THE BEST OF PHILIPPINES FOOD

Squid Adobo (Adobong Pusit)

Adobong pusit is a traditional Filipino dish that is part of the famous Adobo dishes. Prepared with a mixture of fresh squid, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, salt, sugar, oil, onions, and tomatoes.

Pancit

Pancit is a Filipino staple found in various feasts and celebrations, including fried rice noodles with meat and vegetables such as chicken, pork, shrimp, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, and cabbage. This dish is of Chinese origin.

Lechon

Lechon is derived from the Spanish word roast suckling pig and is one of the Philippines’ most popular dishes. Slowly roasted suckling pigs are usually filled with lemongrass, tamarind, garlic, onions, and chives and then roasted on bamboo shoots over a high fire. Traditionally, the whole pig is placed on a platter at festivals and festive events such as holidays, weddings, and Christmas. Once the meat is properly grilled and dropped from the bones, people tend to eat every part of the pig, especially for the crispy, reddish-brown, crispy skin.

Sisig

Sisig is a popular Filipino dish made from the pig’s head (such as ears, cheeks, and jaws) then The meat is combined with fried onions and chicken liver, and the whole mix is traditionally topped with a raw egg.

Adobo

Adobo is the closest food to the national dish in the Philippines. Prepared from chunks of meat, seafood, fruits or vegetables, vinegar or soy sauce, bay leaves, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Combining these ingredients over low heat, resulting in meaty, juicy, and tender. The name Adobo comes from the Spanish word adobar, which means marinade or marinated sauce. In English, the word “adobo” translates to “braised in vinegar.”

Oxtail Stew ( Kare-Kare)

Kare-Kare is a traditional Filipino stew with a savory peanut sauce, derived from the word kare (curry), made from various meats such beef tripe, pork leg, oxtail, goat, and other meats, vegetables, and peanut butter sauce. Traditionally, any Filipino festivities are not complete without kare-kare.

Lumpia

Lumpia is a simple and delicious Filipino snack derived from Chinese spring rolls. Each lump is wrapped in rice or flour dough and stuffed with various meats (usually minced pork or beef) and vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, onions, and garlic.

Beef Kaldereta

Kaldereta is a Filipino stew traditionally made with goat meat, but the dish’s variation uses beef, pork, or chicken. In addition to the meat, other ingredients include liver paste, tomato sauce, potatoes, onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Kaldereta is usually decorated with thinly sliced ​​tomatoes, chopped onions, or fried potatoes. This dish was influenced by Spanish colonization. The word “kaldereta” is derived from the Spanish “caldereta,” meaning cauldron.

Pancit Canton

Pancit State is a Filipino dish of Chinese origin that combines yellow wheat noodles with sliced pork, sausage, shrimp, and vegetables and a delicious mixture of soy sauce and oyster sauce.

Turon

Turon is a popular and famous Filipino snack known as lumpiang saging (banana lumpia), made from thinly sliced saba plantain, sprinkle with brown sugar, rolled in a thin wheat wrapper, and fry until golden brown and crispy.

Beef Bulalo Soup

Bulalô is a traditional Filipino soup. It is prepared by cooking beef shank and bone marrow until the fat and collagen dissolve into the broth, giving the dish a rich flavor. Soup is a specialty of the Luzon region and is traditionally eaten at dinner in cold weather. Most versions of the soup include vegetables such as cabbage, green beans, potatoes, onions, and corn on the cob. Since beef shank and bone marrow are not some of the country’s cheapest meats, they can be found in most high-end restaurants in the Philippines.

Silog

Silog refers to a group of Filipino traditionally breakfast. The name is the abbreviation of sinangang in itlog, which means fried garlic rice and eggs. The difference between these dishes is that garlic rice and eggs have other ingredients, such as tapa (sliced ​​meat), Longganisa (sausage), Tocino (bacon), Bangus (milkfish), Lechon, hot dog, pork chop, Spam, fried chicken, steak, etc.

Sinigang

Sinigang means ” stewed dish,” a sour Filipino soup and one of the most popular dishes in filipino cuisine, made of sampalok (tamarind), water spinach, green peppers, cabbage, broccoli, eggplant, diced tomatoes, thinly sliced ​​onions, ginger, green beans, water, oil and salt.

Bibingka

A baked rice cake from the Philippines consisting of rice flour and water. Bibingka originally prepared it in a clay pot lined with banana leaves and usually eaten at breakfast, especially during Christmas.

Taho

Taho is a sweet Filipino dessert made from fresh soft tofu and arnibal syrup and topped with sago pearls ( similar to tapioca pearls). You can find similar desserts in many Asian countries/regions, and most of them require the softest tofu variety, the silky tofu, which has a smooth, creamy texture and incredibly soft consistency.

