What is the characteristics of Filipino cuisine?

Answer 1

As a Canadian male, I have travelled to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam and finally the Philippines. Filipinos are really nice people, friendly and very hospitable, but there is a good reason why there are very few Fiilipino restaurants in either Canada or the US, compared with Thai, Chinese, or Vietnamese restaurants. The answer is that Filipino food is very un-appealing to look at. It is greasy, mostly meat based, and made like we make stew. It is the worst tasting of all asian foods. They use very few spices. Some of the dishes are tasty, but they look awful! Most of us dont really like pork so much, but that is the main ingredient in Filipino food...the service in the restaurants is really slow...if 3 people go for dinner there, the food will most likely be served up separately. They seldom serve all 3 people at the same time. The girls are some of the prettiest in asia, but they cant cook good food like the Chinese or Vietnamese...if you want to gain weight, go and eat in the Philippines...it's fatty, greasy and the vegetables are not fresh....that is why you will find only Filipinos eating in the very few Filipino restaurants outside the Philippines....but like I said, very nice people....tourists (mostly men) do not go there for the good food! They go for the ladies, and it's cheap there.

Answer 2

Filipino cuisine more or less is a fusion from another
cuisines,many countries influenced the filipino cuisine.since the philippines was colonised the spaniards for 333 years, American cuisine or western cuisine during the second world war,middle eastern cuisine( concentrate in the south part the mindanao cause most filipino muslims live in that area), chinese cuisine as well. One of the distinctive charaterisitc about filipino cuisine it doenst rely heavily on spices, so the natural flavour will come out, Since philippines is an archipelago each island got a dish to offer which can be found only on that area, so when your a tourist travelling around the philippines more or less you can taste a 100 different dishes or more considering the philippines consist of 7,100 islands.All in all filipino cuisine was influenced by other cuisines but then it evolves as well to suit the filipinos taste buds.

Answer 3

Philippine cuisine, like its home, evolved for centuries. Its influences are Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and to a certain extent American culture and they combine into a unique, multicultural hotpot. Dishes range from a simple meal of fish and rice to rich paellas and cocidos.

Popular dishes include lechon (whole roasted pig), Longanisa (native sausage); Tortas (egg wraps), Pan de sal (bread rolls), Adobo (chicken and/or pork marinated in garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar), Kalderetang Kambing (rich goat stew), Kare-kare (ox tail, beef chunks and/or tripe cooked in peanut sauce), Sinigang (tom yam-like dish), Pancit (stir-fried noodles), Lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls) and Halo-halo (a cold mixed fruit dessert).

Filipino food is a bold combination of sweet, sour, and spicy. Whereas some Asian cuisines may be known for a more subtle delivery and presentation of food, Filipino palates prefer a sudden influx of flavor. However, that is not to say that Filipino cuisine is in any way inferior, instead, it can be said that it is more flamboyant; as Filipino food is often delivered in a single presentation, giving the participant a simultaneous visual feast, aromatic bouquet, and a gustatory appetizer. Dinner, while still the main meal, is usually eaten in smaller quantities compared to other countries. Snacking is normal, and it is possible that a person could have eaten four meals in a day.

Dinner may consist of soup soured with tamarinds and cooked with pork and mixed vegetables, called sinigang na baboy, which may be drizzled atop the servings of steamed rice on a diner's plate. Vegetables boiled with ginger resound with fresh flavors and can be highlighted with a dash of patis (fish sauce) or bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) for salt. Condiments that vary from sweet atchara (sweet pickled papaya shreds which look similar to sauerkraut and kimchi) to the sour suka at bawang (vinegar and garlic) is at hand. Fish in most kind, often inihaw (roasted) should be on the table. Desserts made with coconut milk and glutinous rice can also be sighted.

Some dishes will rely on vinegar for flavoring. Adobo is popular not solely for its splendid flavor, but also for its ability to remain fresh for days, and even improves its flavor with a day or two of storage.

In addition, though no longer a popular norm but is nevertheless practiced by some, food is eaten with the hands-- sans cutlery. The diner could use his soup (sabaw) or sauce to moisten his rice, scoop it from the plate together with a piece of vegetable or meat and slide it into his mouth. In normal circumstances, Filipinos use the spoon and fork to scoop the rice and dish.

