Given the country’s history and geography, one will find it hard to describe the Philippine cuisine in a few words. While most dishes are Spanish and Chinese-influenced, it is quite interesting to note the regional differences on the dishes brought by the archipelagic nature.
Although dishes like Adobo and Sinigang are getting attention on the world stage, delicious foods in the Philippines have yet to be introduced globally. And since you might be curious on what the foods here are like and what the most popular are, we came up with a list to help you get familiar. Hopefully, this list will also serve as a must-try list on your next trip to the country.
What are the Most Popular Foods in the Philippines?
Here are 24 food/dishes that are most popular amongst Filipinos, across all the regions in the country.. If you are already familiar with the listed items, let it serve as a guide if ever you need inspiration on what to prepare. We included links to some recipes we already have here on Pinoy Food Guide.
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Adobo
Adobo or the Philippine adobo is a popular tasty dish wherein meat is braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Traditionally, the dish uses pork and chicken but other types of meat from fish to seafood are now cooked adobo-style.We have several adobo recipes you can try at home:
–Pork Adobo Recipe
–Chicken Adobo Recipe
–Egg Adobo Recipe
–Squid Adobo Recipe
–Turmeric Yellow Adobo Recipe -
Sinigang
Sinigang is a Filipino savory and sour soup dish. Last 2021, it was voted world’s best soup by Taste Atlas and gained worldwide recognition. Here in the Philippines, different types of meats are used in sinigang. The most popular ones are pork, salmon head, and shrimp.If you want to learn how to cook delicious sinigang at home, try our Pork Sinigang Recipe and Shrimp Sinigang Recipe.
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Sisig
Sisig is the most popular dish that originates from the country’s culinary capital, Pampanga. Traditionally, pork cheeks and ears are used to make this dish. It is chopped, grilled, and mixed with several spices, then served on a hot plate.Today, you’ll see different types of pork meat, or even tuna meat, made into sisig. If you want to try making sisig at home, try our Pork Sisig Recipe.
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Lechon
Lechon or roasted whole pork is considered a star in Filipino events and occasions. This is one dish Filipinos look forward to eating whenever there are special celebrations like birthdays, weddings, and Christmas.Nowadays, there are smaller versions of lechon like lechon de leche, cochinillo, lechon pork belly roll that cater to smaller crowds.
If you want to have lechon at home, try our Lechon Pork Belly Recipe.
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Kare Kare
Kare-kare is a popular and unique Filipino dish. It is a thick peanut stew that is cooked with oxtail, beef tripe, and different vegetables. It is also served with shrimp paste (bagoong) on the side to complete the dish. This is a must-try dish when you are new to the Philippine cuisine.If you want to cook kare kare at home, try our Kare-Kare Recipe and our Seafood Kare-Kare Recipe.
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Crispy Pata
Crispy Pata is a deep-fried dish where pata (pork hock) is parboiled with several aromatics, then fried until crispy. This dish is perfect for sharing in a family dinner and is one of the favorites in Filipino restaurants.You can also try cooking this at home, see our Crispy Pata Recipe.
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Bulalo
Bulalo is a tasty Filipino soup dish basically made up of beef shank and its broth. Different recipes of bulalo involve other vegetables in the dish like corn, beans, and pechay.Bulalo is very popular in the South Luzon region of the country, especially in the provinces of Cavite and Batangas. Because of its warm savory soup, it is a dish craved for during cold weather.
Try cooking bulalo at home with our Classic Bulalo Recipe.
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Kansi
If the South Luzon region has bulalo, the Visayas region of the country has kansi. Kansi or Cansi is an Ilonggo (from Iloilo province) soup dish made up of beef shanks as well.The difference is that kansi is traditionally cooked with local sour fruits like batwan and other spices, giving it a more complex and sour flavor.
You can try cooking this dish at home with our Ilonggo Beef Kansi Recipe.
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Chicken Inasal
Chicken inasal is the Philippines own local version of the chicken barbecue. What makes this dish one of a kind is that it is marinated in several flavorful ingredients like lemongrass, vinegar, ginger, and it is basted with annatto oil. This gives the chicken a unique flavor and color.Chicken inasal started its popularity in Iloilo province and is now widely known and cooked throughout the country. If you want to make your own chicken inasal, try our Authentic Chicken Inasal Recipe.
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Halo Halo
Halo-halo is a popular Filipino shaved ice dessert. It is a Filipino term which means “mixed together” and in this dessert, several delicious sweet ingredients are mixed together. Halo-halo usually has ube jam, leche flan, beans, gulaman (gelatin), nata de coco (coconut gel), banana, jackfruit, and milk.The demand for this cold treat is high during the summer season. But you can have halo-halo all year round! Learn to make one at home with our Special Halo-halo Recipe.
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Kinilaw
Kinilaw (also called kilawin) is a Filipino raw seafood dish that’s similar to the Latin American ceviche when it comes to the preparation. Here, fish meat like tuna is usually used and is prepared in vinegar or other citrus fruit like calamansi or green mango.You’ll usually find this dish in seaside regions and in seafood restaurants. Kinilaw is usually eaten as an appetizer or a viand to rice. If you want to make delicious kinilaw at home, try our Kinilaw Recipe.
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Humba
Humba is a braised pork dish that is somewhat similar to adobo. It has minor differences, but is equally popular in the Visayas region of the country. Humba is cooked with more ingredients including tausi (fermented black beans), banana blossoms, and pineapple juice giving it a more complex flavor as well.If you want to cook humba at home, try our Traditional Pork Humba Recipe.
