Top 43 Filipino Recipes: Adobo, Sinigang, Pancit and Classic Filipino Dishes

Adobo begins with a braise and ends with a reduction. The classic ratio for the marinade-and-braise liquid is roughly one part vinegar to one part soy sauce, with a whole head of garlic (crushed, not chopped), bay leaves and black peppercorns. Some cooks marinate the protein first for thirty minutes to several hours; others go straight to the pot. Both approaches work — marinating adds more depth, skipping it saves time with an acceptable trade-off.

Bring the liquid to a boil with the protein, then reduce to a simmer and braise uncovered until the meat is tender — forty-five minutes for chicken, longer for pork ribs. Then reduce the heat further and let the liquid cook down until it thickens into a glossy, concentrated coating around the meat. Some adobo is intentionally saucy; some is almost dry. For the sticky, caramelized version, continue reducing until nearly all the liquid is gone and the meat begins to fry in its own fat. This final stage takes patience but produces an adobo that is extraordinary.

The vinegar is the variable that changes regional character. Cane vinegar (sukang maasim) gives the classic sweet-sour note; coconut vinegar is slightly earthier and more mellow; white cane vinegar is sharper. Some cooks add a little sugar to round it; some add coconut milk (adobo sa gata) for a richer, creamier version. The pork belly version benefits from rendering the fat — score the skin and start it fat-side down in a cold pan before braising to melt some of the fat and improve the final texture.

The sour element in sinigang is traditionally tamarind — fresh tamarind pods simmered and strained, or tamarind paste dissolved in water. The pre-packaged sinigang powder is a fine shortcut that most Filipino home cooks use without apology; it gives consistent sourness and requires no extraction. The broth base is water (or rice washing water, which adds a slight body), sautéed onion and tomato, and the souring agent — tamarind being classic, but guava (sinigang sa bayabas) and watermelon (sinigang sa pakwan) give interesting variations.

Add the protein — pork ribs, shrimp, fish or beef — to the simmering broth and cook until tender. Vegetables go in last, in order of how long they take: long beans and taro (gabi) need ten minutes; kangkong (water spinach), okra and eggplant need only three to four. Do not overcook the vegetables — they should be just done, with some texture remaining. Adjust the sourness at the end: more tamarind paste if it needs a sharper edge, fish sauce (patis) for saltiness and depth.

Good sinigang should make you pucker slightly on the first sip — not unpleasantly sour, but sharply, deliberately sour. It is meant to be that way. The sourness cuts through the richness of fatty pork or the brininess of shrimp. Serve it very hot with plain white rice; the rice absorbs the broth and softens the intensity. Leftover sinigang improves overnight as the flavors meld, making it an excellent make-ahead dish.

Pancit bihon (thin rice noodles) and pancit canton (egg noodles) are the two most common noodle types. Bihon noodles are soaked in water until pliable, then stir-fried; canton noodles are parboiled. The key to avoiding mushy pancit is not pre-soaking too long and using high heat so the noodles fry rather than steam. The sauce is typically soy sauce with a little oyster sauce, sometimes chicken stock, poured in gradually so the noodles absorb it rather than sitting in a pool.

Pancit palabok is the showpiece version — thick rice noodles topped with a rich shrimp-tinged sauce (made from shrimp stock and achuete/annatto for color), ground pork, shrimp, hard-boiled eggs, chicharron, green onion and calamansi. The noodles are cooked separately and the sauce ladled over rather than stir-fried together. It is a dish built in layers, meant to be assembled and served immediately while hot.

For lumpia, fresh (lumpiang sariwa) is the fresh spring roll version wrapped in a delicate crepe-like wrapper with cooked vegetables; shanghai-style (lumpiang shanghai) is the fried version with a tight meat-filled cylinder. For the fried version, roll the filling tightly, seal the edge with a little water or egg, and fry in oil at 175°C until deep golden. Too low a temperature and they absorb oil; too high and the wrapper burns before the filling is cooked through.

Kare-kare is an oxtail and tripe stew with a thick, mellow peanut-based sauce seasoned with annatto for its distinctive orange color. The sauce base is made from ground roasted peanuts (or peanut butter) toasted in oil with rice flour for body, and ground annatto seeds (or annatto water from soaked seeds) for color. The oxtail is braised separately until very tender — pressure cooker makes this practical: ninety minutes instead of three or more hours on the stove.

The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and mellow in flavor — the peanut is present but not overpowering, with the annatto adding visual warmth rather than much taste. Vegetables traditionally include eggplant, banana blossom, long beans and bok choy, added toward the end and cooked just until tender. Season carefully with fish sauce and a little salt — the sauce should not be overtly salty because it is always served with bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) on the side.

Bagoong is not optional in kare-kare — it is the salty, fermented counterpoint that the mild peanut sauce needs. The contrast between sweet-savory stew and intensely salty bagoong is the defining experience of the dish. For those unfamiliar with bagoong, start with a small amount on the side and add gradually. The sautéed version (bagoong guisado, cooked with garlic and a little sugar) is more mellow and easier to start with than raw bagoong.