6 Popular Philippines Meat Dishes

Are you looking for the most popular Philippine meat dishes? If yes, then you came to the right place. Whether you are a Filipino or simply want to try something new, Philippine cuisine is undoubtedly one of the most special and delicious culinary recipes in the world today.

If you don’t believe us, take a look at the meat dishes that we featured here in our list and discover the Philippines’ finest dishes.

Philippines Meat Dishes

Adobo

When you say adobo, you also say “Filipino!” Adobo is no doubt one of the most easily recognized Philippine dishes of all time. It is an ingenious and inexpensive way for Filipinos to quickly but deliciously cook food. Historically, adobo is cooked in clay pots. However, this tradition is slowly disappearing as metal pots and woks have become more popular.

Here’s a fun trivia: adobo came from the Spanish word adobar, which means marinade.

Here are the main ingredients of adobong manok (chicken):

• Chicken (2 lbs, cut into serving pieces or adobo cut)
• 1 chicken cube (optional)
• 1 piece onion
• 1 head garlic
• White vinegar (5 tablespoons)
• Whole peppercorn (1 tablespoon)
• Dark brown sugar (1 ½ tablespoon)
• 2 cups of water
• Salt
• Cooking oil (3 tablespoons)
• 2-3 dried bay leaves

Basically, adobo is an easy-to-cook Filipino cuisine. The first thing you do is crush garlic and chop the onion. Get your pan and add the cooking oil. Saute garlic and onion. Do this until you see that the onion softens and the garlic turns light or golden brown.

Add chicken. Stir and cook until the chicken turns light brown. You then add soy sauce, water, and vinegar. Let it boil.

Once you reach the boiling point, add peppercorn and dried bay leaves. If you want to add more flavor, you can use chicken cubes, which are a cube of dehydrated chicken stock and broth. When you have added everything, place the lid and cover for 15 minutes. Be sure to use medium heat.

After 15 minutes, turn your chicken upside down so that the other side would now get in contact with the pan. Cover and wait for another 15 minutes.

For a fuller flavor, add dark brown sugar and salt. Taste and see if it meets your preference. Transfer to your favorite serving bowl and serve.

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Kare Kare

Aah… Kare kare. Just the sound of this Filipino food can bring back the memories of Filipinos of their province and beloved grandma. Before we get too nostalgic, let’s talk more about kare kare.

Kare kare is a Filipino beef stew with a thick and rich peanut sauce cooked in a clay pot. Traditionally, kare kare is made with oxtail. However, it can also include other meaty parts of a cow. Aside from the meat, there are also a few vegetables added to the dish. While it is optional, most Filipinos would eat kare kare with fermented seafood paste, locally known as bagoong.

Here are the ingredients:

• 2 ½ lbs oxtail
• 2 bunches of pechay or baby bok choy
• 10 pieces of snake beans cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 beef cubes
• 1 small sliced banana blossom
• 1 medium sliced eggplant
• ¾ cups annatto water
• ½ ground peanut
• ¾ cup peanut butter
• ½ cub bagoong alamang
• 3 crushed cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 4 to 6 cups of water
• ⅓ cup cornstarch
• 1 chopped medium yellow onion

Add the cooking oil to the pot. Wait until it is hot. Add garlic and onion and then saute for about 30 seconds or when the onion is soft.

Take the oxtail and saute as well until it turns light brown. Add water and let it boil. Add the beef cube and stir so that the cube would melt and be evenly distributed. You can then cover the pot and cook in low to medium heat.

This is the longest part of the procedure. If you’re using a traditional burner, it may take 2-2 ½ hours for the oxtail to be tender and soft. If you use a pressure cooker, it may only take you 30-40 minutes.

Once you attain your preferred consistency of the meat, you can now proceed by adding ground peanuts and peanut butter. Stir for about 2-3 minutes. Add the annatto water and cook for 3 minutes.

Get a cup and fill it with cold water until half full. Then, add the cornstarch to the cup. Stir well and then add the mixed water and cornstarch to the pot and then stir again. This should make the sauce thicker.

