Filipino cuisine is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that comprise Filipino cuisine are from the food traditions of various ethnolinguistic groups and tribes of the archipelago, including the Ilocano, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, Visayan, Chavacano, and Maranao ethnolinguistic groups. The dishes associated with these groups evolved over the centuries from a largely indigenous base shared with maritime Southeast Asia with varied influences from Chinese, Spanish, and American cuisines, in line with the major waves of influence that had enriched the cultures of the archipelago, and adapted using indigenous ingredients to meet local preferences.
Shaved ice is a large family of ice-based desserts made of fine shavings of ice and sweet condiments or syrups. Usually, the syrup is added after the ice has been frozen and shaved—typically at the point of sale; however, flavoring can also be added before freezing. The dessert is consumed worldwide in various forms and ways. Shaved ice can also be mixed with large quantities of liquid to produce shaved ice drinks.
Ginataan, alternatively spelled guinataan, is a Filipino term which refers to food cooked with gatâ. Literally translated, ginataan means "done with coconut milk". Due to the general nature of the term, it can refer to a number of different dishes, each called ginataan, but distinct from one another.
Lugaw, also spelled lugao, is a Filipino glutinous rice dish or porridge. Lugaw may refer to various dishes, both savory and sweet. In Visayan regions, savory lugaw are collectively referred to as pospas. Lugaw is widely regarded as a comfort food in the Philippines.
Sorbetes is a traditional ice cream originating from the Philippines and uniquely characterized by the use of coconut milk and/or carabao milk. Often pejoratively called "dirty ice cream", it is distinct from the similarly named sorbet and sherbet. It is traditionally peddled in colorful wooden pushcarts by street vendors called "sorbeteros". It is served in various flavors in small wafer or sugar cones and more recently, as a pandesal bread ice cream sandwich.
Sapin-sapin is a layered glutinous rice and coconut dessert in Philippine cuisine. It is made from rice flour, coconut milk, sugar, water, flavoring and coloring. It is usually sprinkled with latik or grated coconut, among other toppings. The dessert is recognizable for its layers, each colored separately.
Binignit is a Visayan dessert soup from the central Philippines. The dish is traditionally made with glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk with various slices of sabá bananas, taro, ube, and sweet potato, among other ingredients. It is comparable to various dessert guinataán dishes found in other regions such as bilo-bilo. Among the Visayan people, the dish is traditionally served during Good Friday of Holy Week.
Latík refers to two different coconut-based ingredients in Filipino cuisine. In the Visayan region it refers to a syrupy caramelized coconut cream used as a dessert sauce. In the northern Philippines, it refers to solid byproducts of coconut oil production, used as garnishing for a variety of desserts.
Maja blanca is a Filipino dessert with a gelatin-like consistency made primarily from coconut milk. Also known as coconut pudding, it is usually served during fiestas and during the holidays, especially Christmas.
Ube halaya or halayang ube is a Philippine dessert made from boiled and mashed purple yam. Ube halaya is the main base in ube/purple yam flavored-pastries and ube ice cream. It can also be incorporated in other desserts such as halo-halo. It is also commonly anglicized as ube jam, or called by its original native name, nilupak na ube.
Ginisang munggo is a Filipino savory mung bean soup. It is made with mung beans, garlic, tomatoes, onions, various vegetables, and patis. It is cooked with pork, tinapa, daing, or other seafood and meat. It is also commonly garnished with chicharon. The name means "sauteed mung bean", though the dish ends up being a soup. The name is in reference to the first step of the cooking process where the spices and the secondary ingredients are sauteed before water and the mung beans are added.
Macapuno also called coconut sport, is a naturally occurring coconut cultivar which has an abnormal development of the endosperm. The result of this abnormal development is a soft translucent jelly-like flesh that fills almost the entire central cavity of coconut seeds, with little to no coconut water.
Ginataang kalabasa, also known as kalabasa sa gata, is a Filipino vegetable stew made from calabaza in coconut milk and spices. It commonly includes shrimp and yardlong beans and either bagoong or patis. It can also be cooked with fish, crab, or meat and a variety of other ingredients. It is a creamy umami-laden dish that is naturally slightly sweet due to the calabaza. It is a type of ginataan.
Samalamig, also known as palamig, is a collective term for various Filipino sweet chilled beverages that usually include jelly-like ingredients. They come in various flavors, and are commonly sold by street vendors as refreshments. Typical ingredients of the drinks include gulaman (agar), sago pearls, kaong, tapioca pearls, nata de coco, and coconut. They are usually anglicized as pearl coolers or pearl and jelly coolers.
Minatamis na saging is a Filipino dessert made with chopped saba bananas cooked in a sweet syrup (arnibal) made with muscovado sugar and water. Some recipes also add a little bit of salt and pandan leaf or vanilla extract. Other ingredients can also be added like sweet potato, sago, or other fruits like jackfruit. It can be eaten on its own or added as an ingredient to other desserts. Adding the dessert over milk and shaved ice also results in another dessert known as saba con yelo.
Buko salad, usually anglicized as young coconut salad, is a Filipino fruit salad dessert made from strips of fresh young coconut (buko) with sweetened milk or cream and various other ingredients. It is one of the most popular and ubiquitous Filipino desserts served during celebrations and fiestas.
Iskrambol, also known as ice scramble, is a Filipino frozen dessert made from shaved ice with banana extract and evaporated milk with sugar It is then topped with a variety of ingredients including powdered milk, marshmallows, strawberry syrup, chocolate syrup, pinipig, tapioca pearls, and sprinkles, among others. The regular banana extract flavored dessert is characteristically dyed pink while other flavors may be dyed accordingly.
Nilupak is a class of traditional Filipino delicacies made from mashed or pounded starchy foods mixed with coconut milk and sugar. They are molded into various shapes and traditionally served on banana leaves with toppings of grated young coconut (buko), various nuts, cheese, butter, or margarine. It is also known as nilusak, linusak, niyubak, linupak, or lubi-lubi, among many other names, in the various languages of the Philippines. It is also known as minukmok in Quezon.
Ube ice cream is a Filipino ice cream flavor prepared using ube as the main ingredient. This ice cream is often used in the making of the dessert halo-halo.
