Pinoy Food: 10 Types of Filipino Dishes that You Should Try
There are surely lots of types of Filipino dishes that are worth trying. These will absolutely make your mouth water. One of the most famous is balut, which is a duck embryo aged 17-21 days.
For most people, this food is quite challenging, and many are reluctant to eat it. But extreme food like this is very famous and mostly sold as night snacks.
Besides its extreme food, the Philippines also has many dishes that are better known for their divine tastes. And since the Philippines was ruled by Spain for hundreds of years, many Filipino dishes got influenced by the Spanish culture.
Here we have a list consisting of 10 types of Filipino dishes that you can try while you’re staying here, I didn’t add Pansit because everyone knows you should have it! haha!
Table of Contents
List of Types of Filipino Dishes that You Should Try
1. Adobo
This Spanish-influenced dish is the most popular food in the Philippines. Adobo is Spanish, which means to be marinated. There are various types of Adobo, but the most popular is chicken adobo and pork adobo. Meats marinated with soybean sauce, vinegar, and other traditional spices. Traditional adobo often uses clay pots as a place for cooking, while many modern adobo uses metal pans. There are so many places providing this dish, with the average price is around $5.50.
2. Lechon
One of the best types of Filipino dishes that you MUST try is the Lechon. It is a pork dish and generally served for celebrations, such as birthdays, weddings, Christmas, or other holidays. This dish has a thick Hispanic culture that brought to the Philippines hundreds of years ago. Cooking Lechon is not simple. The seasoned pork roasted on hot coals for hours until it has a tender, runny, and chewy meat yet crispy skin. This dish is available throughout the Philippines, especially in Cebu, where Lechon is tourists’ favorite dish.
3. Sisig
Sisig is another culinary from the Philippines that got influenced by Spanish culture. Sisig is processed offal and meat with abundant herbs and spices. This dish has a savory flavor and best eaten with white rice while still warm. The traditional way to enjoy this dish is to add pork brains to the dish. But if you are not too keen on this mixture, you can add mayonnaise or raw eggs to produce a more chewy texture.
4. Kare-Kare
Kare Kare is an original Filipino dish that uses beef or oxtail as its main ingredient. Kare-Kare sauce made from crushed fried peanuts, bagoong (a traditional fermented shrimp), calamansi juice, and various other types of spices. The addition of calamansi juice in this dish brings a fresh and delicate taste of the stew. Locals usually eat this with a plate of white rice. You can find this dish in various restaurants or taverns in the Philippines.
5. Sinigang
Sinigang is a classic Filipino dish that has a sour and savory taste. The sour broth came from tamarind or Kamias (tree sorrel of Averrhoa Bilimbi) and cooked with vegetables and meats filling. There are several popular types of Sinigang, such as; “Sinigang na baboy” which uses pork, “sinigang na hipon” which uses shrimp. “sinigang na manok” which uses chicken meat, “sinigang na baka” which uses beef, and “sinigang na isda” which uses fish.
6. Beef Caldereta
Beef Caldareta is processed meat and vegetables such as potatoes and carrots that seasoned with tomatoes, vinegar paste, and pepper. Mostly, to make a Beef Caldereta is using pork, but chicken, goat, or any other meat can be an option as well, according to your taste. It has a rich and savory taste that you shouldn’t miss while you’re in the Philippines.
7. Chicken Inasal
Chicken inasal or translated as a grilled chicken is one of the most popular processed chicken in the Philippines. To make it, you need Filipino special spices, including lemongrass, calamansi, pepper, garlic, and achiote oil. This dish is not only using chicken meat, but also chicken innards. While in Manila, take a visit to the Chicken Inasal tavern that serves this dish with extraordinary taste and aroma. You can try one portion of chicken inasal at quite a cheap price, only for $1.20.
Chicken Inasal is at Felix Huertas St. Corner A.H. Lacson Sta. Cruz, Metro Manila.
8. Crispy Pata
Besides Lechon, another processed pork dish that is popular and delicious is Crispy Pata. Crispy Pata is using a whole pork leg as well as its skin as the main ingredients. The pork skin has a crispy texture, and the meat is still soft, tender, and runny. Locals usually serve Crispy Pata along with soy vinegar, garlic sauce, and chopped chili.
9. Halo-Halo
It’s time to try desserts that are not only beautiful but also fresh and spoiling your tongue. Halo-halo is a shaved ice with a very diverse and abundant filling, such as jackfruit, coconut, banana, kidney beans, chickpeas, sugar palm, purple sweet potato, sticky rice, corn, nata de coco, ice cream, and finally poured with condensed milk. It doesn’t necessarily have to use all of these components. There are no fixed recipes and combinations for making this dessert. Under the hot weather, enjoying a portion of Halo-Halo is a divine pleasure.
10. Kwek-Kwek
One of the most beloved street food snacks in the Philippines is Kwek Kwek. Its name like the sound of a duck, and it made of boiled duck eggs, which coated in flour and fried until they have a very crispy texture. This snack is very popular among students, so it’s not expensive at all. Don’t forget to try it when visiting the Philippines!
Philippine cuisine is indeed very diverse. You can have a culinary tour without ever feeling bored because it has an abundant choice. Some of those foods above might help save your hungry tummy. So, is there any typical Filipino menu that you want to try immediately?
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