Dictionary of Food and Drink in Philippines

General Terms and Ingredients

Bread - tinapay

Bread rolls - pan de sal

Butter - mantikilya

Jam - no precise equivalent, though Palaman is used for anything spread on bread

Cheese - keso

Egg - itlog

Salt - asin

Pepper - paminta

Soy sauce- toyo

Sugar - asukal (both white and brown sugar are called Asukal)

Coconut milk - gata. Kakang gata refers to the first extract of grated mature coconut meat

Fermented fish/shrimp paste - Bagoong. Bagoong Isda (made from fish) and Bagoong Alamang (made from tiny shrimps called Alamang). There are other variations of Bagoong using different types/kinds of fish

Fish sauce - Patis

Rice - Bigas (the uncooked grain) or Kanin (cooked rice)

Salted egg - Itlog na Maalat (hard to miss in supermarkets because the egg shells are bright red). Also called Itlog na Pula because the shell is red

Delicious - masarap

Hot (spicy) - Maanghang

Restaurant - Restoran; or Karinderia for a canteen-style place where you choose from dishes placed on the counter; or ihaw-ihaw for a grill restaurant

Breakfast - almusal also called Agahan

Lunch - tanghalian

Dinner / Supper - Hapunan

Fork - tinidor

Glass - baso

Knife - kutsilyo

Plate - plato

Spoon - kutsara

Food preparation

Adobo - adobo-style, stewed in soy sauce and vin-egar, with pepper and garlic

Binuro (Buro ) - covered in salt and cooked slowly, often sealed in leaves or foil

Dinaing (of fish) cut open like a Butterfly and fried or grilled

Ginataan - cooked in coconut milk

Gisa/Ginisa/Gisado - sautéed

inadobo - sautéed in vinegar and soy sauce

Inasinan/Inasnan - salted

Inihaw - grilled over charcoal

Kinilaw - marinated in vinegar and spices

Pinais - wrapped in leaves and steamed

Pinaksiw (of fish) - cooked with vinegar and spices

prito - fried

Relleno - stuffed, often with sausage, egg, Cheese and raisins

sinigang - cooked with tamarind or any souring agent (kamatis, kamias, suka) to make a sour soup or stew

Meat (karne) and poultry

Atay - liver

Puso - Heart (Puso ng Saging is the heart of the banana which we also used as food)

Baboy - pork

Baka- beef

Kambing - goat

Kordero/Karnero - lamb

Lengua - tongue

Manok - chicken

Pata - pig's knuckle (trotters)

Pato - duck

Pugo - quail

Tenga ng Baboy - pig's ears

Balunbalunan - gizzard of chicken

Common dishes

Adobo - chicken and/or pork simmered in soy sauce and vinegar with pepper and garlic

Beef tapa - beef marinated in vinegar, sugar and garlic, then dried in the sun and fried

Bicol Express - fiery dish of pork ribs cooked in coconut milk, soy sauce, vinegar, bagoong and hot chillies

Bistek tagalog - beef tenderloin with calamansi and onion

Bulalo - beef shank in onion broth

dinuguan - pork cubes simmered in pig's blood with garlic, onion and laurel leaves

Ginisang monggo - any combination of pork,vegetables or shrimp sautéed with mung beans

Kaldereta - spicy mutton stew

Kare-Kare - rich oxtail stew with eggplant, peanut and puso ng Saging (see under "Vegetables (gulay )")

Lechon - (de leche) roast whole (suckling) pig, dipped in a liver paste sauce

Longganisa/longganiza - small beef or pork sausages, with a lot of garlic

longsilog- longganisa with garlic rice and fried egg

Mechado - braised beef

Pochero - boiled beef and vegetables

sisig - fried chopped pork, liver and onions

tapsilog - beef tapa with garlic rice and fried egg

Tinola - tangy soup with chicken, papaya and ginger

Tocino- marinated fried pork

tosilog - marinated fried pork with garlic rice and fried egg

daing na Bangus - butterflied milk fish marinated in vinegar and spices, then fried

Gambas - shrimps sautéed in chilli and garlic sauce

Pinaksiw na lapu-lapu - lapu-lapu marinated in vinegar and spices, served cold

Rellenong Bangus - stuffed bangus

escabeche - sweet and sour fried fish with julienned carrots and sweet peppers and pineapple pieces

