The Philippines is home to some of the most amazing things in the world. Yes, indeed! We are extremely blessed with breathtaking sceneries of nature such as white sand beaches, exotic islands, majestic waterfalls, and many more! The gods above also bestowed our beautiful country with incomparable richness in culture and heritage. However, one of the most significant things that make the Pearl of the Orient Seas stand out is its utterly delicious dishes!
Our country’s cuisine is composed of millions of different dishes each capable of standing on its own. The Filipino cuisine can always exceed expectations and certainly capture everyone’s hearts! A wide array of food selections is available for everyone because the archipelago is blessed with abundant seafood, tropical fruits, vegetables, and meat! From the ever-famous Filipino exotic food Balut to the world-renowned Filipino dish Adobo, there’s still a lot of yummy dishes to look forward to!
Alright, are you ready? Whether you’ve already been to the Philippines or not, this article will surely make your cravings for Filipino food intense! Here are the fifteen (15) best Filipino dishes!
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1. Adobo
Of course, you can never find a list of the best Filipino foods without the Adobo making an appearance! Well, it’s certainly not surprising because aside from the fact that Adobo is the Philippines’ national dish, it is also popular internationally!
Credit: Maggi.ph
Basically, an Adobo consists of cuts of meat (chicken or pork), salt, pepper, garlic, spices, and most importantly, soy sauce and vinegar. The cooking process is very simple although there are tons of versions from every household. Yes, even international chefs have their own version of this classic Filipino dish! This is the primary reason why the trade and industry department of the Philippines recently inaugurated its program of standardizing the recipe of our national dish.
Although the cooking procedure and ingredients of Adobo are simple, its taste is beyond heavenly! It is best paired with rice and a cold glass of soft drinks at any time of the day. Moreover, it takes a lot of days for an Adobo dish to spoil and a lot of people are saying that the Adobo tastes even better as it ages.
There have been a lot of debates going around regarding the true origin of the dish. Some people say that the Spaniards brought it here, while some say that it’s from Mexico. The most plausible theory is that Adobo already existed way before foreign countries started to colonize our land. Nevertheless, what’s important is that we made this dish our own and that it represents our country well in the culinary world! CHECK FILIPINO FOOD TOUR HERE
2. Sinigang
Ah, the Sinigang. Next to Adobo, this dish is probably the next most popular dish of the land and it is also worthy of the national dish title! Sinigang is the Philippines’ sour soup whose star ingredient is the Sampaloc or sometimes kamias. It gives the dish a sour and tangy feeling making it stand out from the rest of the course. Sinigang consists of either meat or fish, vegetables, fish sauce, chilies, and many more! You can really mix and match the ingredients to give the dish a unique and tasty feeling.
Sinigang is best paired with white rice and a dip of fish sauce and red chilies, yum! Some of the popular variants of Sinigang are: Sinigang na Baboy (Pork), Sinigang na Baka (Beef), Sinigang na Bangus (Milkfish), and Sinigang na Hipon (Shrimp).
3. Lechon
Well, well, well. Who wouldn’t know about the mighty Lechon of the Philippines?! This dish is very popular with locals as it fits any kind of celebration. Whether it’s a wedding, a feast, birthday celebration, anniversary, graduation, the birthday of the girlfriend of your son’s neighbor, it doesn’t matter! Having a Lechon at your table will make the feast seem grand all the time!
Credit: Lydia’s Lechon
Although the Lechon is also popular in Latin America and Spain, it is still considered a Filipino pride. The Lechon is a suckling pig stuffed with varieties of spices and then carefully roasted evenly over layers of coal for hours. The process will then yield one of the best-tasting dishes in the world. Extra crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, yum!
Lechon’s perfect pair is a sweet dipping sauce (sarsa) and a couple of bottles of ice-cold beer.
4. Sisig
Next up! This next dish is another brilliant creation of the Filipinos where the primary ingredients are a pig’s head and liver. Indeed, nothing goes to waste in Filipino cuisine! Sisig is a dish originating from the province of Pampanga. It consists of chopped parts of pig head, liver, jowls, a ton of onions, and chilies.
Credit: Lifegetsbetter.ph
Sisig also has a unique distinction among everything on this list! Trust me, when someone orders a Sisig in a restaurant, you’ll know it. Sisig is best served on a sizzling plate with a raw egg sitting in the middle. The trick is that once the dish is served, you have to immediately mix up the entire contents while squeezing a generous amount of calamansi juice over the top!
