Liza Soberano’s recent tweet about Sinigang being the “best soup in the world” also revived her 2018 on the Filipino comfort dish.
On Tuesday, August 3, Soberano shared on twitter that Sinigang is the number one vegetable soup.
A website called TasteAtlas rated the Filipino dish 4.8 out of 5 ratings against other vegetable soups around the world.
Sinigang #1 https://t.co/F1gm3YvNzQ
— Liza Soberano (@lizasoberano) August 3, 2021
But Liza’s tweet also brought back the controversy that she and her reel and real partner Enrique Gil faced in 2018.
During the trailer of ABS-CBN’s 2018 fantaserye Bagani, several netizens were disappointed that a show which was molded during the pre-colonial Philippines gave the main roles to fair-skinned actors with dominant caucasian features like Enrique and Liza.
The actress, who was dubbed as the “Sinigang Queen,” then defended the decision of the makers of the show by insisting that she and Enrique are Pinoys.
She tweeted: “And who says we’re not Pinoy? My father is full Filipino. I was raised by two Filipinos since the age of four. I looooove sinigang. I think that’s as Pinoy as Pinoys can get.”
However, the actress’s tweet only sparked a debate as some netizens educate her on the importance of accurate representation on shows such as Bagani.
Some even compared the Kapamilya show to the movie Black Panther, which was able to pay homage to African culture by “innovating without sacrificing authenticity.”
Bagani got criticized for claiming that casting “half-white Asians in bronzer” is far from pre-colonial Filipinos because of their skin tone.
Movies like #BlackPanther pay homage to African culture by innovating without sacrificing authenticity..
While shows like #Bagani slather half-white asians in bronzer to pass them off as precolonial filipinos because kayumangi doesn’t sell. pic.twitter.com/TwuuakPyF3
— Special Little Guy (@Miguelshmiguel) February 15, 2018
But the show’s creative writer, Mark Angos, clarified that the show was set in a “fantasy universe” and is not historical.
In 2019, Soberano did a “What’s in the Box” challenge and proved once and for all that she is the “Sinigang Queen.”
TasteAtlas, the so-called ‘encyclopedia of flavors’ described Sinigang as sour, traditionally served hot and steaming as a main dish, with rice as its accompaniment.
The site also claimed that Sinigang was a dish seen on special occasions such as birthdays or weddings.
“With its sour lightness perfectly matching the harsh tropical heat of the country, Sinigang is a unique soup that is a true representative of Filipino cuisine,” the website concluded.
In terms of which vegetable soups are most popular around the world, Sinigang was ranked 19th out of 160.
TasteAtlas also recommended the best restaurants that serve Sinigang namely: Locavore, Sentro1771, and Fely J’s in Makati.