Answer 4

i'm filipina & i can tell you that filipino food is pretty good. my favorite dishes are beef kaldereta, chicken adobo & pancit (noodles).

not everyone likes filipino food because it can be made with unusual ingredients like tripe, oxtails, entrails, etc.

people are right when they say it's greasy. but if made properly filipino food is really tasty.

Answer 5

A plant is a plant or part of a herb used as food

Answer 6

Both are good for you, each fruit/vegetable has different vitamins. And so as more variety, as better. Vegetables have generally less sugar than fruits.

Answer 7

My first encounter: Greasy and lack of tastes, not enought spices.

Answer 8

oily, full of cholesterol (the fried ones). Raw sometimes, smells bad (like it has vinegar and fish)....etc.

Oh and it's "What are, not "what is"./.

Answer 9

filipino cuisine: greasy
tasty
rich
sweet
it may not be appealing but still, its food
not all ladies cook, even in Canada!!!! Duh...

Answer 10

The islands of Philippines are home to over 68 million people, and with 7000 islands spread in over 77 regions, so the culture, art and food traditions are some of the most complex of all countries. For more then 500 years, the Filipino cuisine has been under Malay, Spanish, Indian and Chinese influences, mixing ingredients and cooking secrets in a diverse, most interesting cuisine. Food is an important part of the whole communal Philippines existence and is part of the traditions left by ancestors. Just like the Malaysian cuisine, the Filipino uses spicy condiments to give special flavors to meals. But a bit apart from the neighbors that surround the islands, the Filipino cuisine uses milder spices and condiments. The extremely hot chilies, called siling labuyo are used for the making of dipping sauces, and the long flat finger-length cooking pepper called siling mahaba are used for soups, stews and flavoring other meals. The rice is one of the main crops cultivated all over the islands since ancient times, and is still today the most important part of almost any cooked meal. coconut (niyog) accompanies most meals as well, and has a history at least as long as the rice does. Other ingredients used since ancient times and till kept today in the Filipino Chicken, include pandan leaves (screwpine), ginger, lemon grass (tanglad) and cornflower.

The variety of dishes found all over the Philippines islands gives diversity and complexity to the entire nation’s cuisine. Having more than 16 regions, the cuisine has significant differences in preparing a traditional meal. In the Ilocos region, the Vegetables with rice are the basis of any meal. tomatoes, aubergine, bitter lemon, lima beans, okra and Squash are blended in a local special dish, called pinakbet. In the central Luzon region, Bulacan is the place where eels and salt-water fish are used to prepare delicious meals in coconut milk or vinegar and ginger. The best relleno and galantina (Chicken rolls specialties) are considered to be made in these regions. The culinary center of the Filipino cuisines is considered to be Pampanga, where the original sweet and spicy sausages are prepared and where you can find savory got stews and tocino (sweet cured Pork). In the Bicol Region you will find coconut cream (gata) used in combination with chilies to create a local dish, the pinangat, and in Mindanao region you can find roasted coconut and chilies mixed with turmeric, garlic and ginger to prepare seafood. Sweets and original desserts can be found in the Cebu region, where dried mangoes and mango in caramel tarts are some of the delicates found.

Preparation Methods for Filipino Cooking
Although the cuisine of Philippines is a complex and most diverse one, the cooking and preparation methods are quite simple if right steps are followed. There are four cooking methods that stay at the basis of Filipino cookery, namely boiling (nilaga), grilling (ihaw), roasting and steaming (halabos). The sautéed technique was first introduced to the islands of Philippines by the Spanish people, and is greatly used today among locals preparing vegetables for special meals. Preparing a traditional Filipino meal, you need to learn how to prepare the rice, since this is the basic element for most dishes. It is usually boiled and served with different condiments, spices, sauces or side dishes, but can also be fried with garlic, onions and scrambled eggs, to prepare the Sinangag dish. Also, you can bake the rice and use it in cakes, sweets, and other savory snacks. Bananas and coconut milk can be used for a lot of meal-preparation processes, giving special specific flavors to different dishes

