October 10, 2024 03:35 AM

Five Filipino Foods Every Tourist Should Try At Least Once

Filipino food may not be as famous as that of its Thai and Vietnamese neighbors. But with more than 7,000 islands and a colorful history, this archipelago has some delicious dishes of its own. Blessed with an abundance of seafood, tropical fruits and creative cooks, there is indeed more to Filipino food.

Adobo- No list of Filipino food would be complete without adobo. Filipinos found that cooking meat (often chicken and pork) in vinegar, salt, garlic, pepper, soy sauce and other spices was a practical way to preserve it without refrigeration.

Kinilaw- CNN says that, Kinilaw is Manila's counterpart to Latin America's ceviche and Hawaii's bowls of poke. At its simplest, kinilaw mixes cuts of fresh fish, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and chilies into a small stream of coconut vinegar and citrus.

Lechon- The entire pig is spit-roasted over coals, with the crisp, golden-brown skin served with liver sauce, the most coveted part. In Cebu, the stomach of the pig is stuffed with star anise, pepper, spring onions, laurel leaves and lemongrass resulting in an extremely tasty lechon, which needs no sauce.

Kare-kare- Vegetables mixed in with pieces of oxtail stewed in a thick peanut sauce made with annatto and -- peanut butter. The sauce almost tastes like a mild satay and is paired best with a steamy, snowy mound of rice and finished off with a dollop of bagoong (shrimp paste) for the requisite funk.

Sisig- In the culinary capital of Pampanga, they turn the pork's cheeks, head and liver into a sizzling dish called Sisig. The crunchy and chewy texture of this appetizer is a perfect match for a cold beer says CNN.

Tags
Manila, Philippines, Asian
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