Sisig is perfect for any meal of the day paired with rice and an ice-cold beverage!
If you want to know the history of Sisig and how to cook it? Check out this video from Food Insider.
5. Kare-Kare
Kare-Kare has been a popular dish of the Philippines for hundreds of years already. It has also been famous internationally because its ingredients are very unique. The dish is said to have originated from the province of Pampanga.
Credit: lifegetsbetter.ph
Having a Kare-Kare dish on the table will make any meal or celebration more special because a single cup of rice will never be enough to satisfy your cravings! Kare-Kare consists of an ox-tail and tripe or beef cuts, peanut sauce, atsuete, vegetables, and many more! Oh, and this dish will be incomplete without a cup of bagoong (fermented fish) on the side.
6. Palabok
Alright! Let’s take a break from the main course dishes for a while, shall we? This next dish is perfect for a snack in the Philippines or merienda. Palabok is another popular way of cooking the famous pancit. It is teeming with orange color because of the annatto powder. Basically, a palabok is a mixture of a variety of ingredients and toppings such as noodles, hard-boiled eggs, cuts of pork, tinapa flakes, and spring onions.
Credit: SeriousEats.com
One of the popular variants of Palabok is the Palabok Malabon or Pancit Malabon. This one originates in the city of Malabon where the dish consists of tons of seafood toppings.
Here’s a video by Chef RV on how to cook Palabok.
7. Crispy Pata
Credit: Esquire PH
The next one on the list is the legendary Crispy Pata! This is another pork dish whose main ingredient is a pork rind. Basically, the pork is seasoned with different spices, boiled, drained, and deep-fried. This procedure yields an irresistible delicacy that is extremely crispy on the outside yet juicy on the inside. A Crispy Pata’s perfect partner in a soy-vinegar dipping sauce that complements the tasty flavor of the dish.
The Crispy Pata is perfect for any celebration and can be served with rice or a couple of ice-cold beers.
8. Silog Meals (Filipino Breakfast Dishes)
Tapsilog! Credit: Spot.ph
Another creative and delicious dish on the list is the Silog meals! In the Philippines, SiLog means Sinangag plus Itlog (fried rice plus egg). The possibilities are endless for this dish because you can pair it with any kind of the main dish you want. The most popular one is the TapSiLog which consists of Tapa (Beef), Sinangag, and itlog. For Filipinos, these are the perfect combinations of the best breakfast meal and can be paired with a cup of hot coffee on the side.
Other popular variants include LongSiLog (Longganisa), HotSiLog (Hotdog), and ChickSiLog (Fried Chicken).
Read the Blog Post: 15 Best Filipino Breakfast Dishes
9. Lumpia
Credit: Maggi.ph
The next one on the list is another dish Filipinos are always looking for in any celebration, the Fried Lumpia or Lumpiang Shanghai! The name Shanghai also gives a hint about the Chinese influence of the dish. It is basically a spring roll with various fillings consisting of fish, meat, or vegetables. These filings are then wrapped using a Lumpia wrapper and then fried until golden brown. It’s best paired with ketchup or sweet chili dipping sauce.
Other variations of Fried Lumpia include Fried Lumpiang Ubod and Fried Lumpiang Toge (Mongo Sprouts). These are both equally delicious and best-paired with a vinegar dipping sauce.
10. Bistek Tagalog
Ah, Bistek Tagalog! Bistek is just a nickname for the word Beef Steak, a traditional beef dish from the central parts of Luzon or the Southern Tagalog region of the country.
Credit: AuthenticFilipinoRecipes.com
Bistek Tagalog consists of thinly sliced beef which is marinated and braised with a combination of citrus juices (lime, lemon, or calamansi), soy sauce, lots of onions, pepper, garlic, and sometimes sugar. This dish is very tasty and best paired with a cup of rice and onion ring toppings.
MORE FILIPINO RESTAURANTS: 15 Best Filipino Restaurants in Daly City, California
11. Bulalo
Credit: Maggi.ph
Bulalo is probably the most famous beef dish in the Philippines because almost every Filipino restaurant or eatery offers this dish. It is a light soup consisting of tasty cuts of beef and vegetables. Sometimes it also features beef marrow and shanks. The trick to this dish is that it’s slow-cooked for a very long period at just a relatively low flame. It allows all the fat and collagen from the meat to rise up.
