Have you ever tried Filipino food? I’m not surprised if you haven’t because for one reason or another, Filipino cuisine hasn’t caught on internationally as much as other Asian cuisines like Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, or Thai.

So, what exactly is Filipino food? Visitors trying the food in the Philippines for the first time may find it like Spanish food. Some will pick up on the strong Chinese influences while others will recognize localized versions of American fast food like Filipino-style burgers, hot dogs, and fried chicken.

Because of the country’s colonial history, Filipino food has evolved into a melting pot of eastern and western influences, so much so that some writers have described it as “Asian fusion before Asian fusion even existed”.

If you’re visiting the Philippines and looking to really dig into the cuisine, then I hope this list of popular Filipino dishes leads you to some fantastic meals.

Adobo

The mighty adobo is a well-known Filipino dish. It is made by stewing meat (usually chicken, pork, or a combination of the two) in soy sauce and vinegar, with peppercorns and bay leaves added for flavor. For some tasty adobo flakes, remove the meat from the bone and fry until crispy.

Kare-Kare

This hearty stew is made with peanut sauce and oxtail, but other meatier cuts of beef can also be used. Many Filipinos consider kare-kare to be incomplete without a side of bagoong (fermented seafood paste).

Crispy Sisig

Sisig, served sizzling on a hot stone plate, is a popular pulutan (beer chow) among Filipinos. The meat is primarily chopped up parts of the pig’s face — no cut of the animal is wasted in the Philippines. Some recipes use mayonnaise or raw egg (to be mixed in while the dish is still hot) to give it a creamier texture, but the traditional method is to incorporate pig’s brain into the dish.

Lechon

The famous lechon is one of the top contenders among the best Filipino dishes (along with adobo). After all, it’s difficult to beat a succulent, fully roasted pig with perfectly crisp skin and juicy meat. The best version of this sinful treat can be found on the island of Cebu, but it is almost always served at any grand Pinoy gathering or fiesta.

Sinigang

Sinigang is a Filipino classic. A delicious sour broth made tangy by tamarind (sometimes kamias), it’s filled with various vegetables and your choice of meat. Sinigang na baboy (pork), sinigang na hipon (shrimp), and sinigang na isda (chicken) are popular variations (fish).

Crispy Pata

 

If you can’t get your hands on a whole lechon, a delicious crispy pata is an equally sinful substitute. It’s a dish that deep fries the entire pig leg to perfection. Serve with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce on the side, along with some chopped garlic and chili, and you’ve found your next guilty pleasure.

Bulalo

A nice hot bowl of bulalo is the ideal companion for a cool, rainy day in the Philippines. This flavorful soup is made by slow-cooking beef shanks and bone marrow (still in the bone) in water with fish sauce, onions, and peppercorn, then adding vegetables. The province of Batangas in the country’s Southern Luzon region is particularly well-known for this dish.

Palabok

Palabok, a vibrant orange vegetable with a variety of textures and flavors, is another popular way to prepare pancit. It’s combined with a shrimp sauce that gets its distinctive color from annatto powder. It is topped with hard-boiled eggs, crushed chicharon (pork rinds), tinapa (smoked fish) flakes, and spring onions.

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 primarily 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 strong salty and acidic flavors.

Beef Kaldereta

Kaldereta is a rich and flavorful Filipino beef stew enhanced with tomato sauce and liver paste. Goat meat can also be substituted for beef, and a variety of vegetables, such as carrots, bell peppers, and potatoes, can be added.

Dinuguan

The dark-colored dinuguan is another Filipino stew, albeit a more unusual one. It’s made by simmering pork and organs in pig’s blood and vinegar. It’s frequently served with puto, a slightly sweet steamed rice cake that complements its savory flavor.

 Arroz Caldo

Arroz caldo is a rice porridge with flavors of ginger, garlic, onions, and a tasty broth that is commonly eaten for breakfast and merienda. Cuts of chicken and hard-boiled eggs are also included, and individual servings are topped with fried garlic bits, chopped green onions, and a kalamansi drizzle.

Lechon Kawali

Though not everyone has a backyard or a space to charcoal roast an entire pig, there is another way to enjoy the guilt-inducing goodness of lechon — by cooking it in a kawali (wok). Pork belly is cooked in boiling water until tender (usually with bay leaves, peppercorn, and salt), then air-dried, rubbed with salt, and deep fried until golden brown. The goal is to have perfect crackling skin and tender meat. Serve with spiced vinegar or lechon gravy.

Kilawin

 

Kilawin, also known as kinilaw, is a type of Filipino ceviche. Tuna and tanigue, for example, are frequently used and then cured in vinegar and kalamansi. For a more complex flavor combination, onions and chili are usually added. Kilawin is typically served as an appetizer or as pulutan (beer chow) when consumed.

 Balut

Balut is probably the most infamous street food in the Philippines, and it is also the most likely to be involved in a drunken dare involving tourists. It’s essentially a boiled duck egg. The duck eggs used for Balut, on the other hand, have been fertilized and incubated for 14 to 18 days. The ideal period of incubation for the perfect balut is 17 days.