Common dishes

adobong Kangkong kangkong cooked adobo-style, in vinegar and soy, with lots of garlic

Bicol Express vegetables cooked with coconut milk, soy sauce, vinegar, hot chilli and a dash of bagoong

ginataang ng puso ng Saging banana heart cooked in coconut milk, some-times with shrimp or fish added

laing taro leaves cooked in coconut milk

pechay Chinese cabbage, some-times spelled petsay or pitsay; also known as bok choi or pak choy

pinakbet vegetable stew with bagoong, cooked in broth, often with small pieces of meat added

* Noodles and miscellaneous dishes

kilawing puso ng Saging noodles fried with ground beef or pork and banana heart

lumpia egg rolls, filled with vegetables and sometimes meat

lumpia Ubod egg rolls filled with hearts of palm

mami noodle soup

pancit noodles

pancit bihon thin vermicelli rice noodles with shrimp and vegetable

pancit canton thick rice noodles with shrimp and vegetable

sotanghon thin translucent rice noodles

torta (de cangrejo) (crab) omelette

Fish (isda ) and seafood (lamang dagat)

Alimango - mud crab

Alimasag - blue crab

Bangus - milkfish

galunggong - round scad , also called slang as GG

Hipon - shrimps

Hito - catfish

Lapu-lapu - grouper

panga ng Tuna - tuna jaw

Pusit - squid

Pugita - octopus

Sugpo - prawns

Tahong - mussels

Talaba - oysters

tulya - clams

Tanguingue - popular and affordable sea fish, not unlike Tuna in flavour

Vegetables (gulay)

labong -bamboo shoots

alogbati - red-stemmed plant with heart-shaped leaves, added to salads and stews

ampalaya - bitter melon or bitter gourd, a rough-skinned vegetable used to add a slightly bitter taste to stews; the leaves are used, steamed, in salads, and medicinally

bawang - garlic

camote/kamote - sweet potato

dahon ng Sili - chilli pepper leaves, added to soups and stews

gabi - taro, a versatile root crop whose leaves, stalks and tuber can all be cooked and eaten

kabute - oyster mushroom

kamatis - tomato

kangkong - convolvulus leaves; also called swamp cabbage or water spinach

labanos - white radish, added to soups or in a tangy salad with tomato, vinegar, olive oil and sugar

luya - ginger

monggo - beans mung beans

puso ng Saging - banana heart, the rust-coloured pod that forms on the banana tree and contains the flowers; it's chopped up and added to dishes such as Bicol Express

sibuyas - onion

sili - chillies ; Siling Labuyo - the small fiery variety of chili

sitaw - string beans

talong - eggplant/aubergine

taogue/Toge - beansprouts (pronounced ta-o-gay)

ube - purple yam

upo - winter melon or gourd

Snacks (merienda) and street food

Adidas chicken's feet; named after the sports-shoe manufacturer, they're served on a stick with a choice of sauces for dipping

Arroz caldo rice porridge with chicken

Balut raw, half-formed duck embryo

Camote/Kamote - sweet potato fried with brown sugar, or boiled and served with a pat of butter

Chicharon fried pork skin, served with a vinegar dip

dilis dried anchovies, eaten whole and dipped in vinegar as a bar snack or added to vegetable stews

Ensaimada/Ensaymada - sweet Cheese rolls with margarine drizzeled with sugar as toppings

Fish balls/Squid balls mashed fish or squid blended with wheat flour and deep fried; served on a stick with a sweet , semi-sweet and hot sauces

Goto - rice porridge containing almost anything, including tripe, entrails, ears and pieces of snout; the fried garlic floating on top is delicious and a splash of Calamansi juice adds some tang

Isaw grilled chicken or pig's intestines dyed a funky orange to make even more appetizing; it's served with a cup of vinegar for dipping

lugaw plain rice porridge, traditionally thought of as food for the convalescent; it can be enriched with boiled tripe, green onions, fried garlic and egg

Niagang Mais - steamed corn-on-the-cob

Pugo /Itlog ng Pugo - hard-boiled quail's eggs, sold in packets of fifteen to twenty

