Kinalas is a traditional dish originating from the Bicol area. It's made with a combination of noodles, spices, pork or beef brains, and scraped meat from pork or beef head. This noodle soup is served in a shrimpy, garlicky brown gravy consisting of dried shrimps, vinegar, garlic, shallots, soy sauce, and fish sauce.
Kinalas is often garnished with spring onions, fried garlic, or chili peppers, but some people like to add a hard-boiled egg on top. The dish is always served hot, and its name is derived after the Bicolano word kalas, meaning to remove the meat from the bones.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Pinikpikan is a controversial dish originating from the Cordillera mountainous region in the Philippines. The soup consists of chicken and etag, which is cured and smoked meat that has been kept underground in earthen jars. What makes pinikpikan controversial is the way that the chicken is slaughtered – it is gently beaten to death with a stick in a ritual performed by local tribes.
The chicken is beaten to keep the blood inside, and if properly done, it will not be bloody when cut. No bones should be broken during the beating and slicing process. However, the preparation method is in violation of the Philippine Animal Welfare Act of 1998.
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The rich and flavorful papaitan is a popular Filipino soup which consists of goat or cow innards such as heart, tripe, or liver, simmered alongside garlic, onions, and various spices. The most important addition to the dish is bile - a bitter liquid extracted from animal livers, giving the soup its distinctive sour flavor and a light yellow color.
This popular Ilocano dish is always served hot and is usually garnished with sliced green onions and chili peppers.
MOST ICONIC Papaitan
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Nilagang baka is a traditional soup originating from the Philippines. Although there are many variations, it's usually prepared with a combination of onions, beef broth, cubed beef, baby bok choy, cabbage, plantains, potatoes, celery, star anise, salt, and pepper.
The soup is simmered until the beef becomes tender and the vegetables are fully cooked. Nilagang baka is especially popular on cold or rainy days, and it's always served hot. Traditionally, it's accompanied by steamed rice and fish sauce (patis). Sometimes, an extra helping of the broth is served in a separate bowl on the side.
Pancit lomi is a hearty Filipino soup consisting of fresh egg noodles served in a rich, flavorful broth. Many regional varieties are thickened with flour or eggs and incorporate pork or chicken, sliced pork liver, and a variety of vegetables. The most famous version of pancit lomi originates from Batangas and often employs sliced kikiam, ham, or meatballs.
This Chinese-influenced dish is always served hot and it is usually sold by numerous street vendors throughout the Philippines.
MOST ICONIC Pancit lomi
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Sinigang na hipon is a Filipino shrimp soup characterized by its sour and strongly savory flavor. In addition to shrimp, this dish contains a great variety of vegetables, including onions, tomatoes, string beans, banana peppers, water spinach, taro, radishes, and ladies’ fingers, with ginger and fish sauce being added for extra flavor.
Sinigang’s signature sour flavor comes from tamarind, but other natural souring agents, such as green mango, guava, santol, calamansi, bilimbi, or pineapple can also be used. Sinigang na hipon is very popular in the Philippines, where it is considered a homemade specialty.
MOST ICONIC Sinigang na hipon
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