Filipino cuisine is a mix of native and imported flavors that has recently been tagged as the next big thing to look out for in the culinary world.
The Philippines is known for its mouth-watering food, and dishes like adobo chicken, lechon kabab, and pancit are some of the most popular Filipino dishes abroad.
Whether you’re a fan of fiery hot spices or sweet and savory flavors, there’s something for everyone on the Philippines menu, quite different with Thai cuisine.
Filipino Cooking Traditions
There are many traditional cooking techniques used in the preparation of Filipino food, like using fresh herbs and spices. This creates a unique flavor profile that is often appreciated by those who enjoy gastronomy.
Some of the most popular Filipino dishes include pork belly with garlic and chili sauce, lumpia (spring rolls) with prawns or pork, adobo chicken with calamansi (lime) juice, and kinilaw (Filipino-style seafood soup).
The variety of flavors and textures that can be found in Filipino cuisine makes it a perfect choice for those looking for something different.
20+ Best Filipino Dishes to Eat in the Philippines
The country’s diverse geographical location, coupled with its long and rich culture, has led to an incredible variety of dishes and flavors that are sure to tantalize even the most discerning taste buds.
From sweet and savory classics to innovative new interpretations, Filipino cuisine has something for everyone.
For a better overview, here are top 20+ best Philippines Foods you should try as soon as you read this post, according to Mundo Maya Travel:
1. Adobo
Adobo, a Filipino dish, is a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and salt. It is usually served with chicken or pork.
In the Philippines, adobo is a dish that features a combination of spices and flavors that are often used to make Filipino dishes.
The name adobo comes from Spanish and means “stew.” Adobo typically contains chicken, pork, or beef, and it is simmered in a sauce made with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and vinegar. Some variations of adobo also include tomatoes or bell peppers.
2. Kare-kare: One of the Best Filipino Dishes You Should Try Now!
Kare-kare is a Filipino dish that is made from a mixture of ground beef, pork, and chicken with peanut sauce. It is usually served over steamed rice. Kare-kare is also popular in the United States where it can be found in many Filipino restaurants.
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).
3. Lechon
Lechon is a popular Filipino dish that originates from the city of Cebu. The meat is usually cooked in a claypot over an open flame and served with rice and various condiments.
Lechon is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate, with its beautifully marbled pork belly. It’s also a popular choice for those looking to indulge in some hearty, yet delicious, Filipino cuisine.
If you’re ever in the Philippines and want to try some of the country’s most iconic food, don’t forget about lechon!
4. Sinigang
Sinigang is one of the most popular Filipino dishes that usually consists of vegetables, pork or chicken, and a sour broth made from a mixture of fish sauce, tamarind juice, soy sauce, and vinegar.
The dish is often served over steamed rice or with lumpia wraps. Sinigang can be found in most restaurants in the Philippines and is also popular at home.
5. Crispy Pata
Crispy pata is a popular Filipino dish that is made from diced pork butt or leg. The dish is usually served with a sauce made from garlic, oil, vinegar, and salt that gives it a slightly sour taste. It can also be topped with crispy onions or chopped green onions.
A delicious crispy pata is an equally decadent substitute if you are unable to finish your meal on the whole lechon. The entire pig leg is used in this delicacy, which is deep-fried to absolute perfection.
You’ll be well on your way to discovering your next favorite guilty pleasure if you serve the dish with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce and some minced garlic and chilli on the side.
6. Sisig: One of the Most Unique Filipino Dishes to Try!
Sisig is a Filipino dish that is made from pig’s head, lungs, heart, liver and stomach. The dish is usually eaten as a main course or as part of a meal. Sisig has a reputation for being both savory and spicy.
Sisig is one of the most popular pulutan (beer chow) among Filipinos, served sizzling on a hot stone dish. In the Philippines, no part of the animal is wasted, so the meat is mostly chopped-up pieces of the pig’s face.