This time, you can add the vegetables. First, add the banana blossoms. Wait for about 5 minutes. Then, add the eggplant and snake beans. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the bok choy or pechay and wait for 2 minutes.

Your dish should be cooked by now. Serve and enjoy!

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Sinigang

Just hearing the word “sinigang” can leave your mouth watering. It is a popular Filipino classic dish, which features tasty sour broth. You make the dish sour with the help of kamias or tamarind. 

In the past, when you say sinigang, it is primarily a souped milkfish. Now, there are various ways to make sinigang. However, for the purpose of our discussion today, let us learn how to make sinigang na Bangus (milkfish).

Here are the ingredients you need to prepare if you wish to cook sinigang milkfish:

• 2 lbs Bangus (milkfish)
• 12 pieces snake beans (cut into 2-inch pieces)
• 6-8 pieces ladies’ fingers (Okra)
• Kangkong leaves
• 2 pieces long green pepper
• 1 sliced medium tomato (wedge cut)
• 2 ½ tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 quarts of water
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 medium yellow onion (wedge cut)
• 1 40 gram pack Knorr sinigang sa Sampaloc mix

Get your cooking pot and pour water into it. Wait until it boils. 

You then add the onion and tomato. Let it boil again. Add the Bangus fish into the pot. Cover the pot and cook for 8-12 minutes. Use medium heat.

Add the Sampaloc mix and stir evenly. Cover the pot and wait for 2 minutes.

Add the long green pepper, snake beans, and okra. Stir for about 30 seconds. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes.

You can then add fish sauce and pepper. Stir for a few seconds. Add the Kangkong leaves. Turn off the fire and wait for 5 minutes.

Your “sinigang na bangus” is now cooked. It’s ready to be served. For a more Filipino ambiance, add steamed rice to your meal.

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Bulalo

This list won’t be complete without the mighty bulalo beef soup. Dubbed as the king of Filipino stew and soup, bulalo is guaranteed to make taste buds happy and tummies full. Every sip of the hot and smoking soup will bring a combination of meaty and salty taste.

So, if you want to try cooking a traditional Filipino dish, don’t dare to miss cooking bulalo. If you’re ready, here are the ingredients:

• 3 lbs beef shank with bone
• 1 medium ginger (quarter cut)
• 3 cloves of garlic (crushed)
• Water
• 1 medium peeled and quartered onion
• 3 husked corn (cut into 3-4 pieces)
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon peppercorns
• 1 bunch pechay or cabbage (have the leaves separated)
• 1 spring onion cut into 3

When cooking bulalo, it’s best to use a large pot to soften the meat. Clean the beef shanks and place them inside the large pot. Then add enough water to cover the meat.

Now, here’s a secret to a more flavorful and rich bulalo taste. When you boil the meat to tenderize it, you should already add ginger, onion, and garlic. This ensures that the beef will absorb the flavor of your seasonings during the boiling process. So, by the time your meat is already tender, it is already flavored with a great taste.

Now that you have prepared the meat for boiling, slow cook for two hours. Check every once in a while to see the water level. You need to be careful at this stage. If you forget to monitor your bulalo, you’ll end up getting a charred and bitter bulalo soup. We don’t want that. So add water as necessary.

After around 2 hours, check the meat if it is already tender. If yes, put the husked corn until it is cooked. This usually takes 5-10 minutes depending on the size of your sliced corn.

Add salt, peppercorn, and fish sauce. Taste and see if it meets your preference. You can then add pechay and spring onion. Wait for two minutes and your bulalo is ready to serve.

As you can see, cooking bulalo is super easy. Perhaps, the most difficult part of the process is waiting for the meat to get tender. As this might be the case, once you tasted your delicious bulalo, you’ll be able to say, “The wait is worth it.”

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Chicken Inasal

Chicken inasal is not just special because of its charred, sweet, and delicious taste, but it is a perfect way to create fond memories with friends and families. 

You see, traditionally, chicken inasal is cooked outside of the house. Because it takes a while for it to cook, friends and family members gather together as they cook and wait for the chicken to be ready.

