Sinigang

Sinigang is a clear soup made sour, and the souring agent is the whole argument. Tamarind is the default - sampaloc, boiled and strained or, increasingly, from a packet mix - but guava gives a rounder sweetness, kamias a sharper edge, calamansi a citrus lift, batuan is standard in Iloilo and Negros, and green mango, santol and bilimbi all appear regionally. Into the broth go pork ribs, shrimp, milkfish or beef shank, with kangkong, radish, okra, string beans, taro and long green chilli. It is eaten with rice and a dish of fish sauce with chilli for dipping the meat. Filipinos consistently name it as the flavour they miss most abroad, ahead of adobo, and it has been argued that sourness is the defining note of Philippine cooking in the way that heat is of Thai - a claim that holds up reasonably well once you notice how much of the cuisine involves vinegar.

What you actually see

• The sour broth - tamarind, guava, kamias or batuan.
• The vegetables - kangkong, radish, okra and taro in the pot.
• The protein - pork ribs, shrimp, milkfish or beef shank.
• The dipping sauce - fish sauce with chilli alongside.

When to go

Year-round. Carinderias serve it at lunch; it is a rainy-day dish by preference, though nobody waits for rain.

Honest expectations

Packet mixes are common even in restaurants, and they taste different from fresh tamarind. Sourness levels vary a lot. Regional souring agents change the dish substantially - batuan sinigang in Iloilo is not the Manila version.

Nearby

Iloilo and Negros use batuan; Bicol and the Visayas each have their own preferred souring fruit.