Filipino cooking is built on a perfect balance of salty, sweet, and sour flavors. Whether you’re craving a hearty breakfast or planning a full dinner spread, this collection of classic Filipino recipes will bring authentic home-style cooking into your home!
Cooking Filipino food is easier than you think, and I’m not just saying that because I grew up with it.
It’s quite straightforward —just make sure you have soy sauce and fish sauce in your pantry, and you’re already halfway there. 😉
A bit lost on where to begin? Start with pandesal (Filipino Bread Rolls) alongside Pancit Bihon — a classic combo that every Filipino grew up with.
From savory breakfasts to hearty mains, everyday soups and local desserts, this is your one-stop guide to real Filipino cooking.
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Filipino Breakfast Recipes
Sinangag (Filipino Garlic Fried Rice)
An excellent way to use any leftover rice, fried until golden and fragrant with crispy garlic bits.
You can enjoy it anytime of the day, of course, but no Filipino breakfast spread is complete without it.
These are marinated, pan-fried strips of beef served alongside garlic fried rice and fried egg — the traditional ‘silog’ breakfast combo that fuels busy Filipino mornings.
You can even order it as a meal in Jollibee. 🙂
Pandesal (Filipino Bread Rolls)
Soft and slightly sweet bread rolls that you can enjoy any time of the day, not just for breakfast.
It’s light and airy, and you don’t even need anything on it — excellent with hot coffee or chocolate. Yum!
Filipino Main Dishes & Snacks
These are typical lunch and dinner dishes, but some are also popular Filipino food for snacks, like the lumpiang gulay or pancit sotanghon guisado.
This is not your normal tomato-based beef stew, because a bit of liver spread is added into the sauce for more depth.
What you’ll get instead is tender beef simmered in intense, earthy, tomatoey sauce, with bursts of sweetness from the carrots and green peas — a stew that’s traditionally served for special occasions.
This is more of a busy weeknight main dish stew. It’s a one-pot chicken stew with carrots, potatoes, and bell peppers in a rich tomato sauce.
The best part? It tastes even better the next day!
Stir-fried egg noodles loaded with vegetables, meat, or shrimp. It’s a festive noodle dish that’s ubiquitous at Filipino birthdays or any celebration.
Serve it with pandesal, and you’ll hit the perfect combo.
It looks like a big pancake, or a stack of smaller ones, but it’s really a savory ground meat omelet (Filipino version).
Small bits of potatoes are added to the mix, then pan-fried to get crisp at the edges.
You can serve it anytime of the day; it’s even great with sinangag!
Ground pork sautéed and simmered in light tomato sauce.
Vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers are added, and for the last touch, boiled quail eggs are added before serving.
It’s ready in less than an hour, so it’s great for lunch or busy weeknight dinners.
Another variety of stir-fried noodles, this time using glass noodles.
It’s typically prepared with pork or chicken, but the usual vegetables like carrots and cabbage are added.
It’s not as common as the other types of pancit, but just as delicious and satisfying.
This is traditionally made with ground beef, which is what I’ve done, but nowadays, ground pork is commonly used as well.
As always, crushed tomatoes are used for sauce (I know, Filipinos love tomato sauce!).
Extenders like potatoes and carrots are added — sometimes dried raisins as well, to highlight the sweet and salty flavors.
Lumpiang Gulay (Filipino Vegetable Spring Rolls)
Crispy, golden spring rolls packed with sprouted mung beans and a bit of carrots.
Best served with garlic and vinegar sauce for dipping.
It’s slightly different than other vegetable spring rolls because the filling is sautéed first with onion and garlic, then drained before wrapping with the spring roll paper. Delicious!
Arguably the most popular pancit (stir-fried noodles) in the country.
It’s typically prepared with meat or seafood, and it’s excellent for weeknight dinner, lunch, or snack — plus, it’s a Filipino party staple. 🙂
Filipino Soups
Sopas (Filipino Chicken Macaroni Soup)
When someone’s feeling under the weather, this is the magic cure. ;-).
A deliciously creamy soup that’s loaded with chicken, macaroni, and vegetables — plus slices of hotdog (seriously)!
Ginisang Munggo (Filipino Mung Bean Soup)
Traditionally served only on no-meat Fridays, it’s a filling soup made of mung beans simmered until tender, then seasoned with shrimp paste.
Nowadays, pork and even chicharrones are typically added as well — and it’s more common to serve them any day of the week.
Filipino Chicken Sotanghon Soup
It’s a warming soup with chicken bits, glass noodles, and crispy garlic as toppings.