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Bicol Express
Bicol express is the most popular dish from the Bicol region of the country, a region also known for their delicious cuisine. It is a rich and creamy (and really spicy) pork stew that is cooked with coconut milk (gata) and lots of chili peppers.If you can take on some heat, this is definitely a must-try dish. Try cooking bicol express at home with our Bicol Express Recipe.
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Laing
Laing is another famous dish hailing from Bicol region. In this dish, dried taro (gabi) leaves are cooked with meat or seafood, coconut milk, and of course, chili peppers. It is rich and flavorful, a perfect vegetable dish to pair with another meat dish and rice.Try cooking laing at home with our Special Laing Recipe, but make sure to do it right by getting rid of the itchy mouth feel with this guide: How to make taro leaves not itch.
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Caldereta
Caldereta or kaldereta is a popular tomato-based stew that is traditionally cooked using goat meat. Today, using beef or pork as the meat in the dish is already common. Caldereta is cooked with many other ingredients like potatoes, carrots, olives, bell peppers, and other spices making it very tasty and heavy.It is a fulfilling dish with rice, that’s why it is a staple in many Filipino households. If you want to cook caldereta at home, try our Beef Caldereta Recipe.
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Pancit
Pancit (noodles) may be of Chinese origin but is very well loved by Filipinos. We created so many dishes involving this ingredient. The most popular pancit dishes are stir-fried (guisado) and there is quite a list when it comes to different variations like pancit canton, pancit bihon, pancit palabok, pancit habhab, pancit sotanghon, and the list goes on.It is a celebratory dish and is traditionally present on special occasions, especially on birthdays. There is a local saying that pancit prolongs life due to the long noodle strands.
We have several pancit recipes you can try cooking at home, check it here:
–Authentic Pancit Lomi Recipe
–Authentic Pancit Habhab Recipe
–Authentic Pancit Bihon Recipe
–Authentic Pancit Malabon Recipe
–Pancit Sotanghon Guisado Recipe
–Authentic Pancit Lusay Recipe
–Authentic Pancit Canton Recipe
–Authentic Pancit Palabok Recipe -
Lumpia
Lumpia or Lumpiang Shanghai is another Chinese-inspired dish that Filipinos embraced as their own. It is a deep-fried spring roll dish wherein ground pork is mixed with various vegetables, spices, and seasonings then wrapped with a thin spring roll (lumpia) wrapper.This dish is so popular that one would intentionally look for it whenever there is an event or occasion. It is definitely a must have and it’s worthwhile to learn how to make these. Try our Best Lumpiang Shanghai Recipe.
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Buko Pie
Buko Pie is the Filipino version of the apple pie. It is a baked pie that is filled with young coconut (buko) meat and custard. It originated from Laguna province and is quite a popular delicacy in the provinces of Laguna, Quezon, and Cavite.It is a common travel gift (pasalubong) given to residents of Manila from people traveling from these provinces. But if you want to make buko pie at home, try our Easy Buko Pie Recipe.
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Dinuguan
Dinuguan is probably the strangest dish you’ll see in this list. It is derived from the word “dugo” which means blood.Dinuguan is a pork blood stew and is made by cooking pork blood and pork innards with vinegar, garlic, and chili. It is usually present in events and occasions where lechon is served since discards from lechon make up this dish.
If you want to try cooking dinuguan at home, see our Easy Dinuguan Recipe.
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Tinola
Tinola is a mainstay when it comes to the Filipino dinner table since it is a simple and easy yet tasty dish to cook. It is a Filipino soup dish wherein chicken (sometimes fish) is cooked with green papaya and chili leaves or malunggay leaves.Learn how to cook the tastiest tinola at home with our Chicken Tinola Recipe.
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Pinakbet
Pinakbet is one of the most popular vegetable dishes in the Philippines. It is a colorful dish made with different types of vegetables like squash, okra, ampalaya (bitter gourd), and others. Pinakbet is cooked by sauteing the vegetables in a unique fish or shrimp sauce giving it a special flavor.If you want to cook this at home, try our Pinakbet Tagalog Recipe.
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Tortang Talong
Tortang talong (eggplant omelet) gained its share of popularity when it was voted best egg dish in Asia by Taste Atlas last 2022.It is really quite a simple dish, it is made by roasting eggplants, dipping it on beaten eggs, and pan-frying it afterwards. But don’t let the simplicity fool you since it has unique flavors that come along with it, making it a favorite quick dish by many Filipinos.
Try cooking tortang talong at home with our Tortang Talong Recipe.
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Lechon Kawali
Lechon kawali is one of those head turning dishes because of its appetizing appearance. To make this dish, a slab of pork belly is seasoned and parboiled then deep fried until the skin turns golden and crunchy. And yes, it is as delicious as it looks.Make sure you try this dish whenever you get the chance. You can also try to cook this at home, for a no-fail lechon kawali, try our Lechon Kawali Recipe.
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Rice Cakes
The Philippine cuisine is also famous for its rice cakes or locally known as kakanin. There are a LOT of rice cakes in the country. Different regions have their own rice cake delicacy and it comes in different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. The most famous ones would be the puto, kutsinta, suman, and bibingka.Here are some rice cake recipes we have that you can try making at home:
–Puto Cheese Recipe
–Classic Kutsinta Recipe
–Suman Sa Lihiya Recipe
–Binutong Recipe
–Special Bibingka Recipe
Images from canva.com
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