Filipino Recipes
35 recipes found
Tinolang Manok (Chicken Tinola)
You could call tinola a chicken soup, but that is just a literal description for a dish that, in the Philippines, is more like a form of medicine. The writer Jill Damatac remembers her lola (grandmother) putting a whole chicken in the pot; in her own version, she bronzes thighs and drumsticks then submerges them in chicken stock and sets to a simmer. The broth’s depth comes from ginger, peppery malunggay (moringa) leaves and patis (fish sauce), standing in for salt. Chayote, kin to squash but as bracing as an apple, yields a clean, juicy bite. Be patient: The soup’s subtle flavor “does not bloom, soft and gentle on the tongue, until the second mouthful,” Ms. Damatac writes in her memoir, “Dirty Kitchen” (Atria, 2025). As a luxurious topping, she buys extra chicken skin from the butcher, crisps it and adds it to the soup at the last moment, for a satisfying shatter.
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How to Perfect Sticky and Sweet Filipino Barbecue Skewers
Satisfy your appetite for Filipino barbecue with these sweet, sticky glistening skewers of grilled pork or chicken.
Honey Salabat Tea Cake
In the Philippines, ginger is both spice and medicine, often administered as salabat, a simple tea of fresh ginger root. Here, tea is transformed into tea cake. Arlyn Osborne, in a recipe from “Sugarcane: Sweet Recipes From My Half-Filipino Kitchen,” begins by brewing a much stronger tea than you would ever drink. The goal is to distill enough ginger to perfume and possess the cake’s every crumb. When straining the tea, press forcefully and patiently, to extract as much of the ginger’s life force as you can. (If you don’t get half a cup’s worth, add water.) More ginger follows, in powdered form, whisked into flour, and crystallized, to stud the top of the cake, after the glaze has run down the sides. Other ingredients play important roles — lemon with its streak of sun, honey mellow and deep, sour cream delivering reliable richness — but the soul of the cake is ginger.
Chicken Adobo
Adobo, often referred to as the national dish of the Philippines, is a braise of meat, seafood or vegetables in a mouth-watering sauce of vinegar, soy sauce and other spices (and sometimes a coconut milk). It is a technique that has been used by Filipinos long before colonization, and variations abound by region, household and personal taste. This version calls for bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, but you can also use boneless, if you prefer (see Tip). Cane vinegar, available at specialty markets and online, is used here for its mild flavor, but you may also use white, cider or rice vinegar. The signature, irresistible tang from the vinegar may be balanced with sugar to taste. Serve with rice, generously spooning the zippy sauce on top.
Eggplant Adobo
This superpunchy, one-skillet vegetarian meal is inspired by chicken adobo, a beloved Filipino dish. Here, eggplant cooks in rich, tangy adobo sauce — a blend of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, black pepper and bay leaf — absorbing the savory flavors as it simmers. Coconut milk is added in some versions of adobo, creating a rich, silky texture to balance out the sauce’s tart notes. This recipe includes a shower of fragrant basil, which brings a fresh hit that lifts the dish. (Thinly sliced scallions would also be great.) Serve the eggplant over rice to catch all of its flavorful drippings.
Pancit
Often served for special occasions like Noche Buena or birthdays, pancit is a Filipino dish of stir-fried noodles, meat and vegetables coated in a savory-sweet sauce. Pancit, which means “noodles”, has many delicious variations. This one, made with tender vermicelli rice noodles, carrots, cabbage, and chicken or pork, is known specifically as pancit bihon. Feel free to add other vegetables like green beans or snow peas. You can top the noodles with lechon kawali, crispy and juicy fried pork belly, and use the stock from that dish instead of chicken stock. (Just be sure to adjust the salt as necessary.) Pancit can be prepared in large batches, but however it’s served, include wedges of calamansi, if available. It’s a citrus fruit native to the Philippines that will brighten up the entire dish.
Halo-Halo
The joy of preparing halo-halo, the sweet, icy, creamy and colorful Filipino dessert, might only be surpassed by the pleasure of eating it. The name means mix-mix in Tagalog, which refers to the best way to eat it: Combine everything by digging from the bottom up with a tall spoon. Shaved ice and a mix of evaporated milk and sweetened condensed or coconut milk are the foundation of this dessert; everything else is up to personal preference. In general, halo-halo includes a mix of syrup-soaked beans, corn, coconut gel, tapioca pearls, jackfruit, mango and banana. Jarred halo-halo mixes are available as a starting point (see Tip). Just make sure to have all the ingredients ready so the ice doesn't melt once it’s placed in the glass. If preparing for a crowd, set up a toppings bar and let people build their own.
Lechon Kawali
Lechon, or whole suckling pig, is traditionally prepared for large holiday gatherings in the Philippines, but lechon kawali, a dish of crispy deep-fried pork belly, is served year-round for special occasions. (Kawali refers to the pan used for frying the pork.) To maximize lechon kawali’s crispiness, it’s important to make sure the skin is as dry as possible. In this version, the pork belly is first simmered in a savory broth of onion, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns, then dried in a low oven. To finish, the pork is fried until the skin is crisp and crackly. Serve lechon kawali with a side of rice, and don’t skip the garlicky vinegar sauce for dipping, which balances the fried pork by adding a necessary tang.
