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From hand crafted chocolate off the beach to tasty marinated grilled meats, here's where you can go, and what you can do whenever you're here in the Philippines
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Philippines
Article
Review: In a Beach Off Manila, Follow the Chocolate
Words by Miguel Ortega, Photos by Tarish Zamora
Guide: Manila’s Chinatown Eats to Welcome in The Year of the Rat
Fresh into a new decade, Chinese New Year is fast approaching. As Manila bids farewell to the Year of the Pig, what better way to embrace the Year of the Rat than sampling different Chinese eateries around Binondo, Manila’s Chinatown.
Guide: Eating Your Way Through Manila’s Mobile Street Food Vendors
Commuters and pedestrians in Manila have it tough with the traffic. But there is a silver lining. It comes in the form of street food vendors who provide a respite and sometimes, a destination for urban travelers.
10 Must-Eat Healthy Filipino Food
Healthy Filipino food? You might think that that's the last word you would use to describe Filipino cuisine, but you'll soon see that many dishes are healthy, health-boosting, and this is important: Delicious. Salads for example, is a heavy feature, with ingredients like sea grapes (a type of seaweed) and all kinds of vegetables- bittergourd is a huge favourite. Others, like Sinigang, is a lovely and spicy tamarind-base soup with chicken, beef or pork and smells of Thai Tom Yam. Don't miss all the rest in my 10 Must-Eat Healthy Filipino Food list!
Anton Amoncio's Easy Filipino Recipes & Guide Around The Kitchen
From jollibee inspired recipes to easy delicious filipino desserts, Anton's got you covered with recipes you will want to cook in the kitchen over and over.
Article
3 Easy DIY Home-Made Kitchen Cleaners
Keep your kitchen spotless with easy DIY home-made cleaning formulations that are effective and inexpensive
Under 30 mins
Anton’s Classic Jollibee Inspired Spaghetti
Jollibee’s sweet ketchup spaghetti was a childhood favourite of mine, as with many other kids here in the Philippines. Now, inspired by that taste of my youth, I’m replicating the classic spaghetti from this homegrown fast-food chain. Most would not know, but the signature taste of ketchup here is not squeezed from tomatoes, but from bananas, then blitzed with vinegar and spice, and dyed red into what’s known as banana ketchup. The fruity sauce is typically topped on hotdogs and hamburgers in the Philippines, and the star of our beloved Jollibee spaghetti.
Jollibee Inspired Crispy Fried Chicken with Gravy
Move over KFC, in the Philippines, it’s all Jollibee. My love for this fried chicken goes way back to my childhood days. My grandmother would bring buckets and buckets of this when I celebrated my birthday at school, and that would instantly make me the coolest kid in class. Go around and ask Filipinos, and I am sure that this has always been part of their celebrations and milestones.A party is not a party without it! With this recipe, you can re-create Jollibee’s famous Chicken Joy with its iconic brown gravy to feed your addiction at home.
Flavorsome Corned Beef Tortang Talong
I have to admit Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelette), was not my favourite food as a kid. But I’ve learned to appreciate it growing up because of how easy it can be made, and now it has become my breakfast staple. I fell in love with its complex flavors and how versatile this dish is. Now I’ve added some tasty corned beef to this all-time Filipino favorite, which is best served with pickled red onions and carrots.
Filipino Beef Inasal Korean BBQ Wrap
In recent years, many Korean pubs and grilled places have opened in the Philippines, and it got me thinking about Samgyupsal. That’s Korean grilled pork that many order when they sit down for delicious BBQs. Here, I’ve combined this grilled Korean affair with our own Filipino BBQ. You’ll be biting into a mouth-watering streaky Korean cut with Filipino Beef Inasal that often goes with a typical sinamak dip –a kind of pickled, vinegary dipping sauce.