[edit]
Special Equipment for Filipino Cooking
Most people having Philippines dishes for lunch or dinner will use their hand instead of cutlery, grabbing chunks of cooked rice and dipping it in special sauces and then in their mouth. However, when you plan on cooking in a Filipino manner, you will be in need of a lot of pots and serving spoons, spatulas, forks, turners, scrapers and tongs. Also, a saucer-shaped granite grinding stone, together with a granite pestle is used in preparing special condiments needed for the recipes. A variety of dishes and specific traditional meals are usually served buffet-style and displayed in palayoks-- clay pots the shape of small cauldrons. Borrowed from the Chinese culture, a woven bamboo steamer is always good to have in preparing many Filipino dishes. When frying ingredients in deep oil, a wok is very ideal for this preparation, since it requires less oil then a conventional deep fryer. A frying shovel or spatula is required when you use the wok for deep-frying, so make sure you have them available as well.

[edit]
Filipino Food Traditions and Festivals
Tradition of eating habits is blended with festivals that celebrate life and its aspects. Appey, for instance, is a thanksgiving festival for good crops and plenty harvest, and numerous chickens and pigs are sacrificed for this occasion. The custom of whole pigs being fried or fire-cooked is often performed with different occasions, such as the St John’s celebration, on the 24th of June in Balayan and Batangas regions. Ati Atihan is the most famous festival in Philippines, and one of the oldest celebrations, going back to the year 1200. It is a time of dances and fiestas, joy and plenty of food cooked in traditional Philippines manners. Feast of the Saint Clementine takes place on the 23rd of November, and is a time to give thanks to the saint patron over the fishermen and their work. Fish specialties are prepared with this occasion and in fact seafood is appreciated at its best when raw rather than cooked, and served in a vinaigrette (kilawin) matrix, grilled (ihaw or inihaw), and sometimes stuffed with onions and wrapped in banana leaves.

[edit]
People in Filipino Food
Are you into Filipino Cooking and would like to be interviewed?
The exotic country of Philippines relies on food and cooking methods as part of its traditions and culture, so it’s only natural that people involved in the cooking process are most proud of their work and put passion in every meal they prepare. Among the many chefs in the world, the Philippines ones are probably some of the most creative ones. Combining available ingredients depends on the chef’s personal method, and can result in Filipino dishes that will become even more original and delicious than the already spectacular ones. Filipino chefs are passionate about their traditional dishes and they enjoy presenting them to foreigners, and visitors of their native places, people who have never tasted their dishes before Unlike other regions on the planet, Philippines is a country of many secret ingredients that are kept secret by its chefs, and are not revealed for the sake of the originality of the Indonesian dishes. But the chef’s skills are all blended in preparing the specific dishes that are all served together, and not apart from another.






Philippine cuisine, like its home, evolved for centuries. Its influences are Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and to a certain extent American culture and they combine into a unique, multicultural hotpot. Dishes range from a simple meal of fish and rice to rich paellas and cocidos.

Popular dishes include lechon (whole roasted pig), Longanisa (native sausage); Tortas (egg wraps), Pan de sal (bread rolls), Adobo (chicken and/or pork marinated in garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar), Kalderetang Kambing (rich goat stew), Kare-kare (ox tail, beef chunks and/or tripe cooked in peanut sauce), Sinigang (tom yam-like dish), Pancit (stir-fried noodles), Lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls) and Halo-halo (a cold mixed fruit dessert).

History
When restaurants were established in the 19th century, Chinese food became a staple of the pansiterias, with the food given Spanish names. The "comida China" (Chinese food) includes arroz caldo (rice and chicken gruel), and morisqueta tostada (fried rice). When the Spaniards came, the food influences they brought were from both Spain and Mexico, as it was through the vice-royalty of Mexico that the Philippines were governed.

Filipino foods also find their influence/origins in French, Italian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. Culinary procedures from China, Spain, Mexico and United States integrated into cuisine practices as well. [1]

[edit]
Influences
See: Filipino Chinese cuisine

[edit]
Staples
The staple of the Filipino food is rice. Like most Asian countries (excluding North China), rice (kanin) is grown and served. Rice is simply boiled. However, there are a myriad of ways of using rice and rice flour. They are used in cakes, sweets, and other savory snacks. Cooked rice is fried with garlic, spring onions, and scrambled eggs to create Sinangag, often served with fried eggs and Tocino (sweetened cured meat) or longganisas as a breakfast treat. The other native staples include maize (mais), Bananas, and bread.

