Customs & Traditions
An "honoring-gesture" used in Filipino culture performed as a sign of respect to elders and as a way of requesting a blessing from the elder.
Mano or pagmamano
A noodle dish with shrimp sauce and topped with several ingredients such as cooked shrimp, boiled pork, crushed chicharon, tinapa flakes, fried tofu, scallions, and fried garlic.
Pancit Palabok
A type of fritter from the Philippines. It is usually made from saba bananas. The most common variant is prepared by coating thinly sliced and "fanned" bananas in batter and deep frying them. They are then sprinkled with sugar.
Maruya
The traditional variation of ice cream made in the Philippines. Often pejoratively called "dirty ice cream"
Sorbetes
A popular yeast-raised bread in the Philippines. Individual loaves are shaped by rolling the dough into long logs which are rolled in fine bread crumbs. These are then portioned, allowed to rise, and baked.It is most commonly served hot and may be eaten as is, or dipped in coffee, hot chocolate or milk.
Pan de sal
A traditional form of courtship in the Philippines wherein men introduced themselves and/or wooed women by singing underneath her window at night. It was widely practiced in old Philippines with a set of protocols, a code of conduct and a specific style of music
Harana
An indigenous Filipino dish from the northern regions of the Philippines made from mixed vegetables steamed in fish or shrimp sauce. The word is the contracted form of the Ilokano word meaning "shrunk" or "shriveled
Pinakbet
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, and sweet potato, among other ingredients.
Binignit
Barbecued pig or chicken intestines that are thoroughly cleaned before being boiled, skewered, and grilled.
Isaw
A Filipino rice and chicken gruel heavily infused with ginger and garnished with toasted garlic, scallions, and black pepper. It is usually served with calamansi or fish sauce as condiments, as well as a hard-boiled egg.
Arroz caldo,
Refers to the spirit of communal unity, work and cooperation to achieve a particular goal.
Bayanihan
A Filipino braised pork dish originating from the Visayas Islands of the Philippines. It traditionally uses pork belly slow-cooked until very tender in soy sauce, vinegar, black peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves, and fermented black beans (tausi) sweetened with muscovado sugar. It also commonly includes hard-boiled eggs and banana blossoms.
Humba
A Filipino dessert made from boiled and mashed purple yam, milk, and butter
Ube halaya
A skewered deep-fried sweet plantain coated in caramelized brown sugar. Equally popular as a street food and as a snack made at home, it’s something that many Filipinos grew up eating.
Banana Cue / Camote Cue
Short for sinangag at itlog (garlic fried rice and egg), and there are a number of dishes that fall in the silog family. The difference between each one lies in what is served with the garlic fried rice and the sunny-side-up eggs
Silog
The asking for the girl's parents' permission to wed the affianced pair.” The custom symbolizes honor and respect for the parents, seeking their blessing and approval before getting married.
Pamamanhikan
A beef dish from the Philippines. It is a light colored soup that is made by cooking beef shanks and bone marrow until the collagen and fat has melted into the clear broth. It typically includes leafy vegetables, corn on the cob, scallions, onions, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce
Bulalô
A sweet custard confectionary from the Philippines. It is made with egg yolks, milk, and sugar.
Yema
A fertilized egg incubated for 14-21 days, boiled, then eaten directly from its shell. It’s typically made with duck eggs, specifically native or Pateros duck eggs, but it can be made with chicken eggs as well if the former isn’t available.
Balut
A Filipino sweet porridge made from cocoa and glutinous rice top and served with condensed milk.
Champorado
A time of joyful celebration for Filipinos, who cook heaps of hearty food, throw open their doors to visitors, and parade in the streets
Fiesta
A savory dish made with diced pork, pork blood, and spices. Hearty and boldly-flavored, this classic Filipino pork stew is delicious as a main meal with steamed rice or as a midday snack with puto.
Dinuguan
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 toasted desiccated coconut flakes sprinkled on top
Sapin-sapin
Hard boiled chicken eggs that are dipped in orange colored flour batter, deep fried, and served with a sweet and sour sauce.
Tokneneng
A mouthwashing corned beef with a Filipino twist. Made with high-quality beef that had been pre-sauteed with real garlics and onions, it has a distinct, appetizing guisado taste and aroma.
Karne Norte