This document discusses cooking styles and methods that are commonly used in Philippine cuisine. It notes that Philippine cooking is quite simple and requires few utensils, with a wok being sufficient for most dishes. It then lists and describes several common cooking methods used in the Philippines, including adobo (cooked with soy sauce and vinegar), guisado (sauteed), sinigang (boiled with sour fruit/vegetables), paksiw (cooked in vinegar), and others. Regional variations are also discussed, with Bicol cuisine highlighted for its use of coconut milk, chilis, and ingredients like laing (taro leaves stewed in coconut cream).

1. B a si c s o f P h i l i p p i n e C o o k i n g a n d C o o k i n g S ty l e s
D i s h e s i n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s a r e q u i t e s i m p l e t o p r e p a r e a n d w o u l d
r e q u i r e l e s s c o o k i n g u t e n s i l s . A C h i n e s e w o k s h o u l d d o t h e t r i c k
w h e n c o o k i n g f o o d i n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s . W e ’ l l d i s c u s s s o m e o f t h e
b a s i c s o f c o o k i n g i n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s . W e ’ l l a l s o d i s c u s s t h e c o o k i n g
s t y l e s i n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s , a s w e l l a s t h e c o m m o n i n g r e d i e n t s u s e d .
I n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s , w h e n y o u a r e c o o k i n g f o o d , y o u d o n ’ t n e e d a n y
s p e c i a l s t y l e s o r s k i l l s . M o s t d i s h e s i n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s a r e s t e w e d ,
s a u t e e d , b r o i l e d , b r a i s e d , o r f r i e d . Y o u w i l l r a r e l y f i n d b a k e d
d i s h e s i n P h i l i p p i n e c o o k i n g . T h a t i s t y p i c a l f o r a t r o p i c a l c u i s i n e .
Philippine cooking is surprisingly simple; no special utensils are needed. Even a wok, which is commonly
used in the Philippines and is almost essential for Chinese cooking, can be done without for most
Philippines dishes. No special skills are needed, either. If you can prepare American dishes, you can
prepare the food of the Philippines. In fact, most of the dishes that follow are either sauteed or stewed.
Other dishes are boiled, braised or fried. Baked dishes are rare, which is perfectly sensible for a tropical
cuisine.
 adobo – cooked in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic
 guisado – sauteed
 sinigang – boiled with a sour fruit or vegetable
 paksiw – cooked in vinegar and garlic
 estofado – prepared with a burnt-sugar sauce
 ginataan – cooked in coconut milk
 rellanado – stuffed
 sarciado – a sauce

2. Two styles of preparing food in the Philippines are part of the cuisine not only because of their delicious
taste but also because they keep well without refrigeration. Dishes cooked adobo or sinigang style are
preserved because of the effect of vinegar or souring ingredient. In rural tropical areas, this makes storing
leftovers possible. Dishes prepared in both these manners seem to improve when stored, so it is a good
idea to prepare large amounts to ensure having leftovers. In many of the recipes that follow, vegetable
ingredients that are used may be difficult to locate in ordinary food stores or supermarkets. But most
major metropolitan centers have “chinatowns” or Oriental neighborhoods where all the ingredients can be
purchased. In small cities, “Oriental stores” can often be located by checking the local Yellow Pages
under Oriental or Filipino stores. One of the ingredients that may prove difficult to locate is patis. Patis is a
very salty, thin, amber-color fish or shrimp sauce that is sold in bottles under various brand names. Nuoc
mam is the Vietnamese equivalent, and nampla is the Thai equivalent.
Philippine regional cookery