Seafood is also popular. Milkfish (bangus); Grouper (lapu-lapu); Shrimp (hipon); Mackerel (galunggong); Mussels (tahong); Clams (tulya); large and small Crabs- (alimango) or (alimasag}; game fish, Blue Marlin and Squid (pusit) are a popular catch. Others include: Sea Cucumber, Sea Urchin, Abalone, Eel, and Seaweeds.

Fish is simply salted, deep-fried, and eaten as a simple meal with rice and vegetables. Larger fish can be cut up and cooked in a sour broth (known as sinigang na isda), simmered in vinegar and peppers ("paksiw") or roasted over hot charcoal (inihaw) . Those opting first class cuisine may prefer to cook their fish escabeche (sweet and sour) or relleno (de-boned and stuffed). Fish is also smoked ("tinapa") and sun-dried ("daing"), which enables it to be served all day.

Abundant harvest of root crops occurs all year round. Potatoes, carrots, taro ("gabi"), cassava ("kamoteng kahoy"), purple yam ("ube"), and sweet yam ("kamote") are examples. Kamote chopped, dusted with brown sugar, fried and skewered, yielding "kamote-cue"-- a popular caramelized snack.

[edit]
Breakfast
A traditional breakfast is served in a variety of ways:

Tapsilog - /tap-sĭ-log/ is an acronym for tapa (marinated thinly sliced steaks, similar to beef jerky) sinangag (Filipino garlic fried rice) and itlog (egg, usually fried sunny side up). Tapsilog is usually served with sliced tomatoes or vinegar sauce.
Tosilog - /tô-sĭ-lôg/ is an acronym for Tocino (sweetened cured pork or chicken breast), sinangag (fried rice), itlog (fried eggs). Tosilog is also served with either sliced tomatoes, vinegar or atchara (sweet pickled papaya).
Longsilog - /long-sĭ-lôg/ is an acronym for Longganisa (sweet and spicy sausages from either Lucban, Pampanga, or Vigan province) Sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (fried eggs). Longsilog is also served with either sliced tomatoes, vinegar sauce or achara (sweet pickled papaya).
Champorado - /Champ-ô-rə-dô/ is chocolate rice pudding similar to a chocolate oatmeal, not to be confused with Mexican Champurrado which is a hot chocolate drink
Pan de Sal - derived from the Spanish "salted bread", it is a sweet bread roll which can be spread with butter, jam, peanut butter, condensed filled milk or marmalade
Kesong puti - is a firm white cheese made from Carabao's milk.
Daing na Bangus - / də-ĭN-nə-bə-Nus / meaning salt dried milkfish. It's marinated milkfish served with sinangag and fried eggs. It is also served with either sliced tomatoes, vinegar sauce or achara (sweet pickled papaya).
[edit]
Merienda
Merienda, is considered the "in-between-meals" snack. Merienda is usually done in the afternoons, but morning merienda is not unheard of. It is similar to morning and afternoon tea, school recess or tapas. Filipinos have a number of traditional options to take with chaa/tsaa (tea), cafe/kape (coffee) or mainit na tsokolate (hot chocolate).

Breads like pan de sal (bread rolls) and ensaymada (buttery sweet rolls with cheese), and various kinds of rice cakes (kakanin) such as Kutsinta, Pichi-pichi, Palitaw, Biko, and Suman are served. Others include savories: small portions of pancit canton or stir-fried noodles, empanada/empanaditas, which are meat pies bursting with minced pork, peas and sweet raisins, or a bowl of puto (sweet steamed rice flour muffins) and dinuguan (a spicy and tangy stew of pork and blood). Other sweets such as, Hopia (pastries similar to moon cakes filled with sweet bean paste, sometimes flavored) and Bibingka (sweet hot rice cakes with salted eggs and cheese on top) are also favorites.

