- Living in the Philippines - Experiencing Filipino Food

Native Filipino Food

The Philippines has a long and proud history of delicious and exotic cuisine. Here is a view of their food from my perspective.

My favorite foods

Lumpia – a fried egg roll made with pork and vegetables often dipped in sweet and sour sauce – my Favorite, especially the way Lyn makes it

The lumpia that Lyn makes are the very BEST!

Barbecue – “meat on a stick” - strips of pork or chicken dipped in Filipino barbecue sauce and charcoal grilled 

Down by the Tagbilaran Port is an area where many vendors
sell barbecue. You can select your choice
before it is cooked, and they grill it right there.

Fruit salad – macaroni, fruit cocktail, raisins, sweetened condensed milk, cream, and tiny pieces of cheese

Other foods I like

Rice – a mainstay of the Filipino diet. Many Filipinos eat rice three times a day, and some eat very little else. If you order breakfast (or any other meal) at McDonald's or Jollibee, rice usually comes with it.

Pancit – very thin noodles with cabbage, carrots, and chicken or pork or shrimp

Adobo – chicken or pork simmered in a marinade of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, and other spices

Chicken Inasal – marinaded in vinegar and grilled on a stick, usually served with a dip mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, oil, and calamansi (Filipino lime) juice. Mang Inasal is one of the largest restaurant chains in the country, and they sell mainly meals made up completely of chicken inasal and rice.

Fish Soup – made with fish steaks, greens, cabbage, malunggay, onions, and tomato, served with rice

Pandesal – the most popular bread in the Philippines – a small round roll often eaten for breakfast

Kangkung (water spinach) – healthy greens

Chop Suey – Filipino chop suey is stir fried or boiled vegetables often cooked with chicken or pork

Ampalaya (bitter melon) – it really is a bitter vegetable although very healthy, cooked alone as a vegetable, scrambled with eggs for breakfast, or chopped into salad.

Ampalaya.
It serves a second purpose as a handy fake phone as well!

Malunggay (known in most counties as moringa) – it has a reputation as one of the healthiest foods in the world with protein, vitamins A, B, C, D, and E, and many other nutrients – often added to soups, but Lyn says you can add it to just about anything.

Its double pinnately compound leaves
(I remembered that from 8th grade science class)
are easy to recognize
everywhere in the Philippines

Pinakbet – a vegetable dish with carrots, squash, string beans, okra, zucchini, eggplant, and sometimes pork or chicken cooked in fish sauce.

Spaghetti – it differs from Italian spaghetti in that it is made with sweet tomato sauce (sometimes banana ketchup) and contains sliced hotdogs for the meat.

Coconut (called buko here) – It’s not usually used in the dry shredded form as in the States. Here it is served fresh from the tree in many ways. It is drunk straight from the shell, cooked in desserts, candies, vegetables, soups, meats.

Sister-in-law Lolit
picking buko directly from the tree

Brother Lorenzo opening buko

Lugaw – simple rice porridge made with sticky rice, ginger, onions, garlic, and other flavorings

Arroz Caldo – a more elaborate rice porridge made with the above ingredients plus chicken and hard-boiled eggs (sometimes the terms arroz caldo and lugaw are used interchangeably)

I love the arroz caldo Lyn cooks for breakfast!

Banana Que – this popular snack is made with plantain bananas fried on a stick and carmelized with brown sugar

Common fruits in the Philippines

Mango, banana, pineapple, coconut, papaya, jackfruit, calamansi, watermelon, durian, also pummelo, rambutan, lanzones, dragonfruit, passion fruit, guyabano, mangosteen, avocado, guava, also not so common and more expensive: orange, apple, grape, strawberry

Common vegetables in the Philippines

Long green bean, cabbage, okra, eggplant, carrot, squash, tomato, onion, garlic, ginger, potato, bokchoy, kamote (sweet potato), kangkong (water spinach), malunggay (moringa), ampalaya (bitter melon), monggo (mung beans), mais (corn), cassava, also not as common: broccoli, celery, cauliflower

Celebration Food in the Philippines

Halo Halo – THE traditional Filipino dessert made from shaved ice, ice cream (usually ube - purple), fresh coconut, condensed milk, various fruits, sweetened beans, and jello. There’s probably some other things in there too because it has a lot of different things in it. 

The question is: Do you mix everything together before eating it, or do you eat all the parts separately? I'm a Separatist and Lyn is a Mixer.

Lechon baboy – whole roast pig, like the kind with an apple in its mouth. Very, very popular for parties or other celebrations.

Humba – the fat skin of the pig similar to what we used to call fatback, served with a sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper, and bay leaves

Caldereta – either chicken, pork, or beef and potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, peas, onions, and sometimes pineapple, served with tomato sauce

Boodle Fight – The term boodle fight originated in the Philippines military as a quick and efficient way for many soldiers to eat a meal. A long rectangular table was set up and covered with banana leaves. Rice was placed in the middle of the table and the other foods (grilled fish, shrimp, pork barbecue, chicken, vegetables, fruit, boiled eggs, pancit, lumpia, etc.) were placed around it. Everyone stood shoulder to shoulder to eat, but sometimes now chairs are allowed. What is NOT allowed is is any form of silverware or tableware. The boodle fight is eaten only using hands and fingers.

We had rice, grilled fish, lumpia, pancit, chicken adobo,
barbecued chicken, okra, eggplant,
mango, pineapple, banana, and watermelon

This was my first boodle fight.
It was wonderful!

Foods I don’t generally eat

Dinuguan (also known as chocolate meat or blood pudding) – made from pig offal and blood gravy. I tried it once when I didn’t know what it was. I won’t try it again.

Balut – a fertilized duck egg cooked right before hatching. Crunchy texture with the duck embryo bones and all.

Dried Fish – Filipinos love this, and it’s very affordable, but I can’t get past the smell. It smells like a body that has been dead for a week.

Durian – known as the world’s stinkiest fruit, durian is actually healthy and sweet. I’ve eaten it a couple of times, but it’s difficult to get past the slimey texture and the smell (which tends to persist for hours or even days).

Soup Number 5 (otherwise known as RM or Remember Me) – made from a bull’s testicles and penis, it’s considered by some as an aphrodisiac. Never tried it; don’t plan to.

If you disagree with this or have additions to this list, please consider adding a comment.

(A special thank you to Lyn and Wendie for their expert advice!)