Pinakbet
Ricardo Garza, a firefighter and emergency medical technician at Station 8 in Honokaʻa, Hawaii, learned to make this Filipino stew, brimming with fatty pork, fishy patis and lots of vegetables (Japanese eggplant, baby okra, bitter melon) from his grandmother. He has now passed it on to his colleagues at Station 8, who are cooking and riffing on it. If you find winged beans, a favorite of Mr. Garza’s, go for it and use eight ounces each of winged beans and long beans (instead of one full pound of long beans). Just trim the winged beans, separate the pods and add them to the pinakbet with the bitter melon.
Pastillas de Leche (Milk Candies)
Pastillas de leche are Filipino candies traditionally made by cooking down carabao (water buffalo) milk for hours. (Although the recipe is native to the Philippines, the name comes from Spanish: Pastilla describes the lozenge shape and leche is milk.) Abi Balingit, the author of the dessert cookbook “Mayumu” (Harvest 2023), offers a beautifully simple, no-cook shortcut: You sift whole milk powder and salt, then mix in condensed milk until a dough forms. Roll into snowy white logs, then dust the soft, creamy treats in sugar. That’s it — there’s no waiting; you can eat them right away.
Adobo Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies amaze with a salted caramel richness that comes from bay leaves, soy sauce and vinegar, key ingredients in many savory Filipino adobo dishes, bound by toasty brown butter. This chocolate chip cookie recipe is adapted from “Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed” (Harvest, 2023) by Abi Balingit. In it, she writes of her “insatiable desire for new combinations of sweet, salty, savory, sour and umami in desserts,” and this cookie hits all of those notes. But Ms. Balingit balances those seasonings so no single flavor distracts from the thrill of tasting something familiar with a totally new depth. Crisp around the edges and soft through the centers, they also have a fruity, aromatic pop of pink peppercorns on top.
Mini Bibingka
Bibingka is a Filipino cake traditionally made with rice flour and coconut milk and baked to supreme fluffiness over banana leaves in a terra-cotta oven. These versions are built to fit in the palm of the hand. Ray Luna, who ran the much loved coffee shop Mountain Province in Brooklyn, adapted the recipe from his lola (grandmother), using self-rising flour instead of rice flour and coconut cream for extra richness. The cakes are delicious when made with just the requisite five ingredients, but for a touch of refinement, follow Luna’s lead and bake in banana leaves, to infuse a green-tea scent. The final touch: macapuno, opalescent strands from rare, prized coconuts with jellylike flesh.
Coconut Milk Chicken Adobo
When I left home, adobo was a dish I could cook off the top of my head. The name was bestowed by Spanish colonizers, referring to the use of vinegar and seasonings to preserve meat, but the stew existed long before their arrival. It is always made with vinegar, and often soy sauce, but there are as many adobo recipes as there are Filipino cooks. In this version, coconut — present in three forms: milk, oil and vinegar — brings silkiness and a hint of elegance. Every ingredient announces itself; none are shy. The braised whole peppercorns pop in your mouth.
Pork Sinigang
This recipe, adapted from the chef Tom Cunanan of Bad Saint in Washington, D.C., really needs fresh white rice when you serve it. It serves as the plain, blank canvas for all the tartness of the tamarind and the richness of the ribs. At Filipino meals, it’s quite common to have a variety of sawsawan, or sauces and condiments, on the table at mealtime. The idea is for everyone at the table to customize their dishes exactly to their liking.
Chicken Adobo With Coconut Milk
It is the national dish of the Philippines, and the subject of intense and delicious debate across its 7,100 islands whether made with chicken, pork or fish. Whichever, the protein is braised in vinegar until pungent and rich, sweet and sour and salty at once, then sometimes crisped at the edges in high heat, and always served with the remaining sauce. Its excellence derives from the balance of its flavors, in the alchemy of the process. Cooking softens the acidity of the vinegar, which then combines with the flavor of the meat to enhance it. Whether consumed in Manila’s heat or on the edge of a New York winter, adobo holds the power to change moods and alter dining habits. It is a difficult dish to cook just once. The recipe that follows derives from one given to The Times in 2011 by Amy Besa, who runs, with her husband, Romy Dorotan, the excellent Purple Yam restaurant in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.
Mango Royale
For the chef Isa Fabro of IsaMADE in Los Angeles, the use of super-ripe Manila mangoes (native to the Philippines) is central to this no-bake dessert, as the fruit has a unique deep honey taste, a creamy texture with virtually no fibers, and a heavy aroma. If using Kent or Haden mangoes, remove any excess fiber and add lime; the extra acid complements their flavor, but will compete with the Manila mangoes. As long as the mangoes are super-ripe, even over-ripe, the dish will be fine. If not, the mango flavor will become dulled and lost in the cold of the freezer. If ripe mangoes aren’t available, frozen ones can be used once defrosted.
