Hello and welcome to this thing we’re doing where we help you figure out what you’re gonna put in your mouth this week. Some of these are recipes we’ve tried, some of these are recipes we’re looking forward to trying, all of them are fucking delicious. Tell us what you want to put in your piehole or suggest your own recipes, and we’ll talk about which things we made, which things we loved, and which things have changed us irreversibly as people. Last week, we chilled out with summer soup.
The Philippines is a chain of islands located geographically near Malaysia, but emotionally near the center of my heart. I have complicated feelings about a lot of things, but my love of Filipino food is not one of those things. Like, 3/4 of the words I know in Filipino are food-related. If I were the lead character on Inside Out, “Filipino food island” would probably be one of my core personality centers. Filipino food is just so good.
Anyway. I’ve personally eaten every dish on this list (albeit not with these exact recipes), and I will personally attest to the deliciousness of each and every one. Enjoy.
1. Kare-Kare (Peanut Butter Stew)
2. Sinigang (Tamarind Soup)
This recipe uses pork, but you can substitute different proteins like chicken or seafood. That’s true of many (most?) Filipino recipes.
3. Lechon (Roasted Pig)
Okay, not this one. Lechon has to be made of pork.
4. Turon (Banana Roll)
Via Ang Sarap.
When my Ate Rose taught me how to make this, she told me I could skip the jackfruit if I couldn’t find it. But just so you know, it’s way better with jackfruit.
5. Pancit Palabok (Rice Noodle With Hardboiled Eggs)
Via The Pinoy Cookbook.
6. Pancit Bihon (Rice Noodles With Meat And Vegetables)
Via Kitchen Confidante.
This pancit variation is the one my family usually has. It tastes like hugs and laughter.
7. Tocino (Grilled Cured Pork)
Via Jinkzz’s Kitchen.
8. Longganisa (Sweet Sausage)
Via Kawaling Pinoy.
Both longganisa and tocino are for breakfast. If you have leftovers, you can chop them up and put them in fried rice.
9. Chicken Adobo
Via Autostraddle.
10. Leche Flan (Custard)
Via Autostraddle.
It tastes better than the photo I took of it here, I promise.
11. Sinangag (Garlic Fried Rice)
Via Filipino Food Store.
If you add itlog (fried egg), the combination is referred to as “silog” (sinangag + itlog). Or if you add other things, those dishes get other cute shortened names. For example: Spamsilog.
Also, you should all read Phoenix’s delightful ode to Spam. The Philippines has a complicated political-economic dependency on the United States. I’m not going to get into it here, but that Spam article would be an okay place to start if you wanted to read about the impact of colonialism on Filipino food.
12. Beef Caldereta (Stewed Beef)
Via Peach Kitchen.
13. Puto (Steamed Rice Cake)
14. Kutsinta (Rice Cake Dessert)
Via Mely’s Kitchen.
15. Ensaymada (Sweet Bun)
Via Sweet Samsations.
The most important thing about this is that there’s cheese and sugar on top.
16. Pastillas De Leche (Milk Candy)
Via Pinay Cooking Corner.
Do you want a history lesson on decorative candy wrappers? Yes, you do.
17. Pork Menudo
Via Pinoy Recipe.
18. Arroz Caldo (Congee)
Via Salu-Salo.
19. Pandesal (Sweet Dinner Rolls)
Via Pig Parts And Beer.
Man cannot live on bread alone, but this bitch could probably live on nothing but pandesal.
20. Mechado (Braised Beef)
Via My Filipino Kitchen.
21. Ginataang Manok (Coconut Chicken)
Via Panlasang Pinay.
22. Lumpia (Egg Roll)
Via Foodie McBooty.
Eat lumpia, and Chinese takeout spring rolls will forever be a soggy, one-note disappointment in comparison. You’ve been warned.
23. Bistek Tagalog (Braised Beef With Citrus)
Via Asian In America.
24. Tinola (Chicken Soup)
Via Burnt Lumpia Blog.
25. Pork BBQ
26. Biko (Sweet Sticky Rice)
Via Ivory Hut.
This was my favorite Filipino dessert as a kid. I always went back for second, third, and fourth helpings at Filipino parties.
27. Bicol Express (Coconut and Chile Stew)
Via PhoodJournal.
FYI, Bicol is a region in the Philippines. There’s also a small fast food chain called Bicol Express.
28. Sitaw Guisado (Stir Fried Long Beans)
Via Crispy Waffle.
One of the few vegan friendly dishes in traditional Filipino cooking.
If you’re interested in the topic, there are some interesting discussions to be had about food justice and decolonization!
29. Chicharon (Pork Crisps)
Via Sweet Cherrie Pie.
30. Mamon (Sponge Cake)
Via Ping Desserts.
31. Crispy Pata (Deep Fried Pork)
Via Ang Sarap.
32. Sisig (Sizzling Pork)
Via The Hungry Excavator.
