Filipino chicken has become a worldwide phenomenon and although you can create it in a myriad of ways, there is always a running theme to make this dish recognizable.
All Filipino chicken dishes are rich in flavor and include cheap and easy-to-find ingredients.
All of the recipes below are authentic replicas of traditional Filipino meals. Dig in!
1. Tinolang Manok
Tinolang Manok translates to Chicken Tinola. Tinola is a type of Filipino soup normally served as a main meal alongside a bowl of rice.
Many Filipinos consider this soup a comfort dish as the staple ginger flavors create a cozy warmth.
2. Adobong Manok
Adobong Manok translates to Chicken Adobo or Chicken Marinade.
The drum and thighs of a chicken are marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, onions, vinegar, and peppercorn to create a rich and deep flavor.
After a day of marinating the chicken, it is pan-fried to create a deep red color and crispy texture of the skin of this morish dish.
3. Pininyahang Manok
Pininyahang Manok translates to Pineapple Chicken. It is another hot soup but as you may expect from the pineapple name, it has a refreshing sweetness to it.
The overall sauce of this chunky soup is thin, but the flavors are full and delicious.
It takes around an hour to cook this soup and we recommend serving it on a hot day.
4. Chicken Sopas
Chicken Sopas very simply means Chicken Soup. However, the traditional Filipino recipe contains an additional thickness we wouldn’t normally expect.
This thickness comes from evaporated milk.
The rest of this recipe includes some unexpected ingredients such as a hotdog and macaroni, however, the end result is a thick and filling soup that mostly tastes like chicken.
5. Chicken Paella
The Philippines didn’t invent paella however they have added an extra ingredient to the beloved dish which makes it rich and iconically Filipino.
This ingredient is Spanish chorizo.
They go one step further as well, adding flour to your chicken thighs to create an additional crunch on the chicken’s skin.
It’s little details like this that add to the flavor and texture of the meal.
6. Ginataang Manok
As you have probably guessed, Manok is Filipino for chicken. So what does Ginataang mean?
This one word in the Philippines means a whole sentence in English – done with coconut milk.
Ginataang Manok cooks the chicken in a ginger and coconut milk mixture.
It only has 6 ingredients in the recipe and a simple 4 step method making it a simple yet delicious choice for a winter’s day.
7. Sinampalukang Manok
Just as Ginataang means created with coconut milk, Sinampalukang means cooked with tamarind.
Tamarind is a brown fruit that tastes both tangy and sweet. Countries like the Philippines and India use this herb a lot in their meals.
We don’t see it a lot in western countries mostly because they only grow in tropical environments.
Sinampalukang Manok is another soup but the sweet and tangy flavor from the tamarind leaves creates a kick that the other soups lack.
8. Chicken Bicol Express
With a name like Bicol Express, you may not think that this saucy meal sounded like a Filipino dish.
However, this creation is a relatively new phenomenon.
In the 1970s a chef called Celey Kalaw created this dish for a cooking competition.
It became so famous in Manila that Kalaw wanted to give her dish a memorable name.
Her brother then suggested that the Philippine national railway which arrives in Manila sounded perfect.
And that’s how this rich and morish rice dish got its name.
9. Chicken Barbecue In The Filipino Style
Barbecues are a popular cooking method all around the world, but every country has its own twist on this summertime classic.
For the Philippines, this twist comes in the shape of banana ketchup, chili sauce, and calamansi juice.
If you’ve never heard of these ingredients, don’t worry, they are hard to find in western countries.
If you have a local Filipino store, you may be able to locate these unique flavors to create this unbelievably delicious meal.
10. Lechon Manok
Lechon means piglet, but that doesn’t mean you’ll find any pork in this meal. Instead, the reference to a pig indicates something else.
This meal requires you to stuff the chicken with a buffet of flavors.
The stuffing element is why the pig has been referenced and calling it a piglet is making fun of the tiny chicken’s size.
11. Chicken Inasal
Chicken Inasal is another type of barbeque technique. However, instead of including unusual ingredients, this recipe calls for a long marinade time.
The chicken needs to marinade for 1 hour allowing the calamansi juice to seep into every area of the chicken.
Then while it cooks, the chicken is continuously basted with star margarine and astute oil.
12. Arroz Caldo
Arroz Caldo translates to Rice Broth in English and although that might not sound like an exciting meal, this simple and filling soup is perfect for the chilly evening.
Simple ingredients of ginger, fish sauce, garlic, and chicken is all you really need to create this cozy meal.
It’s a low-effort high comfort meal perfect for lazy days.
13. Chicken Asado
Asado means roast, but a roasted Filipino chicken is nothing like the typical Sunday dinners you may already expect.
Instead, this meal coats the chicken in lemon juice or calamansi and soy sauce, with a surprise addition of tomato sauce.
With a recipe list as rich as this, you can expect a mouth-watering experience from every bite.
14. Chicharron Chicken
Chicharron means pork scratchings or crackling. Attach this word to chicken, and the recipe we are about to show you will teach you how to cook chicken skin.
This meal is more of a snack, but it is considered a common guilty pleasure food.
Chicharron Chicken is not a healthy snack but it is a delicious one.
Deep fat frying the skins gives it a delicious crack while the peppercorn and patis coating enhances the flavors.
15. Chicken Lumpiang Shanghai
Lumpiang Shanghai is a type of spring roll. They are often written as lumpiya or lumpia and although they have the well-known and delicious crunch of a typical spring roll, the filling is slightly different.
Along with ground chicken, you can also expect eggs, onions, and carrots. These snacks or sides are morish.
16. Kalderetang Manok
A typical Kalderetang would normally contain goat meat.
This is because the word Kalderetang means cauldron, and cauldrons or large cooking pots were normally used to create stews.