The traditional method is to add pig’s brain to the meal, while some recipes call for mayonnaise or a raw egg (to be incorporated in while still hot).
7. Pancit Guisado: One of the Best Philippines Foods
Pancit guisado is a Filipino dish that is made of rice and minced chicken or pork mixed with a savory gravy.
The dish usually has vegetables, such as onions, carrots, and bell peppers, and is wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed.
Pancit guisado can be served as an appetizer or main course. It is often eaten at informal gatherings or as part of a meal.
8. Bulalo: Still the Best Pinoy Food
A good steaming bowl of bulalo is the ideal companion for a cold, wet day in the Philippines.
Fish sauce, onions, and peppercorns are added to some water along with beef shanks and bone marrow, which are slowly cooked before being combined with vegetables.
The province of Batangas in the country’s Southern Luzon area is particularly well-known for this cuisine.
The Bulalo is a popular Filipino dish that is made from beef or chicken cooked in a coconut milk and garlic sauce. It is usually served with sticky rice and mangoes.
Also Read: 15 Best Restaurants in Singapore: From Fine Dining to Budget-friendly Eats
The Bulalo is a popular Filipino dish that is made from beef or chicken cooked in a coconut milk and garlic sauce. It is usually served with sticky rice and mangoes.
9. Pork Barbecue
Pork barbecue is one of the most popular Filipino dishes. It is made by cooking pork skewers over a charcoal or electric grill until they are charred and cooked through.
This dish can be served with a variety of sides, including rice, vegetables, and dipping sauces. In the Philippines, pork barbecue is usually eaten as part of a meal, along with other traditional Filipino dishes like chicken adobo and pancit canton.
10. Palabok
Palabok is a Filipino dish that is made of rice and various meats, usually pork but sometimes chicken or even beef. It is often served with a side of soy sauce, vinegar, and chili paste.
Another popular method of preparing pancit is palabok, which is bright orange and filled with a variety of flavors and textures.
It is combined with a shrimp sauce that uses annatto powder to give it its recognizable color. A variety of garnishes are added, including hard-boiled egg slices, crumbled pig rinds, tinapa (smoked fish) flakes, and spring onions.
11. Filipino Breakfast Dishes Called Silog
Filipino breakfast dishes are known as silog. The word silog comes from the Tagalog word siping, which means “to steam.” Filipinos traditionally eat silog for breakfast because it is easy to make and fast to prepare.
Breakfast silog usually includes a variety of Filipino foods such as rice, eggs, pork, and vegetables. Some popular silog breakfast dishes include sinugban (a type of glutinous rice porridge), kinilaw (a type of egg omelette), and pancit (a type of rice noodle soup).
12. Bistek Tagalog
Bistek Tagalog is a Filipino dish that is made from beef strips that are coated in a bread crumb and egg mixture, then deep-fried. It is served with a dipping sauce that may include vinegar, soy sauce, or chili pepper flakes.
The Filipino beef steak, known as bistek Tagalog, is a delectable combination of salty, sour, and sweet flavors.
A marinade made primarily of soy sauce and kalamansi is applied to thinly sliced beef before it is cooked and topped with caramelized onions. The somewhat sweet onions provide as a counterbalance to the meat’s powerful salty and acidic flavors.
13. Fried Lumpia: The Filipino Cuisine You Should Try Today
Fried lumpia is a popular Filipino dish made from fried dough filled with different savory and sweet fillings. Most common variations of this dish include ground pork, shrimp, or vegetables.
It can also be deep-fried instead of boiled, making it a healthier alternative to other fried foods. Fried lumpia is often served as an appetizer or snack in Filipino restaurants and can also be found at street carts and markets.
14. Beef Kaldereta
Kaldereta, or sometimes called Filipino beef stew, is a dish that is made mostly of beef and pork. The meat is slow-cooked for hours in a stew pot with vegetables, bay leaves, garlic, and salt. Kaldereta is usually served over rice and accompanied with pickles and vinegar.
