Philippines

Sour-savory comfort: vinegar-braised adobo, celebratory lechon, garlic-rice breakfasts and halo-halo sweets. That is the short version of what the Philippines cooks. Look for Adobo (chicken or pork braised in vinegar, soy, garlic and bay), Sinigang (sour tamarind soup with pork or shrimp and vegetables) and Lechon (whole spit-roasted pig with crackling skin, fiesta centerpiece). Vinegar and salt braising predates Spanish contact; the Spanish word adobo was applied to it, and a 1613 Tagalog dictionary records the practice. This atlas has 54 Philippines dishes catalogued below, from everyday cooking to food kept for festivals and special occasions.