The Many Ways to Say “Delicious!”: Must-Try Philippine Dishes Aside from Adobo and Sinigang

The innate love for food and celebrations is a common language spoken among Filipinos, despite the Philippines having different regional languages and dialects. After all, we have a rich culinary heritage that reflects centuries of different cultural influences and our diverse regional touches.

And while we deeply adore lechon, adobo and sinigang, which have landed us in the global spotlight, there are lots of culinary treasures from different parts of the country that are waiting to be discovered and cooked in your own kitchen.

Here are regional dishes from different parts of the Philippines you should try cooking at least once in this lifetime:

• “Manyaman!” – Bulanglang Kapampangan from Pampanga

Bulanglang is a boiled vegetable dish with fermented fish popular in Luzon. The Bulanglang Kapampangan, which is also called Sinigang sa Bayabas in several instances, is distinct as it uses guava as flavoring, giving the soup a combination of sour flavor with a hint of sweetness.

Bulanglang Kampangan is made of Pork Liempo or Ribs, boiled with kangkong, sitaw and gabi, and flavored with guava and fish sauce.

• “Namit!” – Kansi from Iloilo

If you love the famed Lapaz batchoy and Pancit Molo, Western Visayas is also known for another comfort soup: the Kansi. Kansi combines the rich stew of bulalo and the tangy flavor of sinigang, perfect as standalone merienda for rainy days or served as a full meal with rice.

Cooking Kansi involves boiling beef shanks and marrow with a souring agent called batuan, flavoring with lemongrass and cooking with jackfruit.

• “Lami!” – Humba from Cebu

If you’re a fan of adobo, look no further. Humba is a braised pork dish popular in the regions of Visayas and Mindanao, which is likened to adobo. It is distinct as it uses tausi (black beans) and banana blossom, giving it a sweet, sour and salty flavor all at once compared to adobo’s sour and salty profile.

In making this melt-in-your-mouth dish, pork belly, ham and hocks are braised and simmered in brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, salt, whole peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, banana blossoms, pineapple juice or clear soda, and tausi.

• “Masarap!” – Pancit Puso from Cavite

The origin of ‘Pancit’ or noodle dishes can be traced to our early relationship with Chinese traders. Since then, they have been a staple in every Filipino celebration, with local and regional varieties.

Hailing from Cavite, the Pancit Puso is made with bihon or miki noodles cooked in atsuete with pork and vegetables such as cabbage, carrots and green beans. Instead of being served with calamansi, this noodle dish is topped with kinilaw na puso, or banana blossoms cooked in vinegar and salt.

• “Sabroso!” – Beef Kulma from Zamboanga

Beef Kulma, or sometimes Beef Kurma, is a creamy curry dish that originated from the Tausugs of Zamboanga. It closely resembles the Korma, a similar dish from northern India and Pakistan, but can be more likened to a combination of beef curry and kare-kare.

Beef Kulma is made of tender beef cooked in coconut milk, peanuts or peanut butter, lemongrass, tomato sauce, curry spices and chili.

Learning more about the hidden gems of Filipino culinary culture and bringing them to your table is made more enjoyable when you have safe and trusted kitchen fuel.

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