10 Iconic Must-Try Filipino Dishes

Adobo is derived from the Spanish word “adobar” which means to marinate in English. And if there is one cuisine in the country that’s well-loved by many, if not all Filipinos, adobo would almost certainly top the list.

The mighty adobo sees meat, typically slices of pork, chicken, or a combination of both, marinated in soy sauce and vinegar, then add in garlic, bay leaves, peppercorn. Finally, saute and simmer all the basic ingredients. Served with plain white rice, adobo is arguably the core of Filipino dishes and is definitely not to be missed. Due to its popularity, you’ll find a handful of adobo versions throughout the country’s various regions, including adobo with boiled egg, pork and chicken adobo, pork adobo with potato, and spicy pork adobo.

The Philippines is home to possibly one of the world’s tastiest pig dishes, the Lechon! Lechon is whole pig stuffed with an abundance of herbs and various kinds of spices and hand-turned on a spit over smoking coals until the pig’s skin turns golden brown in color and its meat drips with hard-to-resist flavor. It’s no wonder why Lechon is the star in almost every Filipino celebration from weddings and birthdays to graduations and fiestas.

Cebu is one of the most popular places in the country for Lechon, and it’s good to note that you don’t need to buy the whole pig as you can order a few grams and spoil yourself some servings of this favorite pork dish.

Bulalo is a savory Filipino dish that features slow-cooked beef marrow still inside the bone and shanks. This recipe is native in Batangas located in the southern region of Luzon. Perfect for the rainy or cold days, the stew typically includes sliced corn on the cob, leafy vegetables such as cabbage and pechay, onions, peppercorn, and fish sauce.

One of the most favorite main dishes in the Philippines, the glory of this delish boiled soup is its clear broth, which was made rich by melted fats and collagen-rich beef simmered for several hours.

The epitome of Filipino comfort food, sinigang is known for its unique, delicious sour taste. This classic Filipino dish is made tangy by adding unripe tamarind, known for the locals as sampalok, and is filled with several different types of native vegetables like okra, green finger chilies, eggplant, plus tomatoes and onions.

Aside from beef or pork, sinigang can also be cooked with shrimp or fish so long as you maintain its iconic sour taste. The quality of sinigang largely depends on the souring agent used. Aside from tamarind, other fruits used to make the dish sour include kamias, guava, bilimbi, green mango, and santol or wild mangosteen.

Pancit is another dish that is typically present in almost all Filipino special occasions, especially on birthdays where it has come to signify for a long life. This Filipino noodle dish can be eaten without rice and may come in different forms, including canton, bihon, sotanghon, or miki. It can be eaten as merienda or snacks, stir-fried or as a side viand.

Pancit Bihon Guisado is easily the favorite and well-known pancit dish variant and is typically made of rice noodles along with shredded meat, shrimp, and vegetables.

Kare-Kare is a perennial favorite Filipino stew dish made with rich and savory peanut sauce. Customarily, it is made using oxtail, but you will also commonly come across other variations of this dish using beef stew cuts, pork hocks, pig feet, or occasionally tripe.

The choice meat is simmered for several hours to achieve the desired tenderness, and along with a variety of vegetables, including eggplant, bok choy, string beans, and banana blossoms, the dish is pulled together into a tasty stew with peanut butter and crushed peanuts for rich flavor, lightly browned toasted ground rice for thickening, and annatto to make the reddish color of the sauce. The best way to enjoy Kare-Kare is to pair it with rice, and for many Filipinos, bagoong or fermented shrimp paste on the side completes the dish by adding more flavor.

Who would have thought that the pig’s face, ears, and liver can turn into something delectable and a seriously addictive delicacy? Typically served on a sizzling hot plate, the main ingredients are chopped into small pieces after being boiled and then grilled or barbequed to add a smoky and tastier flavor.

Made famous in Pampanga, you will also find this appetizing dish in several variations using tuna, chicken, squid, and even the protein-rich, tofu. Try it with raw egg or mayonnaise and serve with mountains of steamed rice and an ice-cold beer, and you’re in for a tasty, sizzling feast.

Considered the most well-loved dessert in the Philippines, Halo-halo is a Tagalog word which translates into “mixed together” in English. And, that’s exactly what it is - a concoction of sweet stuff layered over shaved ice and evaporated milk mixed together to culminate into one surprisingly great cold treat.

Perfect for the Philippines’ tropical weather, this ultimate dessert treat is consists of various ingredients, including purple yam, coconut strips, sweetened beans, gulaman, sago, and fruit slices such as jackfruit and sweetened saba or plantain bananas. Topped with ube jam (ube halaya), ice cream, and leche flan, halo-halo is a colorful medley that’s a surefire and delicious way to cool down on hot, humid days.

Pinakbet or Pakbet is a popular vegetable cuisine in the Philippines. This dish features a variety of local vegetables and is as flavorful as it is colorful. There are two well-known versions of this dish in the country, Pakbet Tagalog and the Pinakbet Ilocano, but the latter is the original one. The main difference is that Pinakbet Tagalog makes use of ‘bagoong alamang’ or shrimp paste, whereas the Ilocanos version uses fermented fish or ‘bagoong isda’.

Using the freshest vegetables, such as okra, squash, eggplant, ampalaya or bitter gourd, string beans, is ideal for this simple yet delightful vegetable stew. Pork (some uses Lechon kawali or deep-fried pork belly), shrimp paste, and tomatoes give this dish a distinctive taste. Pinakbet is best paired with fried fish as well as other fried meat.

Balut is a famous Filipino street food that tends to either delight or terrify foreigners or visitors in the country. Although some other parts of Southeast Asia, particularly in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, also have their own versions of balut, the Filipino version reigns supreme and is often seen as part of an eating challenge in shows like Fear Factor.

Balot is essentially is a hard-boiled duck egg, which sounds innocent enough, until you found out that it’s a 16 to 21 day old fertilized duck egg, sometimes already complete with body parts such as the eyes, beaks, and feathers.

Considered as the Philippines’ most exotic delicacies, balot is eaten by cracking the shell at one end open, drinking the clear broth soup, and the other parts eaten with a dash of salt and vinegar and not much else. It’s traditionally seen as an afternoon or post-sundown snack, and while the thought of eating a semi-developed duck embryo can make a lot of people cringe, balut is a highly-nutritious mini-meal that has also developed a reputation as an aphrodisiac.