The perfect meat for a stew is a tough one, as tough meat is rarely the tastiest, nor do they cook well in other methods.
The chicken kalderetang, however, doesn’t cling to our past ideas of stews.
Instead the creamy, and rich chicken favorite contains colorful flavors such as tomato sauce and olives.
17. Chicken Sotanghon Soup
Sotanghon is a type of noodle. Some people call it a cellophane noodle, and others call it glass noodle.
Either way the visual of this noodle is thin, stringy, and see-through making it instantly identifiable.
The soup in this recipe is as delicate as the noodle itself, allowing you to slow down with your meal as you appreciate the fine flavors the sotanghon has to offer.
18. Pastel De Pollo
A pastel de pollo is a type of chicken stew with a flakey pie crust. This hearty and tasty comfort food would easily sit well on an English dinner table.
You can either make the crust topping yourself or buy a pre-made frozen version to make your life simpler.
Either way, the creamy sauce of this chicken pie is what makes this meal pop.
19. Chicken Curry
This version of chicken curry is heavily inspired by the ginataang manok recipe mentioned before.
It mixes the standard curry ingredients with classic Filipino ingredients to create a hybrid of the two.
If you want to explore new meals at your table but worry about creating something too exotic, try this recipe to bridge the gap into a new cuisine.
20. Pinoy-Style Buffalo Chicken Wings
Buffalo wings are a typical American style of chicken.
It gets its name not from actual buffalo, but because of the city of the same name found in New York state.
The Pinoy style takes the original buffalo wing creation and adds in classic Filipino ingredients such as calamansi juice and banana ketchup.
In the end, you create the same texture and heat that you would expect from a buffalo chicken wing, but with an added sweetness that reminds you of the Philippines.
21. Nilagang Manok
Nilagang is Filipino for stew. The Nilagang Manok is a subtle and sweet stew that contains potato, bananas, bok choy, and of course, chicken.
Added with fish sauce and chicken broth, this meal has a salty edge to the sweet flavors of bananas. However, most of the meal is soft and delicate.
22. Chicken Potato Salad
This potato salad is a creamy side dish made to be filling and full of depth as chicken, relish, pineapple chunks, and cheese are mixed into the smooth potato.
This combination of flavors may seem unusual to a western dinner, but in the Philippines, this is a classic mixture of sweet and savory.
If you want to take the plunge into Philippine cuisine, make this side for your next meal.
23. Chicken Tocino
Tocino means bacon in Spanish and although there is no pork in this recipe, the flavor is created through a mixture of soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice, and annatto juice.
After marinating the chicken mixture in the fridge for 2 days, you pan-fry the chicken until a caramelized consistency covers the tender meat producing a meal that will make the whole street’s mouth water.
24. Chicken Afritada
Afritada is Spanish for fried and in this recipe we see a unique method to fry your chicken.
First, the ingredients list is filled with a Mediterranean list of delights. From tomato sauce to fish sauce, bell peppers to garlic.
But the real Filipino flavors emerge from the soy sauce and lemon juice combination.
You’ll have to click the link to see the other strange combinations that this recipe provides.
25. Chicken Salpicao
A typical salpicao is often created with sausage meat, at least that is what you would find in a Portuguese dish.
In the Filipino version, beef sirloin is normally used along with Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce.
Chicken can easily be used as a substitute though as it can absorb the flavors of the recipe with ease.
The recipe takes around 40 minutes to create but the method is simple and the overall flavor is divine.
26. Sarciadong Manok
This last dish we want to share with you is a simple one.
The chicken is cooked in a tomato sauce which includes egg, red onion, patis, garlic, and leftover chicken.
Simply add all of the dry ingredients into a pan and try them, once cooked add in your tomato sauce and chicken for a simple, healthy, and delicious meal that you can whip up in less than 30 minutes.
Are there any Filipino chicken skillet recipes in the 35 Delicious Chicken Skillet Recipes article?
Yes, the 35 delicious chicken skillet recipes article does include Filipino chicken skillet recipes. These recipes showcase the delectable flavors of Filipino cuisine combined with the convenience and simplicity of skillet cooking. From savory adobo chicken to flavorful sinigang, these dishes offer a delightful twist to traditional chicken skillet recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
When it comes to Filipino food, many western eaters have questions about the cuisine. Here are some of the common questions we have heard already.
The most popular Filipino dishes are Adobo, Lechon, Sisig, and Inasal.
All of these dishes apart from Sisig have been mentioned above, so you can try out the favorite food of the people.
The reason why we haven’t included Sisig is because it’s a pork dish created using a pig’s face and belly.
Some of the other recipes could easily be substituted with chicken, but Sisig cannot.
The Filipino national dish is the Adobo. This word means sauce or marinade and can be traced back to around 300 B.C.
A classic adobo would contain vinegar, salt, soy sauce, peppercorn, and bay leaves.
A typical Filipino dish will contain a lot of rice topped with fruits and vegetables.
Fish and other seafood are common ingredients in the Philippines islands, while meat isn’t high up on their shopping list.
Summary
Each of these recipes is delicious and contains the heart and soul of Filipino food.
Reading through these recipes you will notice a couple of repeating ingredients like bananas, soy sauce, and pineapple.
These classic ingredients have become synonymous with Filipino cuisine and the unique methods by which the chefs of this land create jaw-dropping food.
26 Filipino Chicken Recipes That Will Make You Drool
Scroll through 26 mouthwatering Filipino Chicken recipes that you’ll love to show off to your friends. Click to find out some interesting facts about these meals.
Ingredients
Directions
- Pick from the list above
- Click the recipe name and visit the website
- Collect the ingredients and cook the food
- Enjoy – don’t forget to leave a review
Recipe Video
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