3. WHEN discussing Philippine regional cookery, we surely notice the influence of the availability of the
ingredients and its supply, and in this case a place like the Bicol Region with its unique combination of
coconuts, peppers and taro illustrates well this thesis.
Nowhere is this more noticeable than in the case of the hot and spicy cuisine of Bicolandia. Bicol's regular
use of gata (coconut milk and cream and chilis in almost all its dishes marks the regions uniqueness
relative to the rest of the country's). The use of gata gives its cuisine an authentic Malay touch. Chili or Sili
and coconut cream gata, come together into an appetizing dish to go with rice. Following are some of the
more popular dishes for which the region is noted.
1. The famous Laing is a delicious native dish prepared with taro leaves, peeled taro stalks, a little taro
root, bits of meat or shrimps lots of chillis, ginger, garlic and onion, then cooked steadily in coconut
cream. Most main dishes in the region are based in gata and sili particularly the way vegetables are
cooked. May it be banana blossom, (heart jackfruit, kamias, santol, guava or any edible plant, Bicolanos
transform it into a delicious coconut creamed dish topped with chillis which according to them are best
eaten before a vigorous activity.
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2. Bicol Express so far is everyone’s choice when asked about Bicol’s specialty. It is a mixture of pork
meat and shrimp paste sautéed in and onions and lots and lots of green finger chili strips simmered in
coconut cream. This dish is a classic favorite of Bicolano farmers specially taken before an energetic
activity to enhance their endurance at work.
3. Kinunot, is an unusual dish prepared with pagi or stingray meat and kalunggay or malunggay - an
edible tree leaf used in many local dishes. Just like other Bicol dishes, the main ingredients are coconut
milk and spices, in which the stingray is stewed. Bicol is land of the coconuts. It is situated along the
typhoon belt so coconut trees are planted because they can bend and sway with the strong wind... Just
like the resilience of their people in difficult times. I believe I can justly say that Bicolano cuisine has its
own distinct identity with their heavy use of coconut milk and chili peppers. Bicol food is generally spicier
and richer than the other regions like the Ilocos regions, whose dishes are more spartan and simple.

4. In the Philippines, a few dishes are named after the cooking method. “Ginata” or “ginataang” means to
cook in coconut milk. In fact almost all vegetables are cooked in coconut milk in Bicol.
In the past week, I met with a true blue bicolana, Mrs. M.R.T. and she gave me two new versions of Bicol
cuisine. One is the TINOMOK and the other is the GINATAANG ADOBONG TALONG.
Both dishes are most appropriate for this and the following week, since they are meatless and Lent calls
for meatless dishes.
Both dishes have the same method of cooking, and they differ only on the matter of the ingredients.
I. The first is the GINATAANG TALONG.
(this dish has no taro leaves, stalks or root)
1. 1 kilo of eggplant, sliced 3/4 way lengthwise (do not reach the stem stop cutting an inch or so before
you reach the stem)
2. 1/4 kilo dried, salted bacalao rinsed out, (or you can use dried and salted labahita)
3. 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
4. 1/4 cup of julienned young ginger
5. Finger peppers to taste, more if you like spicy and less if you feel overwhelmed by too much spiciness
6. Black pepper, freshly ground, again to taste
7. A few bay leaves, dried, (laurel)
8. 1/4 cup of good vinegar
9. 2 coconuts grated (be sure that they are fully mature)
(Same as for the second recipe)
10. 1/4 cup of good vinegar

5. 11. either patis, or a shrimp cube, or salt or bagoong if the dried fish is not salty enough
12. 1 cup BOILING WATER
13. 2 cups hot water
II. The second is the TINOMOK
1. About 20 dried taro leaves, dry, not browned, (rinse well and divide each leaf into halves)
2. 1/2 kilo of peeled shrimps coarsely chopped
3. About 4 cups of young coconut meat, (malakanin)
Use each cup for 10 wraps. Minced garlic, salt and fresh ground pepper (to taste) to season the filling.
Make filling by mixing the shrimps and the coconut meat, season to your taste with the garlic, salt, and
pepper, then wrap in the dried taro leaves. You should use about 1 cup of your mix for every 10 pieces of
leaves.
(Same as above)
4. 2 fully mature coconuts for the milk
5. Another set of 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and 1/4 cup julienned ginger
6. Finger chilis to taste
(the above is for the TINOMOK)
7. Either patis, shrimp cube a small amount of bagoong to taste
8. 1 cup BOILING WATER
9. 2 cups hot water.
Note: some good squeezers do not need boiling water, and they can just squeeze the freshly grated
coconut and squeeze out the kakang gata.