It also uses an ingredient that’s also common in South America called ‘achuete,’ which gives the soup its vibrant color.
This Filipino soup is my personal favorite for the rainy season, a warm hug and all that.
Filipino Dessert Recipes
Filipino Chicken Macaroni Salad
A creamy, slightly salty, slightly sweet macaroni salad with shredded chicken, cubed cheese, and pineapple bits.
Variations like raisins, celery, or carrots are also typically added by locals — as long as you get a balance of sweet, salty, and sour in the end.
Bibingka (Filipino Coconut Rice Cake)
A soft rice cake that’s traditionally cooked in banana leaves and topped with grated coconut and cheese.
This classic cake is also a beloved treat during the Christmas season.
You can literally smell it in the air when you go to ‘simbang gabi’ (traditional early mass).
A chewy dried fruit and nut bar that’s ubiquitous during the holidays. They’re often gifted to friends and co-workers, like a local version of fruit cake.
But if you’re like me, you will make these not-so-sweet treats year-round.
Common Filipino Food Ingredients
- Vegetable oil – primarily used for frying and sautéing. Olive oil is never used in traditional Filipino dishes; neither is peanut oil.
- Shrimp Paste (Bagoong) – you either love it or hate it. I understand why some people cannot stand the smell (and taste) of this, but hey, live and let live. It’s funky; it’s salty, it’s an acquired taste — Nah, it’s still delicious.
- White Rice – Steamed white rice is generally prepared for lunch and dinner, pairing it with at least one meat, fish, or vegetable dish. Any leftover is then used for making garlic fried rice or sinangag, which is typically served for breakfast.
- Glutinous Rice – used for savory dishes and a handful of local delicacies. Filipinos love this special type of rice because it is deliciously filling, easy to cook, and reasonably priced.
- Chili Peppers – Bird’s eye chili and the long green one is commonly used. Bird’s eye chili is generally added into a dipping sauce if you want some additional heat, while the long green one is used for some classic Filipino dishes, like sinigang (sour soup).
- Soy Sauce – while identical to the Chinese dark soy sauce’s color, is not as thick, and there is not an ounce of sweetness in this one, just saltiness, with a hint of umami.
- Vinegar – sugarcane vinegar is the most common that you can find in supermarkets. However, palm vinegar and coconut vinegar are also available nowadays.
These types of vinegar are not as acidic as the western ones like white wine vinegar.
So, if you are thinking of substituting them, you need to make sure you dilute it — three parts of white wine vinegar to one-part water.
- Fish Sauce – this is what Filipinos used to season their dishes, not salt. I think it smells worse than the shrimp paste, but it still makes every dish flavorful. Ticks that box for ‘extra oomph.’ 🙂
- Garlic – not just for cooking, this vegetable is oftentimes used for dipping sauce as well. Mixed with vinegar, it’s great with vegetable spring rolls and some other street food.
- Banana Catsup – sweeter than your normal catsup, locals use this generally for fried or grilled meat; plus, it’s a crucial ingredient in making Filipino-style spaghetti!
FAQ
What is Filipino cuisine known for?
Filipino food is known for its mix of salty, sweet, and sour flavors, often seasoned with soy sauce, fish sauce, and vinegar. Dishes tend to be shared family-style, and rice is an integral part of almost every meal.
What’s a classic Filipino meal?
A typical Filipino meal centers on steamed white rice paired with a main dish — like chicken afritada or beef kaldereta. Sometimes a side dish made of vegetables will also be served, especially if it’s a full meal with the whole family, say on weekends.
Is Filipino food spicy?
There are some spicy Filipino dishes that originated from the provinces (not from Manila), but it’s not that common.
However, Filipinos love to add chili to their dipping sauce for that extra oomph.
What are the common Filipino cooking staples?
Soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, and garlic form the backbone of most Filipino kitchens. Refer to the Common Filipino Food Ingredients section above for the full breakdown.
What makes Filipino cooking authentic?
It all comes down to balance: salty, sweet, and sour, plus fresh aromatics for sautéing like garlic and onion — as a base for almost everything.
It’s not about exact measurements; it’s more about tasting as you go, since every Filipino household has its own version of a ‘classic’ dish.
So, from breakfast meals to local desserts, Filipino cooking proves that well-balanced flavors don’t need complicated techniques.
Whether you’re recreating a family favorite or trying Filipino cuisine for the first time, there’s a recipe here worth adding to your weekly rotation.
Kain na tayo! 🙂
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