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What appears to be a marriage of two recipes (namely, sinugba and kinilaw), sinuglaw is definitely a hit, no matter what!
Though this is a recipe from Davao, it cannot be denied that this dish has many fans around the country.
It’s already obvious that the recipe is a combination of two, as the “sinug” in “sinuglaw” refers to “sinugba”, which is literally “to grill” in the Visayan language. And the “law” coming from “kinilaw” means “cooked raw with vinegar”.
This sinuglaw recipe combines the cooking process of grilled pork belly and kinilaw, and all of the ingredients are combined as well.
Simple but savory, this dish is an explosion of flavors. You have a tangy and spicy taste from the kinilaw and you have the hearty and sweet flavors of the liempo estofado.
In this post we'll cover:
Sinuglaw recipe preparation and tips
Method and preparation 1
To prepare sinuglaw is to actually prepare two recipes: first, you need to marinate and grill the pork belly, then leave it. Next comes the preparation of the kinilaw na tuna.
The ingredients for this sinuglaw recipe include cubed fresh tuna, pork belly, vinegar, onion, cucumber, ginger, siling labuyo, and calamansi. This also includes the soy sauce for the pork belly marinade, and salt and pepper.
Both main ingredients, the pork belly and the tuna, need to be marinated in soy sauce and vinegar respectively.
As for the tuna, it’s recommended that you throw away the vinegar after marinating, as the vinegar only serves as a way to just wash the raw tuna.
Pour another batch of vinegar onto the tuna once you’re actually going to mix the tuna with the other ingredients, such as the calamansi, sliced siling labuyo, cucumber, chopped onions, ginger (to eliminate the fishy stench), salt, and pepper.
Combine both the grilled pork belly and the tuna, and mix very well. You can serve this either as a meal or you can also serve this during celebrations as pulutan.
Method 2

Sinuglaw recipe (sinugba and kinilaw)
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh sashimi-grade tuna meat cubed
- 1¼ cups cane vinegar or coconut vinegar
- 2 cups cucumber peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
- 1 medium red onion sliced
- 2 tbsp julienned ginger
- 4 finger chillies seeds and ribs removed and sliced
- 3 calamansi or 1 lemon
- 4-6 pcs siling haba (bird’s eye chilli) chopped
- Salt to taste
- 1 pound grilled pork belly (inihaw na liempo) chopped
Instructions
- Wash the tuna meat before slicing.
- Put the tuna meat into a large bowl and add 1/2 cup of vinegar, then marinate.
- Drain the vinegar then add cucumber, onion, ginger, finger chilli, siling haba, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
- Squeeze the calamansi until all the juices are extracted, then add the remaining 3/4 cup vinegar. Mix well and soak for another 10 minutes.
- Now add the chopped grilled pork belly and mix well.
- Place the mixture inside the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- To serve, check the seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Transfer to a serving plate then serve.
- Serve as pulutan or with rice,
Nutrition
Note: As you can see in this recipe, we posted 2 methods to prepare sinuglaw. Choose whichever one’s best for you.
Also read about this delicious hardinera recipe (lucban jardinera) you can definitely make at home
Ever had trouble finding Japanese recipes that were easy to make?
We now have "cooking Japanese with ease", our full recipe book and video course with step-by-step tutorials on your favorite recipes.