MAIN INGREDIENTS
Silog refers to a group of Filipino dishes that are traditionally served for breakfast. The name is an abbreviation for sinangang at itlog, meaning fried garlic rice and eggs. The difference between each of these dishes is in the additional component that's served with the garlic rice and eggs, such as tapa (sliced meat), longganisa sausages, tocino bacon, bangus milkfish belly, chorizo, hot dogs, pork chops, Spam, fried chicken, or beefsteak, among others.
It is believed that the first type of silog was tapsilog, invented in the 1980s in Marikina City. These breakfast items are so popular that they can nowadays be found in fast food chains, hotels, and restaurants.
MOST ICONIC Silog
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One of the most common breakfast staples in the Philippines is tapsilog, a plate which consists of sliced beef jerky, known as tapa, a heap of garlic rice, and a fried egg. It is believed that the dish grew out of necessity, to cater to the needs of many workers who were in search for a quick, cheap, and nutritious breakfast.
Eventually, tapsilog was incorporated on the menus of many Filipino fast food chains and specialized tapsihan eateries. Nowadays, it appears in numerous varieties, and even though it is still a favorite Filipino breakfast it can be enjoyed at any time of day or as a satisfying late night snack.
MOST ICONIC Tapsilog
In Filipino cuisine, tapa most commonly denotes thinly sliced beef sirloin that is traditionally placed in a sweet, salty, and tangy marinade made with calamansi lemonade and soy sauce, flavored with sugar and minced garlic. Other meats used to make tapa include mutton, venison, wild boar, horse, deer, and also the meat of carabao - a swamp-type domestic water buffalo native to the Philippines.
Tapa is typically either grilled or pan-fried, and it is best enjoyed when served as a part of the so-called tapsilog, which is a portmanteau of the Filipino words tapa and sinangag, meaning garlic-fried rice, and itlog, meaning eggs.
MOST ICONIC Tapa (Philippines)
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Palitaw is a popular Filipino boiled rice cake. These rice cakes were traditionally prepared with pounded rice, but today there are mainly made with a combination of glutinous rice flour and water. Characterized by their round and flat shape, they are boiled in water, then rolled in grated coconut and sweetened sesame seeds.
The name is derived from the Filipino word litaw, which means to float, referring to the preparation method in which the cakes are boiled until they start floating on the surface. Just like other rice cakes in the Philippines, palitaw is enjoyed as a dessert, but it also makes for a satisfying afternoon treat.
MOST ICONIC Palitaw
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Champorado is a thick Filipino rice pudding. Originally prepared with chocolate, nowadays it is usually made with cooked glutinous rice blended with sugar and cocoa powder. The origins of the dish derive from a Mexican chocolate-based drink known as champurrado, which was introduced during the colonial period.
Usually enjoyed as a hearty breakfast or a sweet afternoon snack, Filipino champorado can be served hot or cold, drizzled with condensed milk, or accompanied by salted dry fish.
MOST ICONIC Champorado
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Bulalô is a traditional Filipino soup that is prepared by cooking beef shanks and marrow bones until the fat and collagen dissolve into the broth, resulting in a robust flavor of the dish. The soup is a specialty of the Luzon region, where it is traditionally consumed during cold weather, when it is usually served for dinner.
Most versions of the soup include vegetables such as cabbage, string beans, onions, and corn. It can be found in most upscale restaurants in the Philippines, due to the fact that beef shank and bone marrow are not among the cheapest cuts of meat in the country.