Puto - rice muffins, available in a range of funky colours, including yellow, green and baby pink

siopao Chinese buns filled with spicy pork

Sorbetes ice cream ; the term is used mainly of the home-made varieties sold from colourful handcarts

Sumsumon - pig's ear

Taho - mushy confection of mashed bean curd, caramel and tapioca; a popular breakfast on-the-move, it's sold by vendors who carry it in canisters over their shoulders

Tokneneng - hard-boiled balut covered in orange dough and deep-fried while you wait

Binatog - boiled corn kernels with freshly grated coconut and salt traditionally. Some prefers with sugar though

Fruit (Prutas)

atis custard apple

balimbing starfruit (aka carambola)

bayabas guava

buko coconut

calamansi lime

chico sapodilla (roughly the size of an egg with brown skin and sticky, soft flesh)

guayabano soursop (large, oval fruit with knobbly spines outside and fragrant flesh inside)

kaimito star apple (plum -coloured and round, about the size of a tennis ball, with leathery skin and soft white pulp inside)

langka jackfruit

lanzones outside the size and colour of a small potato; inside there's sweet, translucent flesh with a bitter seed

mangga Mango (available in sweet and sour varieties)

mangosteen round, with a shiny dark purple skin and soft white flesh inside

pakwan watermelon

papaya papaya

piña pineapple

saging banana (there are dozens of varieties, from the cooking banana sabo to finger-like senoritas and red-skinned morado)

Desserts

bibingka cake made of ground rice, sugar and coconut milk, baked in a clay stove and served hot with fresh, salted duck's eggs on top

bilo-bilo glutinous rice and small pieces of tapioca in coconut milk

brazos meringues, often with cashew-nut filling

cassava cake sticky, dark cake with a fudge-like consistency

Champorado - chocolate rice pudding made or ordinary rice, bur preferably glutinous rice or Malagkit

Guinatan/Ginatan - assorted fruits pudding cooked in coconut milk and served with lashings of coconut cream for a sweet version. Savory versions are also available made from meat, fish, vegetables

halo-halo sweet concoction made from ice cream, shaved ice, jelly, beans and tinned milk; the name literally means "mix-mix"

Kutsinta brown rice cake with coconut shavings

Leche Flan - caramel custard

Maja blanca - blancmange of corn and coconut cream

Polvoron/Pulboron- sweets made from butter, sugar and toasted flour, pale in colour with a crumbly texture

Puto bumbong - glutinous rice steamed in a bamboo tube, infusing it with a delicate, woody taste; lilac colouring gives it a distinctive purple sheen

Sago at nata de coco Blend of Sago and coconut served cold in a glass

suman sweet and sticky rice cake served inside a banana leaf (siman sa ibus; etc.)

Drinks (Inumin/Samalamig)

merong/walang yelo/asukal with/without ice/sugar

Alak wine (in practice, everyone just says "wine")

Beer - the famous brands are San Miguel and Red Horse

Buko juice - coconut water plain or some with slivers of fresh young coconut

Calamansi juice/soda calamansi juice made into a cold drink by adding soda or a hot one with boiled water and a touch of honey

Chocolate-eh thick hot chocolate

gatas milk

Gin - a popular gin in the Philippines is Ginebra

Juice is juice for us: Any kind of juice in powder form is also available in all supermarkets in the Philipines, we name it, we have it (Pineapple, Guyabano, Mango, Apple, Melon, Watermelon, etc)

Kape - coffee with or without milk

lambanog alcoholic drink made from fermented fruit and available in a range of flavours

Mineral water - filtered water which everyone thought is the cleanest water for drinking

Rum - (the cheap, popular Tanduay has become almost synonymous with rum, so you could just ask for Tanduay and Coke)

Tapuy rice wine

Tsa/Tsaa - tea. Filipinos are never tea-drinkers though except in present time where Iced Teas are already available in pet bottles in every supermarkets

Tubig is water. Usually tap water or water from the tap is enough, but nowadays everyone wants Mineral Water for health purposes

tubo - is sugar care and Tubo juice sugar-cane juice, not so popular , but available in some places.

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