6. The actual cooking method is the same for most of the Bicol vegetable cooking. So that the first step is
the same.
To begin...(any Pinay knows how to do this, but just in case you don’t)
Pour boiling water on the grated coconut. Let stand for 5 minutes. Mix with your hands and begin
squeezing until the coconut milk comes out. If you are good with squeezing, (some are good and can
squeeze well) you don’t need a piece of cloth. If you aren’t good, you will need a small piece of very clean
cloth to squeeze out the first of the coconut milk (kakang gata). You should have about 2 cups of kakang
gata. when you get the kakang gata, set aside.
Pour the water hot (the 2 cups) into the squeezed out grated coconut and again squeeze until you get
another 2 cups of 2nd coconut water. Put the 2nd squeezing in a kawali (better than a pot) and put in all
the ingredients (except the vinegar) with the spices at the bottom. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
AVOID STIRRING. REPEAT, AVOID STIRRING. TRADITION HAS IT THAT MIXING CAUSES THE
VEGGIES TO MAKE YOUR THROAT ITCH. MIX BY PUSHING THE TURNER UNDER THE VEGGIES
AND ALLOWING THE LIQUID TO GO UNDER THE VEGGIES.
Simmer till the ingredients are tender and what we call naglalangis, meaning that the oil of the coconut
begins to come out. At this point, add the kakang gata and bring to a boil. For the TINOMOK, the dish is
done.
For the GINATAANG ADOBONG TALONG, you take this next step, and the vinegar to your cooked
vegetable and bring again to a boil. (DO NOT STIR UNTIL IT BOILS, THE VINEGAR WILL BE RAW AND
ACRID IF YOU DO, THE LOCAL COOKS SAY NAHIHILAW). When the dish boils, the dish is done.
Both the dishes use the same method. So you should have no trouble doing them. So there you have it
straight from a Bicolana's mouth. My thanks to Mrs. M.R.T., who refuses to be named.
Filipino Cooking Methods
Cooking methods in the Philippines may appear strange to foreigners at first
glance. This is because of the complexity of Filipino foods due to its varied origins

7. such as Malay, Chinese and Spanish. Yet, these cooking methods are rather
simple. Here is a list of Filipino terms relating to cooking methods.
Adobo/Inadobo in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic. It could also refer to just
roasting on a wok or frying pan, with light oil, garlic and salt,
as in "adobong mani" (peanut adobo). The latter is done more
for snacks, while the former is more associated with viands.
Babad/Binabad/Ibinabad to marinate or soak in vinegar or wine and oil with various
spices and herbs before cooking
Banli/Binanlian/Pabanli blanched or plunging in boiling water or steam to remove skin
and soften the food
Bagoong/Binagoongan cooked with bagoong (fermented fish paste)
Binuro fermented
Busal/Pabusal toasted with garlic and a small quantity of cooking oil
Daing marinated with garlic, vinegar and black pepper. Sometimes
dried and usually fried before eating
Guinataan cooked with coconut milk
Ginisa/Guisado sautéed with garlic, onions and tomatoes
Halabos/Hinablos mostly for shellfish. Steamed in their own juices, but also at
times with lemon
Ihaw/Inihaw grilled
Kilawin/Kinilaw marinated in vinegar or calamansi juice along with garlic,
onions, ginger, tomato and pepper
Nilaga boiled over a period of time, sometimes with onions and black
peppercorns
Lasing/Nilasing cooked with an alcoholic beverage
Lechon roasted over a spit or thin rod
Minatamis cooked with sugar, or with other sweeteners
Pakbet/Pinakbet to cook vegetables (usually string beans, squash and many
others) with bagoong
Paksiw cooked in vinegar
Pangat boiled in salted water with tomatoes
Pinikpikan peculiar preparation where the chicken is beaten alive before
being slaughtered
Prito fried or deep fried. From the Spanish “frito”
Pasingaw steamed, usually with a banana leaf
Tapa refers to marinated meat and then dried and fried afterwards.
Tinapa smoked fish
Sarciado cooked with a thick sauce

8. Sinangag fried rice
Sinigang boiled, usually with a tamarind base. Other variants are guava,
raw mangoes, calamansi and almost any other sour fruit
abundant in the locality
Tosta/Tinosta toasted
Torta to cook with eggs in the manner of an omelette
Totso cooked with fermented black beans