QL Special: 11 Filipino dishes you have to try
Mabuhay readers!
It’s a great feeling to try new flavours and tastes, and we encourage you to experiment with Filipino cuisine.
The Philippines is an island chain nation that has a lengthy Spanish colonial past which has influenced its cuisine. However it does have its own local ingredients that help to create unique flavour profiles, making familiar European dishes more South East Asian.
Most people connect Filipino food to street food such as Balut but there is more to the cuisine, with family-style cooking and an emphasis on slow-cooked meats.
Here are our top picks for the Filipino dishes you must try!
1. Adobo
If you haven't heard of Adobo you are missing out! Meat or chicken is slow cooked in vinegar, soy sauce and traditional seasonings to create a flavourful and comforting dish. All Filipino households will have their own way of cooking Adobo.
2. Pancit Guisado
This noodle dish is must for birthday parties and celebrations - the long strings of rice noodles represent long life. It has a rich layered shrimp base for the broth.
3. Sinigang
Very similar to Tom Yum Goong soup, the flavour base of this stew is sour tamarind, with vegetables and seasoned with fish sauce. Any protein can be used but it is important to have the sour and spicy element. Again the dish varies from region to region.
4. Bulalo
This favourite takes time to cook, with beef shanks and bone marrow boiled for hours, until the fat melts making a rich clear broth.
5. Sisig
Originally invented to make use of leftover pork, modern day variations use beef to appeal to an international crowd. Although it varies from region to region one vital ingredient is chilis!
6. Arroz Caldo
This warming chicken dish is cooked with ginger and rice to make a soothing porridge dish. It is a popular street food dish and reflects the country's historical heritage.
7. Pinakbet
A popular vegetable dish with two benefits; it's cheap, and it's healthy. Okra, bitter gourd, aubergine, and other vegetables are coooked together with the ubiquitous shrimp paste.
8. Kare Kare
This oxtail stew has a rich peanut sauce, and is slow cooked so that the fat melts in your mouth. But it is perhaps a dish only for the brave as some versions contain offal and other mysterious cuts!
9. Halo Halo
When you think colourful desserts think of the popular Halo Halo! Perfect for the heat of Doha, it is a shaved ice dessert with beans, coconut, leche flan, fruits, evaporated milk and the unique purple yam ice cream. Not to be missed!
10. Leche Flan
It's essentially the Pinoy version of creme caramel - a smooth, creamy and delicious egg-based custard dessert.
11. Balut
And for those of you still wondering, "what is Balut?" Well, let's just say it really is a dish for the brave! Common across South East Asia it is a bolied duck egg with an 18-day-old developing embryo within - like we said only for the brave!
For more Foodie News, 'Where To Eat This Weekend' Features, New Restaurant Openings and more check out Qatar Eating.
