Filipino Cooking Techniques Every Home Cook Should Know
Master These Methods and You'll Handle Any Pinoy Recipe
Filipino cooking doesn't demand fancy equipment or rare ingredients. What it does demand is an understanding of a handful of core techniques that show up again and again across hundreds of recipes. Get comfortable with these methods and you won't need to follow recipes so tightly anymore. You'll start to feel the cooking instead of just reading instructions.
Most of these techniques have Spanish or indigenous roots, shaped by centuries of trade, colonization, and resourcefulness. They're practical above all else - born from a tropical climate where preservation mattered, where one-pot meals fed large families, and where the freshest ingredient was always whatever was available that morning.
Here are the six essential Filipino cooking methods that will carry you through just about any dish you want to make.
Ginisa: The Foundation of Everything
If you learn only one Filipino technique, make it this one. Ginisa is the sautéing of garlic, onion, and tomato in oil, and it's the opening move for the majority of Filipino dishes. Soups, stews, stir-fries, even some rice dishes - they almost all start here. The word comes from the Spanish "guisa," meaning to stew or braise, but in Filipino kitchens it's become its own distinct thing.
The order matters. Oil goes into the pan first, then garlic. Give the garlic 30 seconds to a minute until it's fragrant and just starting to turn golden. Don't let it brown - burned garlic turns bitter and there's no fixing that. Next comes the onion, cooked until translucent and soft, usually 2-3 minutes. Finally, the tomato. Let the tomato pieces break down and release their juices. You want them soft and almost paste-like, not raw and chunky.
This three-ingredient base creates a savory, slightly sweet, aromatic foundation that transforms whatever you add next. Throw in pork and vegetables and you've got a ginisang gulay. Add shrimp paste and kangkong and that's ginisang kangkong. Pour in broth and a souring agent and you're on your way to sinigang.
Ginisa Tips
Use medium heat, not high. High heat browns the garlic before the onion even softens. Some cooks add a pinch of sugar to the tomatoes to help them caramelize faster. And if you're cooking for a crowd, double the garlic. Nobody ever complained about too much garlic in Filipino food.
Adobo: More Than a Recipe, It's a Cooking Method
People outside the Philippines think of adobo as a single recipe. It's not. Adobo is a cooking method - braising protein in a mixture of vinegar and soy sauce with garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Any protein can be adobo'd. Chicken, pork, squid, kangkong, mushrooms, even hard-boiled eggs. The technique stays the same; the ingredient changes.
The basic process: combine your protein with vinegar, soy sauce, crushed garlic, whole peppercorns, and bay leaves in a pot. Bring it to a simmer and let it cook until the meat is tender and the sauce reduces. That's it. The vinegar does double duty as a flavoring agent and a natural preservative, which is why adobo was historically a way to make meat last longer in a tropical climate without refrigeration.
Variations are endless and regional. Wet adobo keeps the sauce as a broth. Adobong puti (white adobo) drops the soy sauce entirely, relying on vinegar and salt alone - it's older than the soy sauce version and tastes cleaner, more tart. Dry adobo simmers the sauce down until the oil separates and the meat fries in its own rendered fat, creating crispy edges. Some families add coconut milk. Others stir in liver paste. There's no single "correct" adobo.
One rule that does matter: don't stir the pot during the first 5-10 minutes of simmering. The vinegar needs time to mellow. Stirring too early can make the sauce taste harsh and overly acidic. Let it be. The flavors settle on their own.
Sinigang: The Sour Stewing Technique
Sinigang is the other pillar of Filipino home cooking. Where adobo is about concentrated, reduced flavors, sinigang is about building a sour, savory broth with layers of vegetables and protein. The sourness can come from tamarind (most common), guava, kamias (bilimbi), green mango, or even tomatoes. Each souring agent creates a distinctly different version of the dish.
The technique follows a specific layering order based on cooking time. Start by boiling your souring agent in water - if using fresh tamarind, boil the pods until soft, then mash and strain to extract the sour liquid. Add your meat or seafood and simmer until almost cooked through. Then add the hard vegetables: radish (labanos), taro (gabi), or green beans - things that need longer cooking. Finally, add the soft vegetables: tomatoes, onions, kangkong, and chili peppers. These go in at the very end because they only need a minute or two.
The goal is for every vegetable to be perfectly cooked - not mushy, not raw. Timing is everything. Pull the kangkong especially the moment it wilts. Overcooked kangkong turns slimy and loses its fresh green flavor.
Choosing Your Souring Agent
Tamarind gives a deep, rounded sourness. Guava adds a fruity sweetness underneath the tang. Kamias is sharp and clean - it hits hard. Green mango is bright and intense. If you're using sinigang mix packets (the instant ones), that's fine for a weeknight dinner. No shame in it. But try making it from scratch with fresh tamarind at least once. The difference is real.
Ihaw: Filipino Grilling Over Charcoal
Ihaw (also ihaw-ihaw) is the Filipino tradition of grilling over charcoal. It's one of the oldest cooking methods in the archipelago and still one of the most beloved. Walk through any Filipino neighborhood on a weekend afternoon and the smell of charcoal smoke and caramelizing marinade is unavoidable.