Under 60 mins
Hearty Pork Binagoongan with Green Mango Salsa
My love for Binagoongan started when my aunt introduced it to me back when I visited them in the province. It instantly became one of my favorite Filipino classics. This is the reason why I tried to recreate it with my own version when I first started my restaurant Antojos. I’m very pleased to share that this turned out be our best seller, which eventually found its way on local television because of the rave reviews we’re getting. Now I’ve added a bit of zesty sweetness to it –so enjoy my take on one of the most popular Filipino food-Pork Binagoongan with Green Mango Salsa!
Ube Buko Pie Pockets
A sweet purple puff pastry that you can nibble at, ube, the Filipino purple yam, is mashed with juicy buko (coconut flesh) to get a double delight pastry perfect to satisfy any of those in-between meal hunger. The earthy sweetness of its filling is made merrier with buttery swirls of thick coconut milk, vanilla and creamy condensed milk that makes this deep-fried chewy triangle a winning treat for everytime.
Anton’s Banana Turon 2 Ways
It’s like a spring roll, but sweet. The famous afternoon snack is traditionally stuffed with plantain (banana) and dusted with brown sugar here in the Philippines. I learned about this food because of a street vendor who consistently passes by our house to sell just that. I love its simplicity, and how it is well-loved by almost all Filipinos. This crunchy snack can be made in two ways –original style with plantain or a crunchy chocolate one, drizzled with caramel. Both are equally addictive! P.S. A famous shopping mall in the Philippines turned the humble turon into a million peso enterprise!Ingredients
Ube Macapuno Pandesal
Pandesal or Pan de sal (bread roll) is the most popular bread in the Philippines, and almost everyone grew up eating it. While good on its own, infusing it with other flavors just makes it even more amazing! This is my own iteration on the famous marriage between Ube (purple yam) and Macapuno (soft coconut meat). It’s so easy to make and when you bite into this fluffy bread, all the naturally sweet Macapuno oozes out.
Filipino Ube Mango Sticky Rice (Ube Mango Biko)
Mango sticky rice is one of my favorite foods of Thailand, aside from Phad Thai. Here, I’ve given my spin on this famous dessert - by incorporating Filipino flavours into it. Ube, our purple yam used most widely in Halo-Halo, tints the glutinous rice a vibrant purple and adds a sweet nutty flavor to this Filipino Biko (rice cakes). It’s also topped with crunchy latik (coconut curds) and drizzled with creamy coconut sauce for a super sweet lick. Yum!
Let Matthias Show You How To Cook Easy Apocalytic Pasta For Struggle Days
Recipe
Matthias Rhoads: Apocalyptic Canned Gourmet Pasta
Gourmet pasta you can make with supplies you have in your kitchen, no prep needed.
Wow! Philippines
Video
Wow! Philippines: Chicken Relleno
When the Philippines celebrates Christmas, they cannot go without the Chicken Relleno. A golden crispy chicken that’s first deboned then stuffed with a blend of lip-smacking meat and sweet fruits like raisins. Served cold or hot, it’s delicious all year-round, especially at Christmas at the trendy city of Makati’s Romulo Café.
Wow! Philippines: Cansi
If you’re struck by a hunger for hot beef stew, you’ll want to be at Sharyn’s Cansi House, just an hour flight from the Philippine capital of Manila. The deliciously sour beef shank soup appeals with its fragrant sourness and acidity. But that’s not its only flavour. Poke into a juicy sweet bone marrow and the star, meltingly tender beef shank.
Wow! Philippines: Empanada
It’s not a curry puff, but it’s quite close really. Known as Empanada, you’ll want to grab a hot one at Emma Lacson’s Delicacies, where it’s made to secret perfection. A flaky, crossiant-like shell wraps tasty meat, egg, raisins and more. It’s said you won’t just stop at one.
Wow! Philippines: Hamon De Bola
When it comes to the eve of Christmas in Philippines, also known as Noche Buena, Hamon de Bola is a definite must-have on the Christmas table.
Video
Wow! Philippines: Piaya
What’s crunchy on the outside, and meltingly sweet all over? Well the name’s Piaya, a Filipino pancake that’s packed with muscovado, or roasted sugarcane that’s a delicious delicacy in Silay city. Take a bite of that just offthe Philippine sugar capital of Bacolod, right at the attractive heritage zone of Balay Puti.