Coconut-Stewed Bamboo Shoots With Shrimp (Ginataang Tambo)
Dressing seafood in coconut milk is a classic way of cooking it, writes Nicole Ponseca in her book, “I Am a Filipino.” Here, shrimp are quickly sautéed in a heady coconut milk sauce laced with onion, ginger and slivers of red chile. Slippery pieces of bamboo shoot (canned, or fresh if you can find it) add texture and a gentle earthiness.
Bibingka (Filipino Coconut-Rice Cake)
This recipe for bibingka, the celebratory rice cake traditionally eaten around Christmastime in the Philippines, comes from the New York restaurateur Nicole Ponseca. It's a savory side dish with an edge of sweetness, and she always includes it on her Thanksgiving table. Cooked in cast-iron for a deeply golden crust, and hiding slices of salty preserved eggs, the bibingka is topped with grated cheese that gets brown and crisp. Though Ms. Ponseca prefers bibingka without additional coconut on top, traditionalists may want to add a sprinkle.
Pork Tocino
In the Philippines, tocino is a sweet, cured pork dish that is served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Though the term “tocino” comes from the Spanish word for bacon, in the Philippines, the dish can be made from chicken or beef as well. Its vibrant red hue often comes from annatto seed, an orange-red food coloring from the achiote tree. In this recipe, the annatto seed is swapped out for beet juice, which adds both color and sweet earthiness to the dish. When cooking the meat, you don’t want to sear it in superhot oil; the key is to let the sugars caramelize slowly with the pork to achieve a beautiful, dark, sticky glaze. Garlic fried rice and fresh slices of tomato make excellent side dishes.
Oxtail Stew in Peanut Sauce (Kare-Kare)
Kare-kare is a nutty-sweet stew, traditionally made in the Philippines with oxtail, bok choy, string beans and eggplants, simmered with ground peanuts and achuete oil; peanut butter, a modern substitute, lends voluptuousness. This recipe is adapted from Nicole Ponseca and Miguel Trinidad’s forthcoming cookbook “I Am a Filipino” and their restaurant Maharlika in New York, where the dish is always served with rice and bagoong, a fermented seafood paste that brings a depth of flavor akin to aged cheese or steak.
Asado
Asado, a complex, salty-sour dish of pork shoulder slowly cooked in tomato sauce flavored with garlic, soy sauce and calamansi (a small citrus fruit), is a dish frequently eaten in Pampanga, said to be the culinary capital of the Philippines, and it is often served at large gatherings. This recipe comes from Chad and Chase Valencia, brothers and owners of the Los Angeles restaurant Lasa, who serve their mother’s asado alongside turkey and honey-roasted ham at Thanksgiving. The trick to the asado’s rich depths is evaporated milk; for a little extra salt and heft, you can add grated queso de bola, the nutty Filipino cheese served during the holidays. Don’t skip the overnight refrigeration step, which really allows the flavors to deepen.
Turkey Silog (Garlic Fried Rice With Eggs)
Silog, rice bathed in lots of garlic and crowned with a runny egg, is a hearty and essential part of any Filipino breakfast, and it comes together very quickly. For Chad and Chase Valencia, brothers and owners of the Filipino restaurant Lasa, in Los Angeles, the best time to make silog is the morning after Thanksgiving, when they top it with seared leftover turkey (or ham), and gravy to moisten the bits of rice. You're going to have to plan ahead for this recipe, as it’s best made with day-old rice; freshly made rice won't get as crisp in the pan. And don't be intimidated by the amount of garlic here — it all mellows out, while still providing a potent punch. Chad notes that this dish will work in almost any nonstick pan, except for a steel or aluminum-bottomed pan; you could even use a well-seasoned cast-iron pan or wok.
Cauliflower Adobo
Chicken adobo, the national dish of the Philippines, is made by braising chicken in a salty, sour and sweet mixture of mostly soy sauce and vinegar. In this vegetarian version, cauliflower, rather than chicken, is caramelized on one side, then simmered in the pungent but not prickly sauce until toothsome yet tender. The simmer mellows the vinegar and soy sauce into a sauce interlaced with pepper, garlic and something herbal but not immediately traceable — that’s the bay leaves. Serve the cauliflower and sauce over rice or another grain with something green on the side.
Bibingka (Coconut Rice Cakes With Banana Leaves)
Bibingka is a cake made of rice flour, so it’s naturally gluten-free, chewy but tender throughout, with a soufflé-like fluffiness. It’s traditionally cooked in a clay pot over and under hot coals, a difficult setup to replicate; instead, I pour the batter into a cast-iron pan lined with banana leaves, which char as the cake bakes, infusing it with their scent. (You can cut the ribs off the leaves to make them more malleable.) Nearly halfway through baking, the cake is topped with salted duck egg, an ingredient available at Asian specialty groceries. If you can’t find it, the cake will be more forthrightly sweet, lacking that sly note of brine. As a final touch, if you have a kitchen torch available, char the edges of the banana leaves, so a little smokiness suffuses the delicate cake.