Easy Filipino Recipes for Beginners
New to Filipino cooking? Start here. These recipes use common ingredients, simple techniques, and deliver authentic flavors every time.
Your Guide to Getting Started
Filipino cuisine might look complex, but many beloved dishes are surprisingly simple to prepare. The secret is in the balance of flavors — salty soy sauce, sour vinegar or calamansi, and aromatic garlic form the backbone of countless recipes. Stock your pantry with these basics and you can cook dozens of Filipino dishes.
Filipino Pantry Essentials
Chicken Adobo
The iconic Filipino dish — just soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and chicken. Perfect first recipe for beginners.
Pancit Bihon
Stir-fried rice noodles with vegetables. Fast, simple, and always a crowd-pleaser at parties.
Sinigang na Baboy
Tangy tamarind pork soup with vegetables. Use instant sinigang mix for an easy shortcut.
Tapsilog
Filipino breakfast trio: beef tapa, garlic rice, and fried egg. Simple marinade, big flavor.
Lumpia Shanghai
Crispy spring rolls filled with pork. Great for making in batches and freezing for later.
Sopas
Creamy macaroni soup with chicken and vegetables. Filipino comfort food for cold or rainy days.
Filipino Fried Chicken
Marinated in soy sauce and garlic then fried golden. Better than takeout, with banana ketchup.
Turon
Banana spring rolls — caramelized and crispy. Just banana, wrapper, and sugar. Kids love them.
Pinakbet
Mixed vegetables with shrimp paste. Healthy, colorful, and easy to customize with available veggies.
Beef Pares
Sweet braised beef served with garlic rice. Set it and forget it — the slow cooking does the work.
Puto
Steamed rice cakes — just mix, pour, and steam. Perfect merienda snack topped with cheese.
Leche Flan
Rich caramel custard. Only 4 ingredients: eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Impressive for fiestas.
Filipino Cooking Tips for Beginners
Rice is King
Almost every Filipino meal is served with steamed white rice. Invest in a good rice cooker — it changes everything. The ideal ratio is 1:1 rice to water for jasmine rice.
Taste as You Go
Filipino cooking relies on balance. Keep tasting and adjusting — add more vinegar for sourness, soy sauce for saltiness, or sugar for sweetness until the flavor feels right.
Do Not Rush Braising
Many Filipino meat dishes improve with slow cooking. Adobo, caldereta, and pares all taste better when the meat is allowed to simmer until fork-tender. Low and slow wins the race.