13 Best Foods To Eat In The Philippines: Some Will Shock You

Asia

Philippines

The Philippines is known for beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, and foods that look kind of weird but taste great.

Their cuisine is very different from the rest of the world, but there are some foods that you will ask for a recipe.

Read on to find out more about the 13 best foods to eat in the Philippines.

Table of Contents

1. Adobo

Made strictly with chicken thighs, Adobo is a national dish of the Philippines.

Adobo was prepared in clay pots back in the day; however, modern times require modern solutions, and now it is being cooked in metal pots or woks.

What is best about Adobo is the fact that it is made with just a few everyday ingredients.

Adobo is made with:

chicken thighs
green onion
bay leaves
garlic
peppercorns
onion
soy sauce
sugar
and vinegar

There are a few varieties of Adobo, but most of them will have vinegar and soy sauce.

Some restaurants may add coconut milk or honey. Regardless of the variation, the chicken Adobo is very tasty.

2. Sinigang

Sinigang is the unofficial dish of the Philippines.

It is one of the country’s oldest dishes. Basically, Sinigang means stewed, but it is not like a western soup.

It is more of a main dish that uses pork as the main ingredient.

Other ingredients of Sinigang include:

fish sauce
string beans
tomatoes
chili
cooking oil
onion
and taro

The variations of Sinigang include spinach, pork belly, beef, and fish.

3. Lechon

Lechon was first introduced to the Philippines by the Chinese in the 13th century and it quickly took over the country.

Basically, Lechon is a roast pig that resembles Spain’s cochinillo asado.

To make it different than what other countries are making, the Philippines add onion, garlic, lemongrass, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper to the pork before roasting it.

The most popular variations of the Lechon are Stuffed Lechon which is a stuffed roasted pig, Lechon Baka which is a roasted calf, and Lechon Belly Roll which is a large piece of pork belly rolled in a thick tube.

4. Balut

Balut holds first place when it comes to weird foods in the Philippines.

Same as many other signature Philippines dishes, this one too origins from China.

Basically, Balut means egg. In fact, balut is a fertilized duck egg that has an embryo inside. What makes this dish weird is the fact that the embryo is almost fully developed.

Apart from a fully developed duck inside an egg, the dish contains ingredients such as:

flour
canola oil
shallots
garlic
ginger
Thai chili peppers
soy sauce
and oyster sauce

5. Kare-Kare

Kare-Kare is a dish that is mainly served in the Philippines for special occasions.

It is a stew with lots of thick peanut sauce.

Other ingredients of Kare-Kare include:

string beans
eggplant
bok choy
and banana blossoms

There are a few variations of the Kare-Kare based on the type of meat that is being used.

The main ingredient is beef meat, but you can see variations with shrimp, crab, mussels, and squid.

6. Sisig

Sisig is a very popular sour dish in the Philippines that uses pork as the main ingredient.

What is a bit weird about this dish is that even the ears and faces of the pigs are used.

Other ingredients of Sisig include:

soy sauce
black pepper
ginger
chili flakes
garlic powder
butter
and mayonnaise

Some popular Sisig variations include chicken liver, pig brain, and onion.

7. Lumpia

Lumpia is an old dish dating back to 1565 AD.

Made with paper-thin lumpia wrappers, this is basically a fried spring roll.

Ingredients include:

vegetable oil
ground pork
onion
garlic
minced carrots
green cabbage
black pepper
salt
and soy sauce

Often served with sweet chili dipping sauce, or garlic fried rice, Lumpia is a great traditional appetizer.

8. Tocino

Tocino or bacon in Spanish was brought to the Philippines a long time ago. The dish is mainly consumed at breakfast and goes well with fried rice and fried eggs.

The main ingredients of the Tocino include pork butt, sugar, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and canola oil.

Tocino can be prepared in three ways:

Stovetop
Grill
or Oven

All three ways have the same result, tasty Tocino!

9. Chicken Feet

And we are going back to more weird foods that people eat in the Philippines. Chicken feet are eaten all around the world, except in USA and Europe.

The main ingredient for this dish is chicken feet, soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, whole peppercorn, Thai chili, salt, sugar, and cooking oil.

People that tried eating Chicken Feet in the Philippines explain that it tastes the same as the leg meat of chicken.

10. Bicol Express

Bicol express Philippines food — Bicol express

Bicol Express has been introduced to the Philippines about 50 years ago.

It is a dish based on pork belly and coconut milk that brings mild sweetness.

Although pork belly and coconut milk are the signature ingredients, this dish also contains coconut cream, shrimp paste, garlic, Thai chili pepper, ginger, onion, and Serrano pepper.

Some of the most famous variations of Bicol Express are:

Chicken Bicol Express
Pork Chop Bicol Express
Crispy Bicol Express
and Seafood Bicol Express

11. Caldereta

Caldereta is basically a beef stew with tomato sauce.

It was brought to the Philippines by the Spanish and the people fell in love with this dish.

Although made with basic ingredients such as potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and olives, there are a lot of variations in this dish.

Some of the most popular variations of the beef Caldereta include Caldereta with peanut butter, Caldereta sa Gata, and Christmas Calderata with alternative ingredients such as liver spread (pig or cow).

12. Pancit

Pancit is a noodles-based dish that is very famous in the Philippines.

The same Chinese that introduced pasta to the Italians, introduced Pancit to the Philippines.

This stir-fried noodle dish contains cabbage, carrots, meat variations such as chicken, beef, or pork, and noodles.

13. Pork Menudo

Pork menudo Philippines food — Pork Menudo

Pork Menudo is a pork-based stew that has:

garlic
onions
tomatoes
liver
carrots
and potatoes

It is one of the best foods to try while in the Philippines.

The stew is prepared by marinating the meat in soy sauce and lemon before cooking. Then, the meat is fried and all of the ingredients are added along with water.

In Conclusion

Philippine cuisine has many tasty dishes although not all of them look like that. Since you are visiting a new country, it is only logical to try their local dishes.

If chicken feet are too much for you, opt for something like Pork Menudo, Pancit, or Lumpia.