This dish is traditionally (and best) made with pig face skin and assorted bits. I believe this dish was borne out of a colonialist period in which Filipinos had restricted access to “good” pork products. But like, joke’s on you, Spain. Sisig is awesome.
33. Inihaw Na Liempo (Grilled Pork Belly)
Via Kawaling Pinoy.
34. Siopao (Steamed Bun With Filling)
Via Kawaling Pinoy.
This recipe has a pork asado filling, which is my favorite. But you can put leftover adobo inside, or any number of other fillings.
35. Paella
Via Panpasang Pinoy.
Similar to the Spanish version, but the Filipino kind uses a tomato base.
36. Banana Que (Deep Fried Banana Skewers)
Via Filipino Chow.
37. Suman (Sweet Rice Wrapped In Banana Leaves)
38. Chicken Inasal
Via Centrale Bacolod.
39. Braso De Mercedes (Custard Roll)
Via Kawaling Pinoy.
40. Hopia (Pastry With Bean Filling)
My (white) mother once made a passing mention to my dad’s (Filipino) relatives that she liked hopia. They sent her four gigantic boxes full of it when they got home, and the love-and-hopia-filled shipments continued coming at regular intervals afterwards. We’ve learned that hopia freezes really well. So stock up!
I just had to wipe up the drool from my desk and now I’m starving. THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE!! Growing up, most of my friends were Filipino and so every birthday party or big neighborhood celebration was chockful of all of this wonderful goodness. When I moved to Delaware, one of the biggest things I missed from home was easy access to Filipino food. I finally found a Filipino restaurant, and I think I scared the lady behind the counter half to death with my excitement. Also, feeling the comment about your family sending all of that hopia to your mom. The minute that the older ladies at church found out how much my mom loved their pancit, she’d come home from work at least once a month with homemade pancit and lumpia. Woe to the person who finished the container. Thanks again!!!!
That sounds delightful! So glad you found a Filipino restaurant near you to get your fix. :)
Ahhhh thank you for this!!!
I’m glad you liked it!
AAAAHH!!!! ITS THE FOOD!! THIS LIST IS EVERYTHING LAURA.
Being Filipino pretty much messes up my dieting plans. #31-33 are REALLY REALLY great with drinking. And lechon is basically the roasted pig on a spit with an apple in it’s mouth. YEP. You know, I think I’ve eaten almost everything on here too…Kare kare can be veggies by itself but I’ve had a friend use de-boned bangus (milkfish) and my uses ox tail which I think is more traditional (?) A lot of the recipes that involve meat like Sinigang and Adobo can be substitued with pork or beef. And a note on the Bistek…there’s this hidden achievement to make it like grandmas make it. My mom has been trying for years and just recently got it down.
We have a lot of forms of pancit but I really like Miki which is really just the noodles but they’re thicker and we mix it with bihon =) It really is hugs and laughter.
I also like bulalo (beef shank soup) We like to use the bones that still have the marrow in them and then eat them. How do we get the marrow out? SPOONS :D
I think aside from Turon and Braso de Mercedes, my favorite dessert would have to be Sans Rival which is made from all the egg whites in the world. It’s very light and airy until it gets pretty soggy. The sweet butter cream in between is really good though.
Ok off to ask my mom to cook and teach me bye!!!
Parents/grandparents passing down recipes and techniques is the best! Have fun.
Like how we put a fork with the boiling meat to make it softer.
Vinzzzzzzzz, I thought of you while I was writing this list!
I love bulalo too. I didn’t know the word for it, though, until right now. So thank you!!
I want to eat all of this except the banana things. But everything else looks so good.
FYI – Only the turon and banana que taste like bananas. The ones that use banana leaves as wrappings/decorative platters do not. :)
Try the banana que and turon, srsly! My Aussie boss was pretty much delighted to hear and try that there’s a certain banana specie that can be cooked that way haha
had to do a double-take when i saw AS posted a filipino food link. yay intersectionality! yay fellow queer pin@ys! thank you, laura <3
<3 <3 <3
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Love all the all the food I was just wondering if there is an option to print the recipe.
No, but really.
Yes and yes and yes and yes and holy crap now I’m hungry.
Compiling this list made me SO hungry.
Clearly you should come visit me and I will dazzle you with my ability to eat my weight in lumpia on the beach while you nom that pandesal. VIV YOU BETTER COME TOO
IN.
Yes i should bring turon
I am very glad I made two dinners tonight so I only feel moderately hungry reading this list. Thank you Laura!
A lot of these look great, but I may have to get creative with substitutions for a couple of ingredients I can’t get locally. Not as creative as a recipe comment I saw the other day though, where someone claimed to have successfully replaced miso paste with orange juice and I realised everything in this post is true after all.
hahaha that list.
I think actually though, substitutions are very much in the spirit of Filipino cooking! There are so many variations on every dish.
All of this looks delicious, like alle of this, and I am a vegetarian!
Mmm, maybe you can make a veggie siopao. ^_^
It’s list like these that has me rethinking about being vegan. I see the Siopao at my local Famima all the time, but they have it with red ann, which I think is just red beans? Didn’t realize it was Filipino food. I may have to try it sometime. Thank you
I have definitely had siopao with red beans inside. It was good!
