Special Thanks to those professionals who provided recipes (below) and photographs for the Chef's Favorite section!

• The Manila Hotel - Manila
• The Peninsula Hotel - Manila
• Century Park Hotel - Manila
• Hyatt Regency - Manila
• Holiday Inn - Manila
• Mama Sita's Philippine Sauces and Mixes

Sinigang na Sugpo
Serves: 8

PROVIDED BY: Mama Sita's Philippine Sauces and Mixes

10 cups water
2 pieces onion quartered
4 pieces tomatoes, seeded and quartered
2 pieces daikon (peeled and sliced diagonally into discs)
12 pieces long beans (sitaw), cut into 2-inch lengths
4 pieces green chili peppers (sili)
35 ounces prawns or shrimps, trimmed
14 ounces spinach or Asian watercress (kangkong)
1 pouch (1.76 ounces) Mama Sita's Sinigang (Tamarid Seasoning) Mix

Cooking Method:

Bring water to a boil. Add onions and tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add daikon, long beans, chili pepper, fish sauce, and Mama Sita's Sinigang mix. Continue to simmer for three minutes, uncovered. Add the shrimps and simmer for another 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the spinach or kangkong. Cover to steam-cook the vegetables. Serve with fish sauce.

Kinilaw

Provided by: The Peninsula Hotel - Manila, Philippines

Kinilaw is a method of cooking nearly anything that is alive and fresh not with fire but with vinegar. Crustaceans may be used, or mollusks, vegetables, fruits, flowers, insects, and even meat. The abundance of food available, the ecology of each region and the understanding and appreciation of readily available materials make eating kinilaw a widely exhilarating experience. Its raw ingredients may range from the commonplace (mackerel, grouper, sailfish, red snapper fillets or venison) to the exotic (spider conch, sea cucumber, the larvae of the coconut beetle or sea anemone).

Lengua    Serves: 4 - 5

PROVIDED BY: Century Park Hotel - Manila, Philippines

Ingredients:

1 piece ox-tongue, thoroughly cleaned and sliced
Lea and Perrins sauce
salt and pepper
10 pieces calamansi
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium onion, sliced
1 can (12 ounces) Cream of Mushroom soup

button mushrooms
button olives
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup grated cheese

Cooking Method:

Marinade ox-tongue in Lea and Perrins sauce, calamansi, salt and pepper for an hour. Fry tongue and when browned, braise for 30 minutes. Saute garlic and onions in butter. Add soup. Garnish with mushrooms, olives and grated cheese.

Igado

PROVIDED BY: Holiday Inn - Manila, Philippines

1/4 pound each pork tenderloin, liver, heart and kidney
2 tablespoons green peas
salt to taste
1/2 cup iloco vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup bell pepper
1 tablespoon garlic

Cooking Method:

Soak pork liver in vinegar. Saute garlic and pork tenderloin in cooking oil until golden brown. Add pork heart, pork kidney and soaked pork liver. Add soy sauce. Simmer until all meats are tender and sauce is thick enough. Add green peas and bell pepper.