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.
Lechon. Lechon is one of the Philippines' most well-known foods whose name translates to “roasted piglet.” However, this dish isn't usually made with piglets, rather with one fully-grown pig, lightly seasoned and roasted whole. Part of what makes lechon so world-famous is its striking visual appearance.
Lechon. Lechon is one of the Philippines' most well-known foods whose name translates to “roasted piglet.” However, this dish isn't usually made with piglets, rather with one fully-grown pig, lightly seasoned and roasted whole. Part of what makes lechon so world-famous is its striking visual appearance.
In the Philippines, adobo is considered the unofficial national dish, taking many forms across the country, but the base ingredients for the stew are typically the same: vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, black pepper and bay leaves, along with some kind of marinated meat or vegetables.
Philippinos tend to prefer beer to wine or hard liquor. So, the most popular drink by sales volume is San Miguel, and due to exports this beer is probally the Philippine drink best know internationally.
The most popular main dish in the Philippines is adobo, which contains chicken, pork, or both. Besides adobo, there are several other main dishes to try.
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