Charcoal is non-negotiable for authentic ihaw. Gas grills work in a pinch, but they can't replicate the smoky depth that coconut shell charcoal (uling ng niyog) provides. The marinades are what set Filipino grilling apart from other traditions - they tend to be sweeter and tangier, often built on soy sauce, calamansi, garlic, and brown sugar. Banana ketchup shows up more than you'd expect.
Key marinades include the classic soy-calamansi-garlic mix for chicken inasal, the sweet sticky glaze for street-style pork BBQ skewers, and the vinegar-based marinade for inihaw na liempo. Bamboo skewers should be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before threading to keep them from catching fire. Metal skewers work too if you grill often.
Filipino grilling is hands-on. You don't walk away from the grill. Constant basting - every 2-3 minutes - builds layers of flavor and keeps the meat from drying out. Some cooks use bundled lemongrass stalks as a basting brush, which adds a subtle citrus fragrance with every stroke. For more detail on charcoal setup, marinades, and timing, check the full grilling guide.
Nilaga, Halabos, and Prito
These three methods round out the everyday Filipino kitchen. They're simpler than the techniques above, but no less important.
Nilaga (Boiling)
Nilaga means "boiled," and it's exactly that - meat simmered in a clear, clean broth with vegetables. Beef nilaga, pork nilaga, and chicken tinola all use this approach. The trick to a good nilaga is patience. Start with cold water, bring it to a gentle simmer (not a rolling boil), and skim the scum that rises to the surface during the first 20 minutes. This keeps the broth clear rather than murky.
Season with whole peppercorns, onion, and fish sauce. Add vegetables in stages: potatoes and corn first (they need time), then cabbage or bok choy at the end. A good nilaga tastes like nothing is hiding - you taste the beef, the broth, and the vegetables as they are.
Halabos (Steaming)
Halabos is the method of steaming seafood with minimal seasoning, letting the natural flavors do the work. Halabos na hipon (steamed shrimp) is the classic example. You toss live shrimp into a hot pan with nothing but a splash of lemon-lime soda or beer, cover it, and let the steam cook them in 3-4 minutes. The result is sweet, briny, and intensely shrimpy - nothing gets in the way of the seafood itself.
This technique works for mussels, clams, and crab too. The key is starting with the freshest seafood you can find. Halabos doesn't mask anything. If the shrimp isn't fresh, you'll know immediately.
Prito (Frying)
Prito covers both deep frying and pan frying, and Filipinos have turned it into an art form. Crispy pata, pritong isda (fried fish), fried chicken, tokwa't baboy - all prito territory. The secret to crispy results is making sure the surface is dry before it hits the oil. Pat proteins with paper towels. For crispy pata, the skin needs to be completely dry (some cooks air-dry it in the fridge overnight). Hot oil is critical - 350-375F for deep frying. If the oil isn't hot enough, the food absorbs grease instead of crisping.
Ginataan: Cooking with Coconut Milk
Ginataan is the technique of cooking with gata (coconut milk), and it's a cornerstone of Bicolano cuisine and many Visayan dishes. Bicol Express, ginataang kalabasa, laing, ginataang hipon - all built on coconut milk as the primary liquid.
Fresh coconut milk has two extractions. The first squeeze of grated coconut with a small amount of water gives you thick, rich cream (kakang gata or first extraction). The second squeeze with more water produces a thinner liquid (second extraction). The technique is to cook your ingredients in the thin milk first, simmering gently until the protein and vegetables are almost done. Then add the thick cream at the end for richness. This prevents the coconut milk from splitting or becoming oily too early.
If you're using canned coconut milk (which most of us are), shake the can well before opening. Simmer over medium-low heat and stir occasionally. High heat causes coconut milk to break and separate, leaving you with a greasy sauce instead of a creamy one. Some cooks add a small piece of lemongrass or a few kaffir lime leaves to balance the richness with a subtle citrus note.
Avoiding Broken Coconut Milk
If your coconut milk sauce starts looking oily and separated, don't panic. Add a splash of water or thin coconut milk and stir vigorously over low heat. It usually comes back together. Prevention is easier though: keep the heat at medium-low, stir every few minutes, and don't rush it. Ginataan rewards patience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most important Filipino cooking technique?
Ginisa (sautéing). It's the starting point for the majority of Filipino dishes. Master the garlic-onion-tomato base and you can cook almost anything. From sinigang to menudo to ginataang kalabasa, ginisa is where the flavor begins.
Do Filipino recipes require special equipment?
Not really. A large pot (kaldero), a wok or deep pan, and a rice cooker are the main tools. Most techniques use basic stovetop cooking. A palayok (clay pot) is traditional but not required. You can make excellent Filipino food with whatever cookware you already have.
What is the difference between adobo and paksiw?
Both use vinegar, but adobo includes soy sauce and is typically braised until the sauce reduces. Paksiw uses more vinegar, less soy sauce, and keeps a thinner, more sour broth. Adobo concentrates its flavors through reduction while paksiw stays soupy.