Filipino cuisine has recently been tagged as the ‘next big thing’ to look out for in the culinary world. With the country’s variety of influences throughout its rich history, its traditional cooking techniques, and the Filipinos’ knack for combining flavors and making the most of any and all ingredients at their disposal, what results is unpretentious, no-frills food that’s simply delicious. Let’s join Newselectionz to find out the top 10 best dishes in the Philippines.
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The 10 Best Dishes To Eat in The Philippines
1. LECHON MANOK
Lechon Manok is the street version of roasted chicken. You can find places selling chicken almost everywhere, and they usually open in the evening. It’s best for dinner or pulutan (Filipino term for food when drinking).
2. Pork Menudo
Menudo is a pork stew cooked in a tomato-based sauce with liver, potato, and carrots.
3. Pancit Molo
A Filipino soup dish with wonton. It is best eaten with toasted garlic and chopped scallions.
4. Pork Binagoongan
A pork dish cooked with shrimp paste. This dish is so tasty and delicious. One more cup of rice please.
5. Kare-Kare
This rich stew is made with peanut sauce and, customarily, oxtail, but other meatier cuts of beef can also be added in. Many Filipinos will consider kare-kare incomplete without a serving of bagoong (fermented seafood paste) on the side.
6. Lechon
One of the top contenders among the best Filipino dishes (alongside adobo) is perhaps the famous lechon. After all, it is hard to top a tasty, fully-roasted pig with perfectly crisp skin and juicy meat. Find the best of this sinful treat on the island of Cebu, but this is almost always served at any grand Pinoy gathering or fiesta.
7. Sinigang
Sinigang is a Pinoy classic. A delicious sour broth usually made tangy by tamarind (sometimes kamias), it’s filled with different vegetables and a meat of choice. Popular variants include sinigang na baboy (pork), sinigang na hipon (shrimp), and sinigang na isda (fish).
8. Crispy Pata
If you can’t get your hands on an entire lechon, a scrumptious crispy pata is an equally sinful alternative. It’s a dish that takes the entire pig leg and deep fries it to perfection. Serve with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce on the side with some chopped up garlic and chilli, and you’re on the road to your next favourite guilty pleasure.
9. Pancit Guisado
One of the more popular Filipino dishes among foreigners with Pinoy friends (due to its customary presence in Filipino birthday parties) is pancit (noodles), of which pancit guisado is perhaps the most well-known variant. This noodle dish is served as a symbol for long life, hence an essential at birthday feasts. The sautéed noodles are complemented by sliced vegetables and meat (all cooked in broth, soy sauce, and fish sauce) and kalamansi is squeezed over upon serving.
10. Lumpia
Feel like tasting Filipino dishes for lunch? Try Lumpia. Influenced by Chinese cuisine, this dish is a delicious deep-fried spring roll. The roll is stuffed with a mixture of chopped vegetables and minced meat. Combined with the right sauces, it is the most scrumptious dish you will ever have for lunch. This is definitely a traditional Filipino dish after trying it, you will never look at spring rolls the same way again. It is a major part of Philippine’s food culture.