Video
Wow! Philippines: Puchero
Pochero, or Puchero, call it by either name, but one thing’s the same –it’s a deeply aromatic beef stew bursting with tomato goodness. It first came to the Philippines from the Spanish colonial masters but quickly become deliciously cooked across kitchens in the country. And this one’s fantastic, especially when eaten in the gorgeous natural ambience of Silay city’s heritage zone of Balay Puti.
Home Cooked Philippines with Anton Amoncio
Video
Home Cooked Philippines with Anton Amoncio: Bicol Express
Not to be mistaken for the name of a train - Bicol Express, straight from Manila, is an intensely stewed coconut-milk pork belly dish that really is just heaven in a bowl.
Home Cooked Philippines: Sopas
If you think your chicken noodle soup's too basic, try dropping plump smokey sausages in it. Then, you'll see why this Filipino Sopas recipe is the only chicken noodle soup recipe you'll ever need.
Home Cooked Philippines with Anton Amoncio: Chicken & Pork Adobo
It's believed that no two Filipinos cook Adobo the same way. What’s true though, is that this vinegared chicken and juicy pork belly recipe is lip-smackingly tasty and a delicious double-act!
Philippine Food
If you find yourself in the Philippines, you have to try the different types of local favourite foods. Filipino food is an amalgamation of the country’s rich history and culture. Combine the traditional cooking methods with the diverse background of influences, Filipino cuisine offers simply delectable and delicious food.
The flavour profile of most Filipino food dishes combine a variety of salty, sour and sweet notes. Some of the key ingredients used in Filipino food recipes include garlic, calamansi, and annatto - seed from the achiote tree that has a peppery flavour. You will also find that many Filipino foods have a common combination of sautéed tomatoes, onions and garlic as the starting base.
Similar to many of the other cuisines in Southeast Asia, Filipino food almost always has rice as a staple. Rice is usually served steamed with meat dishes or with broths. Sometimes, rice flour is used in making traditional Filipino desserts, from rice cakes to coconut rice puddings.
Filipino Culture: Street Food And Snacks
A big part of Filipino food cuisine is in its availability and variety of no-frills street food and snacks. The coconut juice, soft tofu topped with dark sugar syrup and deep-fried fish ball snacks are only some of the choices you will see around Manila. ‘Balut’, a fertilised duck egg, is one of the most popular Filipino street snacks you will come to know. Aged for approximately two to three weeks and kept warm, ‘Balut’ is a type of street snack that peddlers sell to commuters - both local and tourists. Other common Filipino street food delicacies you will find are the pork cracklings and fish crackers. The Asian Food Network covers all the favourite street food finds you can look for in the Philippines here.
The ‘Chicken and Pork Adobo’ is, without a doubt, one of the signature Filipino food dishes you will come across. Well loved by many, the chicken adobo is cooked using soy sauce and cane sugar vinegar. Adding bay leaves and using black peppercorns will enhance the sauce of your chicken adobo. For an easy weeknight dinner, the chicken adobo is a popular Filipino recipe that you can try. It is easy, distilled down to a few steps and can be enjoyed with fluffy, steamed rice.
Filipino food packs punches of flavour through its use of ingredients and clever combination of spicy and sour flavour notes. The ‘Pancit Buko Guisado’ - sautéed coconut noodles - are not actually noodles but long fresh strips of coconut that has been stir-fried with fresh vegetables and meat. Shrimp is often used in this recipe.
Try making one of our Filipino recipes at home for a change and be amazed at how easily it yields a satisfying and delicious dinner!
Easy, Quick Filipino Food Recipes
Our collection of loved Filipino dishes and desserts are crystallised into easy-to-follow, guided recipes with photos and videos. For a truly unique taste profile of Filipino food, you have to try some of their street snacks and locally-sourced ingredients - these give the dishes that special kick in flavour!
Tag us on Instagram when you make your version of these special Filipino recipes at home!