Now I’m hungry! Pandesal is one of the best foods of all time haha you can put anything in it as a spread! Anytime of the day you can eat pandesal! LOL
Also, I don’t cook very well and I don’t know how to cook lots of dishes but would you believe I know how to cook kare-kare? That complicated dish is not very complicated, others must try it! Especially with real ingredients, peanut butter is oh so yummy! Altho I don’t eat much of the ginataan ones, they make my tummy hurt haha but others must try sisig when they’re drinking beer, and lechon (left overs) is also best when you cook it with vinegar and Mang Tomas (Google it, it’s a sarsa) and the result is Lechon Paksiw! And because there’s vinegar, it doesn’t spoil easily!
Thanks Laura for this post! #FilipinoStraddlersUnite LOL
Hm! I need to find this Mang Tomas.
OH MY GOD YES MANG TOMAS. I’ve found them in other Asian stores if there isnt a Filipino one by you
Whenever there’s lechon at a Filipino fam-jam, Mang Tomas is always nearby!
I should bring turon to CAMP NEXT YEAR
“The Philippines is a chain of islands located geographically near Malaysia, but emotionally near the center of my heart.”
This is awesome. I just had my jaw wired shut and need to drink through a straw for 6 weeks, and the surgeon gave me a book of recipes that’s probably from 1967 because everything has cheez whiz and jello and maraschino cherries in it. Seriously, you guys. “Chicken tacos” with Cheez Whiz.
Once I can life the bags of frozen peas off my face and make stuff for myself I am probably going to try making some of these things and blending them up – not the ideal way to savour them but hey, if you need to eat through a straw it had better be fucking delicious.
And by “Chicken tacos with Cheez Whiz”, I meant “Chicken tacos with Cheez Whiz” IN A BLENDER.
Oh gosh, that sounds really frustrating. I made another food list a while ago that might be helpful? 35 Soft Foods For People Who Don’t Have Teeth (Or Whatever)
Best of luck!
Yo, but what about the mango float?!
Love! Also: watermelon smoothies. I’d never had one before I went to the Philippines, but they’re awesome and so refreshing in hot weather.
I just remembered! Filipino spaghetti! Hahaha.
Haha YES!! Phoenix’s Ode to Spam is where I remember it from “Coming from a culinary culture that puts chopped-up hot dogs in sweet spaghetti”
My family doesn’t make this, but I got it one time at Jollibee in NYC and was like WHAAAT. Haha.
Mind blown, eh? LOL Did you know that McDonald’s here in the Philippines actually serve spaghetti? Altho not as sweet as Jollibee’s.
Me:
Our McDonald’s in the Philippines serves rice and fried chicken!!!!!!! It’s the best! Especially the gravy!!
I remember loving Filipino spaghetti as a kid, especially since it has hot dogs and is a bit sweeter than Italian spaghetti (because of the banana ketchup or bagged Del Monte brand, maybe?)
Dang it Laura I just ate, and now I wish that my stomach were filled with hopia instead. Next time!
Something to hopia for tomorrow.
Hopia like it!
Oh hey puto, come here often?
Laura, I can’t find a concise, elegant way to express my messy feels into a heartfelt thank you for these recipes without going into story teller mode. Let’s just say you’ve given me a way to connect to a part of someone that was not really conveyed in life who is 10 years gone from the world of the living and was an important person in my life that I still miss keenly.
Merci Beaucoup
Also is it safe to assume the recipes with saba bananas and platains are supposed to be young not mature? Cause it isn’t explicitly stated and oh boy do so many people make tostones when they’re trying for maduros.
Yes, I think what you’re describing is what I’ve seen.
Here’s banana picking advice from Market Manila: http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/saba-or-cooking-bananas
Ah so just a mite on the almost mature side, like a smartass 11 year old bookworm.
Put ice cream in pan de sal. It will change your life.
Yes I can verify this. Here is me in the middle of having my life changed:
I think you forgot to put in there Halo-halo or Buko-halo (which is way more delicious than plain halo-halo).
Also. Also. Also. Please add Binignit. It’s just my favorite. Thank you for sharing this!
Ooh, I’ve never had Binignit! I’ll have to try it.
Very excited to try the couple of vegetarian recipes on here! Especially the sweets. Holy lesbian chefs they look good.
i want to make one of these every day for the next 40 days and the paella at least 10 times bc i’m obsessed with paellas
This all looks so good! I can’t wait to try my hand at making a few of these next week.
Girl knows her Pinoy dishes! This made me hungry.
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These pictures make my mouth water! I love being a filipino so I can taste these kinds of filipino recipes.
Agreed with the title!. These are some of my fave filipino dish recipes.
I miss eating that inihaw na liempo. Sadly pork is not allowed legally here in Saudi Arabia.
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There’s not a single one of these pinoy delicacies that you won’t like. They’re all just delicious in their own way and very pinoy
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