1. Adobo
A ubiquitous dish in every household in the Philippines, it's
Mexican in origin, but Filipinos found that cooking meat (often chicken and
pork) in vinegar, salt, garlic, pepper, soy sauce and other spices, was a
practical way to preserve meat without refrigeration.
2.
Lechon
The
lechon is the most invited party guest in the Philippines. The entire pig is
spit-roasted over coals, with the crisp, golden-brown skin served with
liver sauce, the most coveted part.
In
Cebu, the stomach of the pig is stuffed with star anise, pepper, spring onions,
laurel leaves and lemongrass resulting in an extremely tasty lechon, which
needs no sauce.
3.
Sisig
Nothing goes to waste in the Filipino kitchen. In the culinary
capital of Pampanga, they turn the pork’s cheeks, head and liver into a
sizzling dish called Sisig.
The crunchy and chewy texture of this appetizer is a perfect
match for an cold beer. Serve with hot sauce and Knorr seasoning to suit the
preference of you and your buddies.
Credit goes to Aling Lucing who invented this dish at a humble
stall along the train railways in Angeles City, Pampanga.
4.
Crispy pata
Not for the easily spooked, this pork knuckle is simmered,
drained and deep fried until crisp. The meat is tender and juicy inside, with a
crisp, crackling exterior.
Served with vinegar, soy sauce and chili.
9. Arroz Caldo
5. Chicken inasal
Yes, it's grilled chicken. But in
Bacolod, this is no ordinary grilled chicken.
The meat is marinated in lemongrass,
calamansi, salt, pepper and garlic and brushed with achuete (annatto seeds)
oil.
Every part of the chicken is grilled here
from the paa (drumstick), pecho (breast), baticulon (gizzard), atay (liver),
pakpak (wings) and corazon (heart). It must be eaten with a generous serving of
garlic rice, with some of the orange oil used to marinade the chicken poured
over the rice.
6. Taba ng
talangka
The fat of a small variety of crabs are
pressed and sautéed in garlic. This cholesterol-laden dish is often used as a
sauce for prawns or eaten with fried fish and rice.
The best taba ng talangka comes from the
provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac and Bulacan.
7. Pancit Palabok
When Filipinos have guests, they don't
skimp. The pancit palabok served on most birthday parties is oozing with flavor
and textures.
The noodle dish is layered with rice
noodles, a rich orange sauce made from shrimp broth, pork, hard boiled eggs,
shrimps, chicharon (pork rinds) and sometimes oysters and squid.
8. Bulalo
Despite the perennial heat, Filipinos
often enjoy sipping piping hot bulalo soup made with from freshly slaughtered
Batangas beef.
The broth is rich with flavors seeped
from the beef after boiling for hours. The bones are big, meaning more bone
marrow to enjoy.
While chicken soup soothes sick
Westerners, Filipinos turn to arroz caldo, a thick chicken rice porridge.
Cooked with ginger and sometimes
garnished with a hard-boiled egg, toasted garlic and green onions, this comfort
food is sold in street-side stalls.
10. Fish tinola
The
freshness of Cebu's rich marine life can be tasted in its fish tinola, a simple
sour broth flavored with onions, tomatoes and sambag (tamarind) and cooked over
coco-lumber firewood for hours.
Cebuanos know to go to A-One, a small
hole in the wall known, cooking up to 200 kilos of fish daily.