Filipino Cuisines may not be as popular as other Southeast Asian, Korean, or Chinese cuisines. But, it shows great potential since their food is unique and delicious.
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Just for your information, the Philippines cuisines are influenced by Spanish, Chinese, and American food. So you might be aware that there are similarities with each other.
As a half Filipino, I love their food, but the thing is I notice there are many foods here that are pork, which might be hard if you are Muslim or looking for halal food like me. However, I have managed to find and make many delicious Filipino chicken recipes that will melt your mouth.
If you are a foreigner, I am sure you are familiar with chicken adobo, which is one of the most popular Filipino dishes in the world. But, what if I tell you if there are other amazing chicken dishes that can make you appreciate Philippine cuisines.
Common Ingredients used in Filipino cooking
Here are the common ingredients that makes Filipino food unique and different from other regional neighbors:
- SOY SAUCE: In our meat and vegetables dishes, we love to add soy sauce since it gives an umami flavor. This is one of the most common and important ingredients we used when cooking Filipino chicken recipes. If you might wonder why Filipino dishes are salty, that will be because of this condiment.
- VINEGAR: When we add soy sauce, we tend to add it together with vinegar, since they go well together. It gives an acidic flavor which is good when marinating the meat. However, we mostly use this condiment in our chicken, beef recipes.
- OYSTER SAUCE: This type of sauce is another important condiment that we use mostly on our vegetables and some meat dishes. Unlike soy sauce, the oyster sauce has a sweet and salt flavor.
- BROWN SUGAR: If you wonder why some Filipino dishes like Tocino, Longganiza, or Siopao are sweet. To prevent an overwhelming sweet flavor, it is usually balanced with soy sauce, which adds a salty flavor.
Recipe Frequently Asked Question's (FAQ's)
Filipino food is not spicy as compared to Thai, Malay, Indonesian, or other Southeast Asian cuisines. Our local cuisine is a combination of sweet, salty, and umami since we add soy sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar.
In addition to that, we don't add much spices or herbs like cumin, cinnamon, or coriander compared to other Asian cuisines.
As a half Filipino, white rice is an important staple food, which is a must if you are served with Chicken, seafood, or any meat dishes. Of course, we also like to eat it together with other vegetable side dishes.
Now I have provided a brief background about Filipino cuisines here are the 15 Best and most Authentic Filipino Chicken Recipes to make for Lunch and Dinner:
Chicken Recipes
1. Chicken Sisig
Chicken Sisig is a Filipino dish from Pampanga which is a mix of chopped chicken and liver. It is seasoned and mixed with soy sauce, calamansi, green chilies, and mayonnaise. You might think it is weird that mayo is added to this dish, but I promise this is what makes the meat moist and delicious.
2. Filipino Chicken Curry
Filipino Chicken curry is a curry dish from the Philippines that is mixed with coconut milk, bell pepper, potatoes, carrots and served with white rice. Unlike the Thai or Indian curry dish, this version is milder and it is not spicy.
3. Chicken Pastil
Chicken Pastil is a Muslim dish from Southern Mindanao in the Philippines, which is served with white rice topped with seasoned shredded chickens. This popular breakfast dish is commonly served with a spicy Filipino condiment called Palapa.
4. Chicken Bicol Express
Chicken Bicol Express is considered one of the few Filipino spicy dishes that is mixed with coconut milk, chopped boneless chicken breast, and shrimp paste is known as bagoong. What makes this dish spicy because green chilies are added to this recipe.
5. Chicken Tocino
Chicken Tocino is a popular breakfast chicken recipe that is marinated in brown sugar, pineapple juice, and garlic. This sweet & savory chicken dish is commonly served with garlic rice and a sunny-side-up egg.
6. Chicken Papaya Soup (Tinolang Manok)
Tinolang Manok is a Filipino chicken papaya soup recipe that is mixed with spinach leaves and infused with ginger, garlic, onion, bouillon cubes, and fish sauce.
7. Skinless Chicken Longganisa
Like chicken tocino, it is a breakfast dish, which is sausage mixed with ground chicken, soy sauce, brown sugar, and garlic. Of course, it goes well either with white rice or garlic rice.
8. Chicken Skin Chicharon
Chicken Chicharon is a deep-fried chicken skin that is commonly eaten with white rice and vinegar as a dipping sauce. The chicharon is boiled first with water, vinegar, peppercorn, and onion powder to help remove the smell before frying.
9. Chicken Afritada
This is a delicious chicken stew dish, which is mixed with tomato sauce potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and green peas. We tend to cook this recipe during important occasions like fiesta or parties.
10. Chicken Adobo with Potatoes
Chicken Adobo is an unofficial national dish of the Philippines which is a savory chicken dish mixed with soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and a lot of garlic. There are different varieties of adobo dishes, which some use coconut milk while others they mixed with pork meat.
11. Chicken Siopao Asado
Chicken Siopao Asado is one of my favorite hot bun, which contain a fillings of shredded and Asado sauce, that is made of soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, garlic, and onions. If you want to enjoy this dish, I highly recommend you serve this as warm since it is soft and fluffy.
12. Chicken Pancit Canton
Chicken Pancit Canton is a Filipino egg noodle dish that is mixed with boneless chopped chicken breast, vegetables, and different sauces. This is one example of a Chinese-influenced dish which we believe that eating noodles during important occasions like birthday signifies long life.
13. Chicken Sandwich Spread
Chicken Sandwich Spread is a Filipino-style homemade sandwich recipe that is mixed with shredded onion chicken, mayonnaise, and lettuce. I like to eat it during snacks time either with fried or potato chips.
14. Lechon Manok
This Lechon Manok is a Filipino Roasted chicken recipe that is marinated with soy sauce, fish sauce, calamansi and it is mixed with different herbs like onion and lemongrass. It is one of my favorite Filipino chicken recipes which I like to eat with rice and a dipping sauce.
15. Filipino Fried Chicken
If Americans love Fried Chicken, then we Filipino also have their version of Fried Chicken. Unlike the American version, we don't use a lot of herbs and spices in this chicken. But, rather we use soy sauce and calamansi juice. Also, we don't eat it with fries, but rather we use rice.
Conclusion
Filipino cuisines are truly delicious, and I highly recommend you should try one. They are considered unique because their food is mostly influenced by Spain, the United States, and China. Also, they are mostly sweet & savory, and it does not contain herbs & spices compared to other Southeast Asian cuisines.
These Filipino chicken recipes roundup is considered one of the best local dishes you can try. Once you try them, you will appreciate their food since they are delicious and different.
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