It is said that the Bulalo originated way back into the Spanish Colonization Era of our country. The dish is best served with a hot cup of rice and a fish sauce dip with red chilies, yummy!
12. Beef Kaldereta
Next to Bulalo is one of the most popular beef dishes in the Philippines, the Beef Kaldereta. It is a meat stew that has become a staple dish for Filipinos for hundreds of years now. The Kaldereta is traditionally cooked using goat meat, but as time went by, Filipinos learned that using beef for Kaldereta also yields a delicious taste!
Credit: Kawaling Pinoy
Therefore, the ingredients of Beef Kaldereta include the meat, tomato sauce. carrots, potatoes, onion, and garlic. Well, sometimes cheese! This dish is best paired with a freshly cooked cup of rice.
13. Dinuguan
Next up! It’s none other than the Dinuguan! This is probably one of the best pieces of evidence of the Filipinos’ bright and creative cuisine. We certainly do not want anything to go to waste! This is why we make use of even the tiniest bit of pork blood in our dishes.
Credit: casabaluartefilipinorecipes.com
Dinuguan is an exotic delicacy and is basically a pork blood stew. Its main ingredients are pork blood, intestine, ears, meat, garlic, chilies, and vinegar. It is best paired with a hot cup of rice or sometimes puto for merienda.
MORE FILIPINO RESTAURANTS: 15 Best Filipino Restaurants in Chicago, IL
14. Chicken Inasal
The Chicken Inasal is a tasty grilled chicken dish originating from Bacolod City in the province of Negros Occidental. The chicken is marinated in a mixture of calamansi juice, soy sauce, pepper, chicken oil, and vinegar. Unlike the ordinary chicken barbecue, the Chicken Inasal is lighter in color because it’s not basted with soy sauce while in the process of grilling.
Credit: Maggi.ph
Chicken Inasal has a unique sweet and savory flavor which makes it a perfect partner for freshly-cooked rice and a dip of soy sauce and hot chilies. Top that off with an ice-cold soft drink and you’re good to go!
More Filipino Heritage: 15 Best Festivals in the Philippines
15. Kilawin
Finally, Kilawin can be considered as the freshest dish on this list. It is basically a combination of a fresh raw main ingredient and a souring agent. Yes! Even sizes of sliced meat paired with vinegar and other spices are already a Kilawin.
Credit: Yummy.ph
Many theories suggest that the Kinilaw is somehow related to the South American dish Ceviche. The difference is that a Kilawin is served right after the marination for a sweet and tender taste of the meat or fish.
Kilawin is very popular in the country and it is best eaten with a couple of ice-cold beers right beside you enjoying the beauty of the day.
More Filipino Heritage: Best Philippine Folk Dances
Conclusion
Alright! Those are the fifteen (15) best Filipino dishes you have to taste! Mind you, there are still countless Filipino dishes out there that you’ll surely love! This list could go on and on because that’s just how good Filipino cuisine is.
Through the years, our cuisine has been overshadowed by our neighbors Thailand and Vietnam. However, we are now slowly rising to the top as more and more countries recognize the brilliance of our food. So, whenever you have a chance, take it and go have a taste of delicious Filipino dishes!
2 Comments
Jamie
June 9, 2022 at 9:14 pmHello! I loved reading your blog. It mad eme miss Philippines so much now that I’ve been living overseas for almost 5 yrs.
The last dish in your list is actually called ‘Kinilaw’. You listed it as ‘Kilawin’ but if the dish you are referring to is made with raw fish, vinegar and spices, then it is “Kinilaw”, as the name itself means “raw”.
On the other hand, “Kilawin” is a dish close to “Kinilaw” because it is made with lightly cooked or grilled meat (usually goat meat) that is prepared with spices and vinegar like “kinilaw”.
In my hometown, another popular dish is called “SinugLaw” which is short for “Sinugbang Karne ng Baboy” (grilled pork, usually belly) and “kiniLaw na Tuna”. This is made by simply adding grilled pork belly to a kinilaw dish.
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April 14, 2024 at 8:22 amI love adobo! It’s my favorite Filipino dish.