In addition to using goat meat in place of beef, vegetables including potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers are frequently used.
15. Dinuguan: A Unique Filipino Cuisine to Try
Dinuguan is a Pinoy food that is made from minced pork and chicken. It is usually eaten as a main course, but can also be served as an appetizer.
The dish is cooked in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. dinuguan is usually served with rice and flatbread.
16. Inihaw na Liempo
The Filipino cuisine is usually prepared with vinegar, sugar, salt, chili pepper, garlic and onions. It is also common to add tomatoes to the dish.
Inihaw na Liempo is a popular dish in the Philippines and it can be found at most Filipino restaurants.
17. Ginataang Gulay
Ginataang gulay is a Filipino dish made from chicken or fish cooked in vinegar and soy sauce, with onions, garlic, and green peppers.
It is often served over steamed rice or noodles. Ginataang gulay is considered a comfort food because of its savory and sweet flavors.
Coconut milk, or gata, is essentially culinary gold. Anything prepared with gata is sure to be delicious.
Simply boil your preferred veggies in some coconut milk if you want a change from the conventional meat-heavy Filipino recipes. Squash and string beans pair really well with it, and you can add some chilli for a unique kick.
18. Chicken Inasal: Traditional Filipino Food
This cuisine is a skewered chicken dish, often served with vinegar and garlic, cooked in Bacolod and is marinated in a specific vinegar, kalamansi, ginger, and lemongrass marinade.
The annatto oil, which is also drizzled over the plain rice it is served with, is responsible for giving it its enticing golden-brown hue. For added flavor, dip the chicken in sinamak (spiced vinegar).
19. Kilawin: The Real Taste of Philippines
The Philippines are well-known for their delicious foods. One of the most popular Filipino dishes is Kilawin. This dish is made from beef and pork simmered in a broth with onions, garlic, and bay leaves. It can be served over rice or noodles.
Kinilaw or kilawin is the Filipino version of ceviche. Fish and seafood, such tuna and tanigue, are frequently used as the main ingredients.
They are then cured in vinegar and kalamansi. For a more complex flavor combination, onions and some chilli are typically added. Typically, kilawin is offered as a starter or as pulutan (beer chow) while drinking.
20. Arroz Caldo: Still One of the Best Filipino Dishes
It is a popular Filipino food that is typically made with chicken or pork broth, rice, and Manila clams. Arroz Caldo can be served hot or cold and is often topped with cooked onions and parsley.
This cuisine is popular as Filipino breakfast, also served for merienda. Its flavors come from ginger, garlic, onions, and a delicious broth.
Individual portions are completed with fried garlic pieces, chopped green onions, and a drizzle of kalamansi. Chicken cuts and hard-boiled eggs are also added.
21. Lechon Kawali
Lechon Kawali is a Filipino dish that consists of chicken cooked in a sweet and sour sauce. The dish is usually served with rice and vegetables. Lechon Kawali is one of the most popular Filipino cuisine dishes and is often eaten as an appetizer or main course.
There is still a way to savor the guilt-inducing pleasure of lechon even if not everyone has access to a garden and a place to charcoal roast a whole pig. You can cook it in a kawali (wok).
Pork belly is cooked until it is soft in boiling water (often with bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt), then it is air dried, salt-rubbed, and deep-fried until it turns golden. Tender meat and flawless cracking skin are the goals. Enjoy with spicy vinegar or lechon gravy.
Conclusin: Which One is Your Most Favorite Pinoy Food to Try Today?
In conclusion, whether you’re looking for a quick and convenient meal or are in the mood for some unique and flavorful cuisine, even the best Filipino breakfast to start your day, the Philippines has something for everyone.
From classic Filipino dishes like sinigang (a sour fish soup) to more modern creations like pork belly with bagoong (a type of shrimp paste), there’s always something for you and everyone to enjoy.
So if you’re ever feeling adventurous and want to try something new, head on over to one of the many amazing Filipino restaurants in your area!
