Most Popular Filipino Dishes: When it comes to gastronomic gems, the Philippines is a sensory smorgasbord. Its food is an amalgamation of its history, geography and culture, mixing local ingredients with Spanish, Chinese and Malay influences. From spicy street food to heavenly home-cooked meals, the flavors and tastes of the Philippines are interesting, complex, and often tongue-tingling!
Think of the savory-sour punch of a good adobo, the comforting warmth of sinigang or the crunch of lumpia dunked in a sweet chili sauce. Whether you’re eating on the streets of Manila, sitting back for seafood by the Visayan coast or eating with a family at a fiesta in the provinces, every dish provides an insight into the country’s soul.
Most Popular Filipino Dishes
In this curated guide, reader can take a look at over 37 of the most well-liked traditional Filipino dishes we hope you’ll try—segmented into categories such as national bestsellers, rice & noodle favorites, street snacks, holiday treats, and sweet finishes. Every plate is a vibrant fusion as vibrant and colorful as the islands!
National Classics
- Adobo – The de facto national dish: chicken or pork stewed in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and spices.
- Sinigang – Sour pork, shrimp or fish soup with tamarind, best for rainy days.
- Kare-Kare Peanut oxtail and stew mixed with bagoong (shrimp paste).
- Lechon – A whole suckling pig roasted until the skin is puffed and somwhat crispy, usually featured in fiestas and other festive gatherings.
- Kaldereta – Tomato-based beef or goat stew with potatoes and bell peppers.
- Bicol Express – Hot stew of coconut milk and pig with chilies, from Bicol region.
- Laing – Taro leaves simmered in coconut milk with chili and dried fish or pork.
Rice & Noodle Staples
- Arroz Caldo – A warm rice soup with chicken, ginger, and garlic.
- Pancit Canton – Egg noodles wok tossed with vegetables, meat and a soy-based sauce.
- Pancit Malabon – A seafood noodle dish that’s smothered in shrimp sauce and finished with hard-boile
- Pancit Palabok – Thin rice noodles made with shrimp sauce, chicharrón, and smoked fish flakes.”
- Lomi – Thick egg noodles swims in a luscious, savory broth.
- Silog Meals (Tapsilog, Longsilog, etc.) – Rice meals served with fried egg and meat (tapa, longganisa, tocino).
- Bibingka – Sweet savoury rice cake, baked and usually eaten in the Christmas season.
Street Food & Everyday Favorites
- Lumpia – Filipino spring rolls; may be fresh or fried, and are usually served with sweet chili sauce.
- Turon – Banana in a blanket, as I would like to call it, caramelized sugar, also sweet heading on a stroll outdoors.
- Isaw – Chicken or pork intestines on a stick, grilled and served with a vinegar dip.
- Kwek-Kwek –Quail eggs wrapped in orange batter and fried.
- Fish Balls – and fish cakes on skewers fried and served with sweet or spicy sauces.
- Tokneneng – Bigger variant of kwek-kwek, which is using chicken or duck eggs.
- Balut – Fertilised duck egg, a delicacy ate in the culture, commonly with vinegar and salt.
- Banana Cue – SABA Bananas fried in brown sugar on sticks.
Festive & Regional Specialties
- Sisig (Pampanga) – Chopped pork cheeks, ear, and liver, sizzled until crunchy in a hot plate,balanced with calamansi and chili spice.
- Bagnet (Ilocos) – A deep fried crispy pork belly to golden perfection.
- Pinakbet (Ilocos) – Assortment of vegetables with a fish base, the healthy Ilocano staple.
- Bulalo (Batangas) – Beef shank and bone marrow soup with corn.
- Chicken Inasal (Bacolod) – grilled chicken marinated in calamansi, vinegar, and annatto oil.
- Pochero (Cebu) – Tomato beef stew with bananas, corn and cabbage.
- Dinuguan – A stew of pork blood, vinegar and chilies.
- Paksiw na Lechon – Leftover lechon cooked in vinegar, soy sauce and other spices.
Filipino Desserts & Sweet Treats
- Halo-Halo – Shaved ice with mixed fruits, beans, jellies, with leche flan & ube ice cream.
- Leche Flan – The ultimate dessert, similar to crème caramel but so much richer.
- Ube Halaya – Purple yam jam which can be found in pastries and sweets.
- Mais con Hielo – Shaved ice with corn, milk and sugar.
- Puto – Steamed rice cakes, sometimes with toppings like cheese or salted egg.
- Sapín – a multicolored sticky rice cake, It is similar in idea to, but is not the same as, the Malaysian cuisine fatt koh which has different layers of colored rice cake.
- Cassava Cake – Dessert cooked by baking with grated cassava, coconut milk and cheese as its main ingredients.
From savory stews and street snacks to vibrant desserts, Filipino food is utterly fascinating to explore and really does taste as good as it looks. Every dish tells a tale — be it the sweet, sour barbecue of chicken (adobo simmered in vinegar and soy), the spicy rice noodles beneath the mounds of purple and orange sweet, sweet corn (the Filipino halo-halo, layered with surprises) or the fiery sizzle of the pork bits served on a hot plate, buried in jalapeños and onions (sisig).
These 37+ best Filipino dishes transcend mere sustenance — they are an invitation to taste the warmth, hospitality, and soul of Filipino culture. So next time you’re in the Philippines (or a Filipino restaurant outside of it), get more than one: start your own taste adventure.