So, it’s like having a backyard barbecue party. The “inasal cooking moment” serves as a great time to bond, catch up with friends, and stay close as a family.

Here are the ingredients you need to cook chicken inasal:

• 2 lbs of chicken cut into serving pieces
• Large bowl or freezer bag
• 2 tablespoons of minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
• 3/4 cup chopped lemongrass
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup coconut vinegar
• ½ cup calamansi or lemon juice
• 1 cup lemon soda soft drink
• ½ tablespoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons annatto oil or asuete oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon or calamansi juice (for basting sauce)
• ½ cup softened margarine

Get the sliced chicken and put it inside the large bowl and freezer bag. Add the lemongrass, ground black pepper, salt, garlic, ginger, vinegar, brown sugar, lemon juice, and lemon-lime soda. Shake or stir well so that all the ingredients would mix together.

The mixture you just made is the marinade. You can put the mixture inside the refrigerator and wait for 1 to 3 hours. However, some Filipinos, they wait overnight for more flavor to sip inside the chicken meat.

You would also need to prepare basting sauce, which would further improve the savory taste of your chicken inasal.

Prepare basting sauce by combining annatto oil, lemon juice, margarine, and salt. Stir well and reserve for later.

Time to grill the chicken. Be sure to use the right heat intensity so that you won’t char your chicken too much. It should be weak enough that your chicken won’t get too toasted, but strong enough for you to cook your chicken completely. Don’t worry; while you’re grilling, you should be able to know whether you’re using too much heat or not.

While grilling, generously brush your basting sauce on the chicken.

Once cooked, you can transfer the grilled chicken to a serving plate. If you have sinamak (spiced vinegar), you can use it as a condiment to further enrich the flavor and enjoy your food. To add more Filipino spark to your chicken inasal, you can try to eat barehand!

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Bistek Tagalog

If you are looking for that one exciting and interesting Filipino dish, you won’t go wrong with Bistek Tagalog or as some Pinoys fondly call it, beefsteak (Filipino beef steak). You would love how the salty taste of Bistek Tagalog blends with the softness of warm rice or garlic fried rice. Before you know it, you are left wanting more.

The best thing about Bistek is that you don’t need a lot of ingredients. It’s a simple recipe that everyone can do.

Here are the ingredients that you need:

• 1 ½ lb thinly sliced beef sirloin
• 4 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 5 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 3 minced cloves of garlic
• 3 yellow onion sliced into rings
• ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper (you can use more as desired)
• 1 cup of water
• 1 pinch of salt
• 4 pieces calamansi

The first thing you need to do is marinate the beef. You can use a bowl where you can mix the beef, soy sauce, ground black pepper, and calamansi. Let it stay for at least 1 hour. For a better result, you can marinate overnight.

Once you have your marinated beef, you can then proceed and cook it in a pan. You simply need to add cooking oil into the pan and heat it until it boils. Add the onions, fry for a few seconds to minutes until they become soft. Take out the onions and set them aside for now.

Get your beef, remove the marinade but don’t throw. We will use the marinade later. 

Check your pan and use the same oil, which you used to pan-fry your onion. Pan-fry the beef for about 1 minute per side. Remove the beef from the pan and set it aside for later.

By this time, there might be little oil left. Add more oil as needed. Add the garlic and remaining raw onions. Saute the mixture until the garlic turns golden brown and the onion softens.

Now, pour the marinade we had reserved earlier. Add water as well. Once it is boiling, add the beef. Simmer the meat, cover the pan, and wait until the beef is soft and tender. Depending on how much sauce you prefer, you can add more water. Of course, the less water you add, the richer and thicker your sauce would be.

You can now season your Filipino version of bistek with salt and ground black pepper. Add the onion you have pan-fried earlier. Transfer to your serving plate and you’re ready to enjoy this wonderful Filipino meat dish.

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Enjoy your Filipino meat dishes

We have just shared with you some of the most popular Filipino dishes. As you can see, just reading through our list might have already made you excited. Try out some of the dishes featured here and we are sure you’ll have a memorable meal.

So, go ahead. Enjoy the Filipino food and share it with your friends!