[edit]
Pulutan
Pulutan is a word which means "finger food". Though at times eaten with a fork, Pulutan is served as an appetizer or as a snack accompanied with liquor or non-alcoholic beverages.

Adidas - grilled or sauted chicken feet
Chicharon - salted, dried and fried pork rind
Chicharong Bituka - crispy pig's intestines (also called bulaklak, which translates to flower because of its appearance when fried)
Mani - salted and/or spicy fried peanuts, sometimes flavored with garlic
Pork Barbecue - Filipino Satays marinated in a special blend
Sisig - minced pig's cheeks cooked with herbs and spices and is served sizzling on a hot plate.
Siomai - chinese dumplings (steamed meatballs sealed in wonton wrappers) dipped in soy sauce with squeezed kalamansi (Philippine lemon)
Lumpiang Shanghai - tiny fried spring rolls filled with minced meat.
Tokwa't Baboy - fried tofu with pork by-products (usually either pork ears and other innards) and dipped in a garlic-flavored soy sauce/vinegar dip.
[edit]
A typical meal
Filipino food is a bold combination of sweet, sour, and spicy. Whereas some Asian cuisines may be known for a more subtle delivery and presentation of food, Filipino palates prefer a sudden influx of flavor. However, that is not to say that Filipino cuisine is in any way inferior, instead, it can be said that it is more flamboyant; as Filipino food is often delivered in a single presentation, giving the participant a simultaneous visual feast, aromatic bouquet, and a gustatory appetizer. Dinner, while still the main meal, is usually eaten in smaller quantities compared to other countries. Snacking is normal, and it is possible that a person could have eaten four meals in a day.

Dinner may consist of soup soured with tamarinds and cooked with pork and mixed vegetables, called sinigang na baboy, which may be drizzled atop the servings of steamed rice on a diner's plate. Vegetables boiled with ginger resound with fresh flavors and can be highlighted with a dash of patis (fish sauce) or bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) for salt. Condiments that vary from sweet atchara (sweet pickled papaya shreds which look similar to sauerkraut and kimchi) to the sour suka at bawang (vinegar and garlic) is at hand. Fish in most kind, often inihaw (roasted) should be on the table. Desserts made with coconut milk and glutinous rice can also be sighted.

Some dishes will rely on vinegar for flavoring. Adobo is popular not solely for its splendid flavor, but also for its ability to remain fresh for days, and even improves its flavor with a day or two of storage.

In addition, though no longer a popular norm but is nevertheless practiced by some, food is eaten with the hands-- sans cutlery. The diner could use his soup (sabaw) or sauce to moisten his rice, scoop it from the plate together with a piece of vegetable or meat and slide it into his mouth. In normal circumstances, Filipinos use the spoon and fork to scoop the rice and dish.

[edit]
Fiestas
A few Filipino women band together and tirelessly prepare more sophisticated dishes at festive occasions. Tables are often laden with expensive and labor-intensive treats requiring hours of preparation. Lechon, a whole roasted suckling pig, takes centerstage. Ham, basted with pineapple juice and garnished with bright-red cherries titillate the hungry after a long Christmas service. Rellenong Manok, a whole deboned chicken filled with a savory blend of ham, minced pork, raisins, and chorizos-- delights both one's sense of taste and sight. The mingling of egg noodles and chorizos, fruit cocktail with a splash of cream, condensed milk and sugar, and pastel de pollo (chicken pot pie with chorizos) beckon with a heady aroma. A variety of dishes at the party are usually served buffet-style in palayoks (clay pots the shape of small cauldrons).

[edit]
Regional specialties
The Philippine islands are home to various ethnic groups. This results in regional cuisine.

Ilocanos from the rugged Ilocos region boast of a diet heavy in boiled or steamed vegetables and freshwater fish, but are particularly fond of dishes flavored with bagoong, fermented fish that is often used instead of salt. Ilocanos often season boiled vegetables with bagoong monamon (fermented anchovy paste) to produce pinakbet. Local specialities include the soft white larvae of ants, and "jumping salad" of tiny, live shrimp.

The Igorots, prefer roasted meats, particularly carabao's meat, goat's meat and venison.

