarind, a fruit that can be purchased as a concentrate or powder soup base for convenience. But being a fan of scratch cooking, I opted for fresh tamarind we have on hand. As a side note - should you also decide to use fresh tamarind, it has an indefinite shelf life.

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a deep pot over high heat
Add 4 medium tomatoes, halved; and 1 medium onion in large chunks
When tomato and onion have softened, add 4 cups rice water or plain water
**
Add 7 pieces tamarind, whole (if using concentrate or powder, refer to label for quantities)
Boil over medium heat for 15 minutes
Mash the cooked tamarind in a separate container with a generous amount of the soup.
Add the infused liquid back into the pot, repeating this step twice more or until soup is as sour as you like
Add two cups water; 2 whole serrano or jalapeno peppers; and 1/2 lb. long beans, in 2-3 inch pieces (you may substitute string beans)
Add 1/2 cup fish sauce (a brown liquid with a strong smell - known as patis, nam pla, or nuoc mam)
After 5 min. add 1 Asian eggplant, cut into wedges; and 1/4 lb. whole water spinach leaves (you may substitute spinach)*
Add 1 lb. salmon fillet, halved**
Serve as a soup with rice once fish has cooked through

* other vegetables such as okra or various greens may be substituted as well
** other meats such as pork or chicken may be added in place of fish once the tomatoes and onions have softened

Haha, I was almost expecting a dessert recipe when I saw your VM.
Just curious, is the meat substitution to come in after the tomato/onions softened before everything else or after the water spinach part?
And is it possible to make this spicier? Like adding in chilis or something? (I actually like my soup to be spicy or pepperish lol.)

Will give this a go when I'm not too lazy to cook (Which will take some time lol)

>:o totally forgot that. there are 2 peppers, i'll edit that.. you can put something in before you serve i guess.. and yes, meat goes in after onion and tomatoes are softened.