We eat sinigang a lot. Usually, we'll grab some 49-cent tamarind powder packets, toss in a bunch of meat in water, add some caramelized onions and garlic, slow cook it, add the veggies at the end and boom: sinigang. Aint nothing wrong with that. Kids love it, we love it, and it's even better tomorrow.

Other times, I'll do it like moms and pops used to do it: prep the base from scratch, using fresh tamarind and pork bones simmered for hours. Make the whole house smell like it.

Instead of tossing all the other shit in and letting it cook hella, though, I like to give the meat it's own treatment before joining the stock party. The ribs are marinated in calamansi and lemongrass and slow roasted, added in the final moments. Garlic, onion, tomatoes, daikon and spinach are all invited too. Just the right amount--too many guests at this party would distract from the real MVP of the dish: the soup, the sabaw--sour, salty and slightly spicy with hints of citrus, ginger, patis and sili.

It's all garnished with scallions and dried shrimp--not the tiny Filipino grocery store ones, but the bigger Korean grocery store ones.