Laguna is known for Buko pie (coconut pie) and Panutsa (molasses clustered peanuts)

Cainta in Rizal, province east of Manila, is known for its Filipino rice cakes and puddings.

Pampanga is considered the culinary center. Among the treats produced in Pampanga are longganisa (original sweet and spicy sausages), Kalderetang Kambing (savory goat stew) and tocino (sweetened-cured pork). Kapampangan cuisine makes use of every regional produce available to the native cook, combining pork cheeks and offal to make Sisig.

Batangas is home to Taal Lake, a body of water that surrounds Taal Volcano. The lake is home to 75 species of freshwater fish. And of these, the Maliputo and Tawilis are two of the world's rarest. Maliputos and Tawilises are delicious native delicacies. Batangas is also known for its special coffee, Kapeng Barako.

Cebu is popular for Lechon; and sweets like dried mangoes; mango and caramel tarts

Bulacan is popular for Chicharon (pork rinds) and pastries like puto, kutsinta and many more...

Further south, dishes are filled with the scents of Southeast Asia: coconut milk, turmeric, coriander, lemon grass, ginger, and chilies-- an ingredient not present in other regional cuisine (except in Bicol Region whose use of chilies is more liberal compared to others). Since southern regions are predominantly Islamic, pork dishes are hardly present. Popular crops cassava root, sweet potatoes (kamote) and yams are grown.

[edit]
Popular Filipino delicacies
Adobo - a favourite dish consisting of pork and/or chicken stewed in a broth of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and peppercorns.
Arroz caldo - A Spanish-inspired rice porridge cooked with chicken and ginger, garnished with spring onions. (also called "lugaw")
Balut - essentially ducklings boiled before they hatch. Duck eggs that have been fertilized are allowed to develop until the embryo reaches a pre-determined size, then boiled.
La Paz Batchoy - A noodle soup garnished with pork innards, crushed pork cracklings, chopped vegetables, and topped with a raw egg.
Bibingka - A hot rice cake topped with a spread of butter, slices of kesong puti (white cheese) and itlog na maalat (salted duck eggs), and sometimes grated coconut. Wiktionary entry on Bibingka with a photo
Biko - glutinous rice sweets creamed with sugar, butter, and coconut milk.
Binakol - warm chicken soup with coconut meat.
Binatog - corn kernels with shredded coconut.
Bistek - thinly sliced beef marinated in soya sauce and kalamansi.
Crispy Pata - Pork knuckles (pata), marinated then deep fried until crispy golden brown. However, the knuckles are a small portion, thus it is the whole leg of pork that is usually served.
Dinuguan - also called "blood porridge", a dish made from pig blood, entrails, and meat.
Fishballs / Squidballs - commonly sold frozen in stores, and typically peddled by hawkers, they are skewered in bamboo sticks and sauces are dripped over.
Goto - Rice porridge with ox tripe.
Halo-halo - A dessert composed of shaved ice, milk, coconut sport, purple yam pudding and caramel custard, sweetened plantains, jackfruit. Wiktionary entry on Halo-halo with pictures
Itlog na maalat/Itlog na Pula - Duck eggs that are hard boiled, then cured in warm brine. Their shells are often dyed with red food coloring to distinguish them from chicken eggs.
Isaw - Seasoned hog and/or chicken intestines. A popular street food.
Kare-kare - Also known as "Peanut Stew", boiled oxtail and/or ox tripe in a peanut-based stew of mixed vegetables, served with alamang (fermented shrimp paste).
Kesong puti - is a soft white cheese made from carabao's milk.
Kinilaw - raw fish cooked only by steeping in local vinegar, sometimes with coconut milk, onions, spices and other local ingriedients. It is comparable to ceviche.
Kutsinta - brown rice cake.
Leche flan - caramel custard made with eggs and milk
Lechon - whole roasted suckling pig, piglet (lechonillo) or cattle calf (lechong baka). Wiktionary entry on Lechon with a photo
Longanisa - sweet or spicy homemade sausages.
Lumpiang sariwa - fresh spring rolls, served with a sweet sauce.
Lumpia - fried spring rolls filled with cooked ground beef and vegetables.
Lumpiang shanghai - tiny fried spring rolls filled with minced pork and shrimp and served with sweet and sour sauce.
Mamon - a buttery sweet sponge cake that is softer than butter cake.
Nata de coco - is a chewy, translucent, jelly-like food product produced by the bacterial fermentation of coconut water.
Palitaw - Rice patties with sesame seeds, sugar, and coconut.
Penoy - Hard boiled duck eggs.
Pichi-pichi - cassava patties with coconut.
Pinakbet - Vegetables stewed with bagoong.
Puto - sweet steamed rice muffins
Puto Bumbong - purpled-colored sweets cooked in tubes that are placed on a special steamer. When cooked, they are removed from the tubes, topped with butter, and sprinkled with sugar and niyog (grated coconut). They are then wrapped in banana leaves until they are ready to be eaten. Wiktionary entry on Puto Bumbong with photos
Kwek-kwek - boiled quail eggs dipped in batter then deep fried. Another popular street delicacy.
Sinigang - a tamarind-soured soup typically made with pork, beef, or seafood.
Sapin-sapin - are three-layered tricoloured sweets made with rice flour, purple yam and coconut milk.
Sorbetes - is basically the same as regular ice cream, but is made primarily with coconut milk. Considered by many as "dirty ice cream."
Suman - sticky rice sticks wrapped in banana or palm leaves. They are dipped in sugar and sometimes eaten with ripe mangoes.
Taho - a warm snack made of soft beancurd (the taho itself), a dark syrup, and tapioca balls. Cold(cold dark syrup) flavoured (chocolate, strawberry etc.) taho is now available.
Tinola - Traditional chicken ginger soup cooked with whole chicken pieces, green papaya, and spinach or malunggay leaves.
Tocino - sweetened cured meat. The meat either chicken or pork is marinated and aged for a number of days and is then grilled.
Ukoy - shrimp and squash fritters
Betamax - common street food, roasted dried chicken blood, served in little cubes, the origin of the name is quite funny because of its squared shape and black color, identical to a minitiurized Electronic Betamax tape.
Tokneneng - quail eggs fried in batter usually has food coloring, also a common street food.
[edit]
Filipino drinks and cocktails
The climate of the Philippines is characterized by having relatively high temperature, high humidity and abundant rainfall. This is a reason why chilled drinks are popular.

