Philippine Cuisine Overview (Part 1)

Adobo

Preparation of pork or poultry or fish foods cooked in vinegar, garlic, and fat, allowed to become tender over a low flame and finally browned in its own fat.

Adobado

Dish similar to Adobo but with the meat and garlic browned first, then broth and vinegar added, resulting in a dish with a little sauce.

Bachoy

Similar to Sinuam but with cubed pork, liver, clotted blood, and misua (wheat string), served with broth.

Bagoong

Small salted cured fish or fish eggs packed in earthen pots or jars, cured for several weeks; types include Dilis (anchovy), Alamang (salted shrimps), Bagoong itlog (salted fish eggs), and Tabay capi (salted small crabs).

Bulanglang

Vegetables like squash, upo, malunggay leaves, onion, tomatoes, bagoong, and rice washing boiled and served with broth; may include broiled fish like bangus.

Calamay

Prepared from ground rice, coconut milk, and brown sugar, cooked until thick to create a delicacy.

Cardillo

Fish dish prepared similar to Sarciado but with beaten eggs added before removing from heat.

Chopsuey

Chinese-American dish of mixed vegetables cooked with shrimps, pork, or chicken, with variations like Pork Chopsuey, Chicken Chopsuey, or Shrimp Chopsuey.

Cocido

Dish made of beef or chicken sautéed with tomatoes, cooked until done, and mixed with boiled beans, peas, or garbanzos.

Cuchinta

Prepared by grinding rice with sugar, steamed, and sometimes added with lye for color and texture.

Daing

Salted dried fish.

Dinuguan

Dish with diced pork or internal organs sautéed, with pork or beef blood added at the final stage of cooking.

Estofado

Preparation of pork shanks seasoned, fried until tender, then potatoes, saba, and bread added, with a little gin before serving.

Fritada

Dish made of fried pork, beef, chicken, or fish cooked with sautéed tomatoes, potatoes, and sweet peppers, sometimes with breadcrumbs.

Guinataan

Cooking food in coconut milk with garlic, vinegar, and other ingredients like in Tinuto, Tinagan, and Guinataan Adobo.

Guisado

General term for food, usually vegetables, sautéed in fat with garlic, onions, bits of pork and shrimp, flavored with shrimp juice.

Kare-kare

Dish with beef shank, garlic, banana bud, sitaw pods, habichuelas, eggplants, ground toasted rice, peanuts, and atchuete, served with guisadong alamang and pork adobo.

Kilawen

Preparation of boiled pork or internal organs with vinegar, garlic, onions, and sometimes sugar, with radish and soy sauce in pork kilawen.

Laksa

Dish with assorted vegetables, shrimp, pork, and sotanghon, different from Malaysian and Singaporean Laksa.

Leche Flan

Custard made of egg yolks, milk, and sugar, with caramel sauce lining the pan before steaming or baking.

Lumpia

Chinese-origin dish of sautéed julienned vegetables wrapped in a thin wafer, fried or served fresh with vinegar, garlic, or sauce.

Matamis na bao

Made from coconut milk and panutsa.

Menudo

Dish with tomato sauce, beef or pork, sausages, and potatoes.

Mole or Pipian

Similar to Kare-Kare but with beef, pork, garbanzos, or chicken cooked in the sauce until done.

Nilaga

Combination dish of chicken, pork, beef, or fish with vegetables like cabbage, pechay, snap beans, potato, saba, leeks, and peppercorn, served with its broth.

Paksiw

Cooking meat or fish with vinegar, salt, garlic, and sometimes sugar.

Pancit

Chinese dish with rice or wheat noodles, prepared with sautéed garlic, onions, shrimps, pork, shrimp juice, and other ingredients before cooking the noodles.

Pesa

Combination dish of chicken or fish with cabbage, pechay, and potatoes, served with misu-tomato sauce.

Pinakbet

Ilocano dish of boiled vegetables with tomatoes, pork, and bagoong juice.

Pinangat

Cooking fish with vinegar and salt, allowing liquid to evaporate over low heat.

Pochero

Boiled beef with Chinese ham, chorizo, and vegetables like eggplant and potatoes.

Sarciado

Similar to Fritada with potatoes and sweet peppers, using pork, fish, or beef as main ingredients.

Sinigang

Meat or fish cooked with sour fruit like tamarind, santol, or guavas, and vegetables like camote leaves and okra.

Sinuam

Cooking meat or fish by sautéing garlic, adding patis and ginger, then boiling with water.

Suman

Glutinous rice dish with coconut milk, sugar, and wrapped in banana leaves, served with grated coconut and sugar.

Tinagan

Fish dish cooked with coconut milk, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and vegetables like kalabasa tops and eggplants.

Tinola

Dish similar to Sinuam with added vegetables like green papaya, upo, or chayote.

Tinuto

Dish made of gabi leaves cooked with coconut milk, vinegar, garlic, and ginger, seasoned with salt or bagoong alamang.

Dinengdeng

Cooking leafy and fruit vegetables by boiling with bagoong juice, sometimes with dried or broiled fish.

Nilaneg

Broiled fish and liver added to boiled water with bagoong sauce and local vegetables.

Pinapaitan

Dish of goat's meat and internal organs cooked with bile for a bitter flavor, served as a pulutan.

Bringhe

Paella dish of Pampanga with shrimp juice and tomatoes.

Kamaniang

Sautéed squash and sitaw with shrimps, a dish from Central Luzon region.

Sopas de pollo

Spanish-influenced soup with diced ham, chicken organ meats, and blood, served with chopped hard-boiled egg and croutons.

Pinangat na Gabi

Leaves wrapped around a mixture of bagoong, pork, chili pepper, and tied up with string, a dish from Bicol Region.

Laing

Shredded dried gabi leaves cooked in coconut milk with bagoong, dried pork, and chili pepper.

Kandinga

Similar to Binagis and Dinaldalem but 'hot' due to the use of banana stalks and labuyo chili pepper.

Kinunot

Shredded baby shark meat cooked in thick coconut milk with ginger and malunggay leaves.

Tinuktok

Gabi leaves wrapped around sautéed chopped buko, shrimps or crabs, chili pepper, and cooked in thick coconut milk.

Sinanglay

Coconut milk mixed with tomatoes, garlic, onions, and ginger, with tilapia laid on top and cooked.

Bisukol

Sautéed dish with bisukol (kuhol), bagoong sauce, rice washing, and sitaw

Dinaldalem

sauteed porm organ meats