What do people eat in the Philippines? Here are some tips on Filipino dishes you should try.
Filipino cuisine is not as well-known as its Asian relatives like Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Thai. Filipino food has some similarities with these cuisines but is also influenced by the West, especially Spain, since the Philippines was a Spanish colony.
Although there are many similarities, Filipino food also has many unique dishes. And with names like “halo-halo,” “gising-gising,” and “kare-kare,” it adds a bit of fun. Do you enjoy exploring food that’s a bit different from what you’re used to at home? Then you have a lot to look forward to.
Here’s a small selection of Filipino dishes you should try.
Filipino Breakfast
Filipino breakfast deserves its own section and its own glossary. If you like a hearty breakfast, you’ve come to the right country. Traditional Filipino breakfast often consists of a combination of noodles or fried rice, eggs, and meat, sausages, or fish.
Here’s a little explanation and glossary for Filipino breakfast.
| Silog | Filipino breakfast dish with rice, egg, and meat, sausages, or similar. |
| Sinangag | Garlic fried rice. |
| Itlog | Fried egg (sunny-side up or scrambled). |
| Tapa | Cured (salted/dried) beef. |
| Tocino | Cured (salted/dried) pork. |
| Longganisa | Sausages. |
| Tapsilog | Beef (tapa) + garlic rice (sinangag) + egg (itlog). |
| Tocilog | Pork (tocino) + garlic rice (sinangag) + egg (itlog). |
| Longsilog | Sausages (Longganisa) + garlic rice (sinangag) + egg (itlog). |
Fried fish is also a common Filipino breakfast dish.
Adobo
Adobo is one of the few Filipino dishes that is quite well-known outside the country. If you only try one Filipino dish, go for this one!
Adobo is a stew that is usually prepared with chicken or pork but also comes with fish. The meat is marinated in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves, and then cooked tender in the same marinade.
Pulutan (Drinking Food) – Sisig
In the Philippines, they actually have a word for food often eaten with alcohol: Pulutan. It can be anything from simple snacks like potato chips to small dishes and tapas, and even some larger dishes.
Sisig is a popular “drinking food,” and to be honest, I needed a few beers to wash down this dish.
It consists of chopped parts of a pig’s head, like pig ear and pig jowl, in addition to liver and ribs. Often, pig brain is also used, but luckily it was left out in this dish (at least I think so). The dish is seasoned with onions, chili, and bell peppers, and is often served with a sunny-side-up egg on top.
The taste was actually quite good, and most pieces were crispy and reminiscent of bacon. It is, of course, great that all parts of the animal are used. But the pig ear was quite chewy, and I have a poor relationship with runny egg yolks in Asia (it backfired this time as well). So once was enough for me with this dish.
Sisig is also served with fish or as a vegetarian dish (which I might have preferred).
Lechon / Lechon Kawali / Bagnet – Crispy Pork
Lechon is especially associated with the island of Cebu but is served all over the Philippines. Lechon is a piglet roasted whole on a spit, with parts carved off and served with sauce and side dishes.
Lechon Kawali is an alternative for those who don’t have the opportunity to roast a whole pig in their backyard. Instead, the meat is cooked in a wok (kawali), air-dried, rubbed with salt, and fried.
Bagnet is another variant from the Ilocos region. This is pork belly that is boiled three times and then deep-fried.
The most important thing with all variants is that the meat should be super tender and the skin crunchy! We had both some fantastic versions of this and some less impressive ones with chewy and soggy skin and boring side dishes – so check reviews or ask for tips from locals before choosing a place to eat.
Crispy Pata
Crispy pata is yet another pork dish, namely crispy fried pork knuckle.
Sinigang – Soup
Sinigang is a delicious sour broth soup flavored with tamarind and vegetables. It is usually served with pork. This became one of our favorites!
Tinolong Manok – Soup
Tinolong Manok (also called Tinola) is another very good Filipino soup served as a main course for dinner with rice. The main ingredient is chicken, and it often contains ingredients like papaya slices, chili, ginger, onions, leafy greens, and fish sauce.
Grilled Fish
The Philippines consists of thousands of islands, so it’s not surprising that grilled fish is popular. The fish called bangus (milkfish) is considered the national fish and is served grilled for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Embutido – Meatloaf
Embutido is a kind of meatloaf that often contains both ham or sausage, raisins, and hard-boiled eggs. It is wrapped in aluminum foil and steamed or baked in the oven.
Pork Humba
Pork Humba is a flavorful stew with tender pork, peanut sauce, and salted black beans. This dish is inspired by Chinese cuisine.
Kare-Kare – Curry
Kare-Kare comes from the word “kare,” meaning curry, and is a stew made from oxtail and beef tripe with peanut sauce.
Gising-Gising
Gising-Gising (or Gisig-Gisig) means “wake up, wake up!” and is a dish that really wakes up your taste buds. It consists of ingredients like sigarilyas (winged beans), pork, water spinach, coconut cream, and green chili.
Kambing Kaldereta – Goat Stew
A delicious stew with goat meat in tomato sauce, potatoes, liver, onions, and bell peppers.
Filipino Street Food
Inihaw / Sinugba / Inasal – Grilled Skewers
Street food is popular in the Philippines, whether you are in Manila, Cebu, Palawan, or one of the smaller islands. Grilled skewers are a familiar staple that comes in countless varieties.
Different parts (including innards) of pork, seafood, or chicken are marinated or seasoned, grilled on bamboo skewers, and served with a soy- or vinegar-based sauce.
Lumpia / Ngohiong – Spring Rolls
Filipino spring rolls are found on most restaurant menus and in most street food stalls. They come with different spices and sauces and are filled with everything from minced meat, shrimp, cheese, or vegetables.
“Dynamite” is a very spicy Filipino variant consisting of green chili filled, wrapped in rice paper, and then fried. We love spicy food, so we liked this one a lot!
Jollibee – Filipino Fast Food (Junk Food)
If you crave some real junk food one day, you’ll find it at Jollibee, the largest fast food chain in the Philippines.
This chain is everywhere in the Philippines, and the menu includes everything from burgers and fried chicken to steak and spaghetti with sweet tomato sauce.
Drinks in the Philippines
Halo-Halo
Halo-Halo means to mix together, and this drink is truly a mix of a bit of everything.
The base is shaved ice, and some common ingredients are jam, fruit pieces, coconut, corn flakes, cookie bits, milk or condensed milk, beans, jackfruit, jelly pieces, and tapioca pearls.
Everyone has their own variant, and it is also served as a dessert with ice cream or as a drink with alcohol.
Shakes and Juices
Other good non-alcoholic options are fruit shakes, juices, iced tea, and freshly squeezed juice.
One of our favorites was this purple ube shake. Ube is a local Filipino sweet potato. It is even sweeter and a bit creamier in texture than the orange sweet potato we are used to, and the lovely purple color makes it very popular in both desserts and drinks.
Sting Energy Drink
This local energy drink was also very popular among the locals. It was a bit too sweet for me, but to each their own! Mountain Dew was also very popular.
Filipino Rum
When it comes to local alcohol, it’s rum or beer. The Philippines is actually one of the world’s largest rum producers, and some well-known brands are Don Papa and Tanduay.
Make sure to check out our massive guide to Filipino beer!
Have you tried any Filipino food? Tell us about it – use the comment section below! 🙂
