Chicken Inasal is an Philippine BBQ dish which is known to be the heart of the local cuisines. It was first made in a city called Bacolod which is located in the south of Philippines. Inasal is a Visayan term which means Grilled Meat. It was given this name because the chicken is grilled in the end in this dish. My recommendation to everyone is to try this dish and experience the true flavors of the Philippines cuisine.
Pancit Guisado is an Filipino noodle dish. The word Pancit means to have a good life and Guisado basically indicates the style in which this dish is cooked. The origin of this dish is in the Philippines. This is one of those dishes which came together when different cultural people came together to live in the Philippines.
Champorada is an chocolate rice pudding which is very popular in the Philippines. It is basically rice which is mixed with a special local chocolate called Tablea ( Tablet shaped chocolate) and sugar. This pudding dates back to the 17th century when the Spanish was occupying the Philippines. At that time there was this trade called galleon trade which linked Mexico with the Philippines.
One of the most popular desserts in all of Philippines is the ube cake. It is sponge cake which is made ube halaya ( mashed purple yam). Ube is only found in the Philippines and is exported to other countries afterwards. It is most commonly made during a celebration or at Christmas time. There are multiple stories that claims its origins.
Arroz caldo is an Filipino rice porridge style dish. It is referred to as a comfort food which can be eaten at any point of day and it is very easy to make at home. Arroz Caldo is derived from two words and these words are from the Spanish heritage. There are many variations of this dish in different regions of Philippines.
Kinilaw is an Filipino seafood dish which means “eaten raw”. By lookin at the name we can clearly see that this dish is meant to be eaten raw as most of the seafood in the Philippines is eaten raw. Tuna Kinilaw is a version of Kinilaw in which tuna is cut into cubes and then marinated. Kinilaw was originated in the Philippines and the cutting process used in this dish goes way back thousands of years.
Lugaw or Lugao is a glutinous rice or a porridge type of dish which only requires 5-6 ingredients to make. Lugaw is a dish which can be eaten as a dessert and a savory dish as well. The main purpose of this dish was to give the people something that was easy to eat and something that could help them nutrition wise. As I have discussed in my many articles that many of the cuisines of the Philippines have a Chinese background. This dish is also one of them.
Embutido is a Filipino dish which is basically a meat loaf made usually with ground pork and beef but in many cases chicken is used to make it hence calling it Chicken Embutido. It is a dish famous for a festive season like Christmas and has a lot of demand in the streets of Philippines. The origin of Embutido dates back to the start of the 15th century. At those times the Spanish people who came to the Philippines brought their own traits with them and merged them with the ways of the Filipinos. Like many dishes before it Embutido was changed drastically towards the time as the people of the Philippines wanted to add their own flavors in it. Embutido is similar to another dish of the Philippines cuisine, Morcon. They both look identical but there are different from each other.
There are many starter dishes which are a part of the Filipino cuisine. Lumpiang Ubod is one of the best to be ever served in the Philippines. It is like a spring roll which is famous all around the world but here in the Philippines it is made differently. It has the natural Philippines taste in it and all its culture as well. Lumpiang Ubod gets its name from Ubod (heart of the palm) which is edible pith extracted from the coconuts. The origin of this dish is in the city of Silay on the Negros island in Visayas. There is a dish which is quite similar to the Lumpiang Ubod and sometimes it gets mixed up with it. This dish is called Lumpiang Silay. The major difference which we can easily pick is that in Lumpiang Silay there is no side sauce. Lumpia is considered to be inherited from the Chinese spring roll. They both are similar in size and shape.
Bibingka is a type of rice cake from Philippines. It is traditionally enjoyed after the mass on Christmas day. In the 16th century the king of the Palawan sent gifts to the Spaniards. Among these gifts were kakanins baked on banana leaves. Long after this the first known recipe came into existence of the Bibingka in the year 1904.
