Filipino Food, Recipes & Cuisine

Filipino cuisine or the cuisine of islands of Philippines has transformed from its Malay roots to a predominant Hispanic base cuisine because of the dishes brought during Spanish rule. American, Arab and Chinese have also influenced it. Filipinos have the own unique way of adapting to these environmental influences. Surprisingly despite such influences traditional Filipino food recipes have still survived.

Filipino food recipes are distinguished by their bold combination of sour, sweet and salty flavors. Generally most Filipino food recipes are not heavily spiced. Filipino food recipes showcase a sudden influx of flavor and are usually delivered in a single presentation. This gives the eater a simultaneous visual feast, a gustatory glee and an aromatic bouquet. An important feature of the Filipino food is counterpoint i.e. pairing of sweet with salty like salted sun dried fish being paired with sweet cocoa rice porridge.

Staple Filipino food is rice that is served in all meals with different ingredients and seasonings like it is served with fried eggs at breakfast. Fruits like coconuts, tomatoes, bananas and vegetables like potatoes, purple yam, and carrots are popular ingredients. Filipino food recipes are rich in seafood because of its geographical location. Catfish, shrimp, mackrel, crabs prawns, oysters are very popular in the Filipino food recipes.

Filipino Food recipes range from a simple meal of fried fish and rice to rich paellas and cocidos. Popular Filipino food recipes include Philippine sausage-longganisa, beef jerky, omelette, goat in tomato stew-kaldereta, mechado (meat in tomato sauce), banana and tomato sauced beef- pochero, kare-kare (vegetables and oxtail made in peanut sauce), pancit or stir-fried noodles, crispy pata or deep-fried pig’s leg, hamonado (pineapple sauced sweetened pork), sinigang (fish, pork or shrimp in tamarind) and lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls). The most well liked desserts include leche flan and buko pandan (slivers of young coconut with cream and pandan flavor).

The penchant of the Filipinos for cooking has culminated in a unique Philippine culinary art. Depending upon the availability of ingredients, many different recipes develop in the different regions of the Philippines. In the north, the Pakbet- simple nutritious vegetarian dish is the speciality of the Ilocanos. The hot spicy dish in coconut milk – Bicol Express is the speciality of the Bicolanos. A Filipino food recipe that is known over the world is the tasty pork and chicken adobo.

For festive occasions and fiestas, Filipinos display their signature dishes that they cook together. They often lade their tables with labor-intensive and expensive treats. The whole roasted suckling pig, Lechon is the center stage Filipino food recipe. Also kaldereta, hamonado (honey-cured meat), pancit canton, mechado, paella, relleno (stuffed meat), afritada, pochero, and arroz valenciana are popular Filipino food recipes. Sweet Filipino food recipes such as leche flan, sapin-sapin, sorbetes, ube and gulaman also adorn the table.
Filipino Food Recipes can be described best as a mixture of eastern and western influences that provide a range of rich flavours, colour and spices. These rich flavours make the Filipino cuisine unique, mouth watering, delicious and tempting.