Filipino Recipes

Collage of Filipino dishes: chicken adobo, lumpia Shanghai, pancit bihon and leche flan

Filipino home cooking is built on bold, balanced flavors: the tang of vinegar and tamarind, the savor of soy sauce and fish sauce, plenty of garlic, and rice at every meal. Here are the classics every Filipino family knows, from adobo and sinigang to lumpia, pancit and leche flan.

Filipino dishes explained

Adobo
Meat braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns; the closest thing to a national dish: Chicken Adobo.
Sour soups
Sinigang is soured with tamarind; tinola is a gentle ginger broth: Sinigang na Baboy and Chicken Tinola.
Party food
No celebration is complete without Lumpia Shanghai, and long pancit noodles stand for a long life at birthdays.
Fiesta and Sunday dishes
Slow-cooked Kare-Kare in peanut sauce and crackling Lechon Kawali.
From the grill and the skillet
Chicken Inasal from Bacolod and Bistek Tagalog, beef with onions.
Rice
Rice is served with nearly every meal; leftover rice becomes Sinangag, garlic fried rice.
Sweets
Silky Leche Flan and caramel-glazed Turon banana rolls.

Make it a meal

12 Filipino recipes

  • Chicken Adobo55 min total | 4 servings

    Chicken thighs braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black peppercorns until tender, then browned in the reduced sauce. The national dish of the Philippines; serves 4.

  • Sinigang na Baboy (Pork Tamarind Soup)1 hr 50 min total | 6 servings

    A sour, savory pork soup soured with tamarind, with tomatoes, daikon radish, green beans and leafy greens. A Filipino comfort food; serves 6.

  • Chicken Tinola1 hr total | 6 servings

    A gentle ginger chicken soup with green papaya or chayote and leafy greens. Light, warming and a Filipino sick-day favorite; serves 6.

  • Lumpia Shanghai (Filipino Spring Rolls)1 hr total | 8 servings (about 40 small rolls)

    Thin, crackling spring rolls filled with seasoned ground pork, carrot, onion and garlic, fried golden and served with sweet chili sauce. Makes about 40.

  • Pancit Bihon (Filipino Rice Noodles)45 min total | 6 servings

    Thin rice noodles stir-fried with chicken, cabbage, carrots, snow peas and soy sauce, finished with calamansi or lemon. A birthday and celebration staple; serves 6.

  • Kare-Kare (Oxtail Peanut Stew)3 hr 50 min total | 6 servings

    Oxtail braised until falling-tender in a rich peanut sauce colored with annatto, with eggplant, bok choy and green beans, served with shrimp paste. Serves 6.

  • Lechon Kawali (Crispy Pork Belly)1 hr 45 min total | 6 servings

    Pork belly simmered with garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns, dried, then fried until the skin blisters and crackles. Served with a vinegar dipping sauce; serves 6.

  • Bistek Tagalog (Filipino Beef Steak)1 hr total | 4 servings

    Thin slices of beef marinated in soy sauce and calamansi or lemon juice, seared, and smothered in caramelized onion rings and pan sauce. Serves 4.

  • Sinangag (Filipino Garlic Fried Rice)25 min total | 4 servings

    Day-old rice fried with plenty of golden garlic and a little salt: the Filipino breakfast rice served with eggs and longganisa, tocino or bistek. Serves 4.

  • Chicken Inasal (Grilled Lemongrass Chicken)4 hr 50 min total | 4 servings

    Chicken leg quarters marinated in vinegar, citrus, lemongrass, ginger and garlic, grilled and basted with annatto oil until charred and juicy. A specialty of Bacolod; serves 4.

  • Leche Flan (Filipino Caramel Custard)5 hr 10 min total | 8 servings

    A rich, silky custard of egg yolks, condensed and evaporated milk, steamed or baked under a layer of amber caramel. The star of Filipino celebrations; serves 8.

  • Turon (Banana Spring Rolls)35 min total | 12 rolls

    Ripe saba bananas and jackfruit rolled in spring roll wrappers with brown sugar and fried until the sugar turns into a crackly caramel shell. Makes 12.

Common questions

What is the national dish of the Philippines?
Adobo, meat braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper, is widely considered the national dish.
Is Filipino food spicy?
Mostly not. Filipino cooking leans sour, salty and savory; heat comes from chiles served on the side or in dipping sauces.
What is calamansi?
A small Philippine citrus with a flavor between lime and mandarin. Lime, or lemon with a little orange juice, is the usual substitute.
Where can I find Filipino ingredients?
Tamarind soup mix, spring roll wrappers, rice noodles, annatto and shrimp paste are sold at Asian grocers and in many supermarkets.

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