Dinuguan (pork blood stew)

It is a Philippine savory stew, usually made of pig offal (usually lungs, kidneys, intestines, ears, heart, and nose) and meat dipped in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar.

Sans Rival Cake

Although it originated in France without any dispute, it is a classic Filipino dessert and is an unparalleled cuisine with a long history that truly lives up to its name. It is made of several layers of buttercream, meringue, and chopped roasted cashews.

Halo-Halo

The refreshing halo (mixture) is a popular summer dessert or a fruit and bean mixed snack sprinkled with crushed ice, milk, or ice cream. Some of the most common halo ingredients include banana, jackfruit, coconut, sweet potato, red mung bean, chickpeas, sugar palm fruit, purple yam jam, and Leche Flan.

Pinakbet

Pinakbet is an indigenous dish, It originated in the Ilocos region, but today it appears in many regional and seasonal varieties. Traditionally made with various vegetables and shrimp paste. The most common consists of fatty pork, bitter gourd, pumpkin, sweet potato, eggplant, okra, and green beans.

Chicken Inasal

Locally known as Inasal, it is a unique Filipino grilled chicken dish that originated in Bacolod and became a signature dish throughout the Visaya region. Prepared with chicken marinated in a mixture of coconut vinegar, calamansi, and annatto.

Bicol Express

Bicol express is a popular Filipino dish, a stew made from ​​pork, onion, ginger, garlic, long chilis, a creamy coconut-based sauce, and seasoned with shrimp paste and spicy chili. According to popular belief, Cely Kalaw invented this dish in her Manila restaurant. She was inspired by the traditional Bicolano coconut-infused dishes and named the new invention after the Philippine train service from Manila to the Bicol area.

Chicken Tinola

Tinolang manok or chicken tinola is a nourishing Philippine chicken soup. It can include various chicken cuts in a delicious broth, plus green papaya and chili or malunggay leaves, flavored with ginger, garlic, and fish sauce.

Tapsilog

One of the most common breakfast staples in the Philippines is tapsilog, which consists of thinly sliced ​​beef jerky (called tapa), sliced tomato, a pile of garlic, and a fried egg. 

Kinilaw

It is also referred to as philippine ceviche, a raw seafood dish made from cubed fish mixed with vinegar, tomatoes, onions, ginger, chili peppers, and garlic.

Steamed Rice Cake (puto)

Puto is a popular Filipino steamed rice cake. The popularity of these versatile cakes has led to the development of many modern Puto varieties, which are usually different in texture, color, shape, size, and flavor.

Pichi-Pichi

A Filipino dessert made from steamed cassava and served with freshly grated coconut.

Isaw

Street food from the Philippines, made from barbecued pig or chicken intestines marinaded in soy sauce, oil, ketchup, garlic, and seasonings.

Kwek-Kwek

Kwek Kwek is a kind of tokneneng (egg), street food in the Philippines. Although tokneneng is made with boiled chicken or duck eggs, kwek kwek is a smaller variety and traditional quail eggs. Made up of deep-frying orange batter-covered hard-boiled eggs. Due to their similarities, the two are often confused.

Dinengdeng

Dinengdeng, also known as inabraw, is a traditional Filipino soup made mainly with various vegetables. It originated in the Ilocos region. The most common vegetables used in dinegdeng are jute leaves, marunggay leaves, bitter melon leaves and fruits, alakon blossoms, amaranth leaves, calabaza squash and leaves, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, green beans, chili peppers, banana blossoms, okra, eggplant, Corn, lima beans, mushrooms, taro, and yam.

Banana Cue

One of the most popular sweets in the Philippines. It is made from fried saba bananas and coated with a thick layer of caramel. Because they are usually eaten as street food, sweet bananas are usually placed on bamboo skewers. This unusual name derives from the word “barbecue” because caramelized bananas resemble golden-yellow barbecue.

Pochero

The amazing Filipino stew is a variant of Spanish puchero. It is made of meat (beef, chicken, or pork), tomatoes, onions, garlic, fish sauce, peppercorn, chickpeas, leeks, plantain, potatoes, cabbage, green beans, and bok-choy.

Sinigang na Hipon

A Philippine shrimp soup characterized by sourness and strong saltiness. In addition to shrimp, this dish also contains various vegetables, including onions, tomatoes, green beans, banana peppers, water spinach, taro, radish, and lady’s fingers.

Buko Pie

A traditional Filipino dessert consisting of flaky, crispy crust and creamy coconut filling. It is made with buko (young coconut skin).

Experiencing and trying local traditional food also provides cultural education.

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