11 recipes using rice — Adobo, sinigang, lechon — bold, sour and deeply savoury island cooking.
These 11 filipino rice recipes are ready in about 123 minutes on average, with 420–820 kcal per serving, and 45% are rated easy enough for a weeknight. Every recipe includes exact ingredient quantities, step-by-step instructions and full nutrition per serving.
Filipino cuisine — Adobo, sinigang, lechon — bold, sour and deeply savoury island cooking — brings its own distinctive techniques and seasonings to every ingredient it touches. When Filipino cooks work with rice, they reach for its own regional aromatics, fats and signature spice blends, and the techniques that come up most across these recipes are simmering, boiling, steaming and sautéing.
The everyday grain for half the planet — a neutral base that soaks up the flavours around it, from pilafs to fried rice. In this collection it's most often cooked with garlic, soy sauce, oxtail, annatto powder, onion and fish sauce. The dishes here span filipino classics ready in as little as 30 minutes to slower, more involved cooking that rewards a relaxed afternoon.
Reader favourite: Pancit Bihon is the highest-rated dish in this collection at 4.9★ from 2,640 ratings.
A magnificent Filipino braise of oxtail, tripe, and vegetables in a rich, creamy peanut and annatto sauce, served with the essential fermented shrimp paste (bagoong).
A Filipino adobo with coconut milk — chicken braised in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic, then enriched at the end with creamy coconut milk for a richer, milder version.
A rich Filipino oxtail and peanut sauce stew — slow-braised until meltingly tender in a thick, golden peanut and annatto sauce, served with bagoong shrimp paste on the side.
A celebratory Filipino stew of oxtail and vegetables in a rich, golden peanut sauce, always served with shrimp paste (bagoong) on the side.
A festive Filipino noodle dish — thin rice noodles topped with a golden shrimp-and-pork sauce, crushed chicharon, shrimps, eggs, and spring onions.
Pork belly braised in vinegar, soy, garlic and bay leaves until lacquered and meltingly tender — the Philippines' national dish, refined.
Filipino twice-cooked pork belly — simmered until tender, then deep-fried for blistered crackling skin.
The Philippines' grand fiesta stew — slow-braised oxtail and tripe in a thick golden peanut and toasted-rice sauce, served with bok choy, eggplant, long beans and a side of pungent shrimp paste.
Slow-simmered pork belly in coconut milk, shrimp paste and an arsenal of long green chiles — the Bicol region's fierce, creamy national dish.
The Philippines' beloved hot-weather dessert — shaved ice layered over sweetened beans, jellies, fruit, leche flan, ube ice cream, and a final crown of pinipig.
Filipino stir-fried rice noodles with chicken, shrimp, and vegetables — birthday party essential.
Choose by use: long-grain (basmati, jasmine) for fluffy, separate grains; short-grain for risotto and sushi where stickiness is wanted. Aged basmati cooks longer and fluffier.
Rinse until the water runs clear to wash off surface starch and prevent clumping. The absorption method — a fixed water ratio, lid on, then a 10-minute steam off the heat — gives reliable results.
A gluten-free carbohydrate staple; brown and wild varieties keep the bran for extra fibre, B vitamins and minerals.
Most of these 11 Filipino rice recipes are ready in around 123 minutes from start to finish. The quickest, Filipino Halo-Halo (Mixed Shaved Ice Dessert), takes about 30 minutes, while the slower-cooked dishes run up to 270 minutes.
Across this collection they range from about 420 to 820 kcal per serving, averaging 590 kcal — Pancit Bihon is the lightest option at 420 kcal.
Adobong Manok sa Gata is a great place to start — it's rated easy and comes together in about 60 minutes. 45% of the recipes here are beginner-friendly.
In these recipes, rice is most often paired with garlic, soy sauce, oxtail, annatto powder, onion and fish sauce. Filipino kitchens also lean on its own regional aromatics, fats and signature spice blends.