The Best Dishes Food Guide in The Philippines
Posted by Maris on 6th Dec 2023
Traditional Filipino cuisine has recently been dubbed the 'next great thing' in the culinary world. With the country's rich history of influences, traditional cooking skills, and the Filipinos' aptitude for blending flavors and making the most of whatever ingredients are available, the result is unpretentious, no-frills food that's simply excellent. While it is our role to teach you about the best Filipino foods, it is your job to enjoy them.
Adobo
The magnificent adobo is one of the most well-known Filipino recipes. It's created by stewing meat (typically chicken, pork, or a combination of the two) in soy sauce and vinegar, then seasoning with peppercorns and bay leaves. For some excellent adobo flakes, remove the meat from the bone and fried until crispy.
Kare-Kare
This hearty stew is cooked with peanut sauce and oxtail, but other meatier cuts of beef can also be used. Many Filipinos believe kare-kare to be incomplete without a side of bagoong (fermented seafood paste).
Lechon
The famous lechon is one of the top candidates among the best Filipino meals (together with adobo). After all, it's difficult to beat a succulent, fully-roasted pig with flawlessly crisp skin and luscious meat. The tastiest version of this sinful dessert may be found on the island of Cebu, but it is classic Filipino food that is nearly always served at every large Pinoy gathering or fiesta.
Sinigang
Sinigang is a Filipino staple and one of the best pork dishes in the country. A tasty sour broth made tart by tamarind (occasionally kamias), it's packed with various veggies and your choice of meat. Sinigang na baboy (pork), sinigang na hipon (shrimp), and sinigang na isda (fish) are popular variations.
Crispy Pata
If you can't get your hands on a whole lechon, a delicious crispy pata is an equally wicked substitute. It's a recipe that deep fries the entire pig leg to perfection. Serve with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce on the side, along with some minced garlic and chili, and you've found your next guilty pleasure.
Sisig
Sisig, served sizzling on a hot stone dish, is a popular pulutan (beer chow) among Filipinos. The meat is mostly diced up sections of the pig's face - no cut of the animal is wasted in the Philippines. To give it a creamier texture, some recipes utilize mayonnaise or raw egg (to be stirred in while hot), but the traditional approach is to use pig's brain.
Pancit Guisado
Pancit (noodles), of which pancit guisado is likely the most well-known version, is one of the more popular Filipino dishes among Westerners with Pinoy friends (owing to its typical inclusion in Filipino birthday parties). This noodle dish is presented as a sign of long life, making it a must-have at birthday celebrations. The sautéed noodles are accompanied by sliced vegetables and meat (all cooked in broth, soy sauce, and fish sauce), and kalamansi is squeezed over the dish before it is served.
Bulalo
A good steaming bowl of bulalo is the ideal companion for a cold, wet day in the Philippines. Slow-cooking beef shanks and bone marrow (still in the bone) in water with fish sauce, onions, and peppercorns, then adding vegetables, results in this delectable soup. The province of Batangas in the country's Southern Luzon region is particularly well-known for this cuisine.
Pork Barbecue
Pinoy pig barbecue is a popular merienda (snack in between meals) in the Philippines. While this skewered sweet beef pairs well with the omnipresent plain rice at meals, there's nothing like getting hungry in the middle of the afternoon and strolling down the street to the vendors grilling them roadside for only PHP15 ($0.30) a stick.
Palabok
Palabok, which is bright orange and full of diverse textures and flavors, is another popular technique to prepare pancit. It's combined with a shrimp sauce that receives its distinct color from annatto powder. It is topped with a variety of toppings, including hard-boiled egg slices, crushed chicharon (pork rinds), tinapa (smoked salmon) flakes, and spring onions.
Filipino breakfast dishes (‘silog’)
A traditional Filipino breakfast includes beef, sinangag (garlic fried rice), and itlog (egg). The name of each dish differs slightly based on the meat served with the rice and egg. Tapsilog is a plate of tapa (cured beef), sinangag, and itlog, for example. Tocilog is a plate that includes tocino (sweet cured pork) instead of tapa. Longsilog, on the other hand, is one that uses longganisa (sausages). These hearty breakfast portions are an excellent way to start the day.
Bistek Tagalog
Bistek Tagalog, or Filipino beef steak, is a delectable combination of salty, sour, and sweet flavors. Thinly sliced beef is marinated in a mixture of mostly soy sauce and kalamansi before being fried and topped with caramelized onions. The onions are just sweet enough to cut into and balance the meat's powerful salty and acidic flavors.
Fried Lumpia
Another food that is usually expected to arrive at Filipino parties is lumpia, the Filipino counterpart of the egg roll. Deep-fried buns loaded with minced meat and veggies that are served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Lumpia is nearly often included in a Filipino feast when food for a big Filipino family must be prepared in huge quantities.
Beef Kaldereta
Kaldereta is a thick and flavorful Filipino beef stew enhanced with tomato sauce and liver paste. Goat meat can also be substituted for beef, and vegetables like as carrots, bell peppers, and potatoes are commonly included.
Dinuguan
The dark-colored dinuguan is another Filipino stew, but a more unusual one. It's produced by simmering pork and organs in pig's blood and vinegar. It is frequently served with puto, a slightly sweet steamed rice cake that enhances its savory flavor.
Inihaw na Liempo
Inihaw na liempo, or grilled pork belly, is made with marinated and grilled pork belly, basting the meat while it cooks. A traditional liempo marinade can be a combination of any of the following ingredients, depending on taste: soy sauce, fish sauce, banana ketchup, garlic, kalamansi, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Perfect with your hands, your favorite sawsawan (dipping sauce), and a hearty plate of plain rice.
Ginataang Gulay
Gata, or coconut milk, is culinary gold. Anything cooked in gata is guaranteed to be delicious. If you want to avoid the conventional meat-heavy Filipino recipes, simply boil your favorite vegetables in coconut milk. It pairs particularly nicely with squash and string beans, and extra chilli can be added for a spicy touch.
Chicken Inasal
The greatest grilled chicken in the city of Bacolod is marinated in a specific marinade of vinegar, kalamansi, ginger, and lemongrass. It gets its appealing golden-brown color from annatto oil, which is also poured over the plain rice with which it is served. Dip the chicken in sinamak (spiced vinegar) for added flavor.
Kilawin
Kilawin, commonly known as kinilaw, is a type of Filipino ceviche. Tuna and tanigue, for example, are frequently utilized and then cured in vinegar and kalamansi. For a more complex flavor combination, onions and chilies are commonly included. Kilawin is typically served as an appetiser or as pulutan (beer chow) with drinks.
Arroz Caldo
Arroz caldo is a rice porridge with flavors of ginger, garlic, onions, and a flavorful broth that is commonly consumed for breakfast and merienda. Chicken and hard-boiled eggs are also included, and individual portions are topped with fried garlic bits, chopped green onions, and a drizzle of kalamansi.
Lechon Kawali
Even if you don't have a backyard or a space to charcoal roast an entire pig, you can still experience the guilt-inducing pleasure of lechon by cooking it in a kawali (wok). Pork belly is boiled in boiling water until soft (typically with bay leaves, peppercorn, and salt), then air-dried, rubbed with salt, and deep fried till golden brown. The goal is to have excellent crackling skin and delicate flesh. Serve this Filipino dish with lechon gravy or spicy vinegar.