And while I'm big advocate of celebrating Filipino culture year-round (👋), I'll never pass up an opportunity to highlight one of its finest features: the food!
So whether you're already a total pro when it comes to Filipino cuisine, or you're just getting started, here are some favorites to feast on — from dinners, to desserts, to drinks. Kain tayo!
Traditionally, kare kare is a rich stew made with slow-simmered oxtail and savory peanut sauce. But this version swaps oxtail for easier-to-find beef chunks — then tosses everything into the Instant Pot so you can get all the same flavors in much less time.
Roast pig is a party favorite, but the traditional spit-roasted preparation takes a *ton* of work. If you want all the best things about lechon — shatteringly crispy skin, tender and juicy meat inside — try this clever weeknight-friendly version, which starts in a Crock Pot and finishes in the oven.
Hopia are little moon-shaped pastries with sweet, paste-like fillings like ube or mung bean. Fair warning that they're a bit of work when you make them from scratch. (But they're worth it!)
With a marinade that includes soy sauce, vinegar, chili peppers, and (low-key Filipino pantry favorite 🚨) 7Up, these are equal parts salty, sweet, and spicy.
Sisig — or chopped pork that's been boiled, grilled, and fried — is a staple of the cuisine. And here, Amelia Rampe shares the breakfast version she makes every year for Christmas. She uses pork belly (instead of pork bits), streamlines the cooking method, and tops it all with fried eggs.
Ginataan translates to "done [or cooked] with coconut milk." This version spikes shrimp with garlic and chili —but you can swap in any protein or vegetable you'd like.
Tapsilog is a popular Filipino breakfast that includes beef, garlic fried rice, and fried eggs. Serve it with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, or a lime or vinegar dipping sauce.
Like many dishes on this list, you can find cross-cultural variations everywhere — and steamed buns are no exception. The Filipino version is siopao, often filled with pork.
Think of this as a Filipino variation on cinnamon rolls or even babka. A sweet paste of coconut and purple yam is swirled into flaky dough, then baked.
Filipino spaghetti is sweeter than what you're used to. That's because the sauce often contains banana ketchup, a favorite condiment of the cuisine. (If you want to go real homestyle, you gotta add sliced hot dogs, too.)
Often called Filipino bacon, tocino is pork that sits for several hours (or days) in a mixture of sugar, salt, garlic, and oil. Then it's fried up in a hot pan until the coating caramelizes.
Halo-halo means "mix mix" in Tagalog, and that's exactly what you're supposed to do with it. The dessert is a hodgepodge of ingredients, including shaved ice, sweet beans, fruit, and ube ice cream.
Adobo is one of the most popular Filipino dishes and is considered unofficially by many as the national dish. It usually consists of pork or chicken, sometimes both, stewed or braised in a sauce usually made from vinegar, cooking oil, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, and soy sauce.
Leche flan tops the list of Filipino desserts because of its soft and rich texture. Interestingly, leche flan is the Filipino version of creme caramel. However, leche flan uses condensed and evaporated milk as its base.
What is the national drink of the Philippines? There are plenty of regional brews (made from coconut, cane, palm, etc.), but the most consumed alcoholic beverage is San Miguel Beer.
A typical Filipino diet in a day consists of about three and a half (3 ½) cups of cooked rice, one (1) matchbox of fried fish, and half (1/2) cup of boiled vegetables per day and these are usually consumed during the three (3) major meals of the day: breakfast, lunch and supper [].
Introduction: My name is Tyson Zemlak, I am a excited, light, sparkling, super, open, fair, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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