Salabat - ginger tea
Gulaman at Sago - a flavoured iced-drink with agar gelatin and tapioca balls/pearls
Fresh Mango Shake - ripe mangoes blended with milk, ice and sugar
Pandan Iced Tea - tea made with Pandan leaves and lemon grass.
Green Mango Shake - green mangoes blended with syrup.
Kalamansi Juice - Philippine limes squeezed and blended with honey, syrup or sugar.
Lambanog - is hard liquor made from coconut extract.
Fresh Buko Juice - The Philippines is a producer of coconut products. The fruit is topped and a straw is pierced into the membrane allowing a person to drink its juice.
Other Tropical Fruit Drinks - Dalanghita (green mandarin), Suha (Pomelo), Piña (Pineapple), Banana, and Guyabano (Soursop).
Brandy-Iced Tea Powder - a popular cocktail and a part of several cocktails of liqueurs and juice powders.
Fruit Shakes - similar to milkshake but it only contains fruit or flavoring (like chocolate malt drink powder or chocolate cookies), milk (except in some fruits), crushed ice, water and sugar. There are unusual flavors like durian.
Gin-Pomelo (a certain type of citrus, popular to its pink color) Juice Powder
Gin-Pineapple Juice Powder
Brandy-Grape Juice Powder
Pearl Shakes - powder-flavored shakes with large tapioca pearls (sago) and syrup; come in a wide assortment of flavors including mango, ube, halo-halo, corn, pandan, buko, etc.
[edit]
Other food
The Philippines doesn't only possess its traditional cuisine. Popular worldwide cuisine and restaurant chains are also available around the archipelago. Furthermore, the Chinese populace, (especially in Manila) is famous for establishing Chinese districts, in which predominantly Chinese and Chinese fusion food can be found. These are especially prevalant in urban areas where large influxes of expatriates are located.