Pilipinas Recipes

Siopao is a soft and fluffy filled bun that is a favorite in Filipino culture. It is a localized term coined after the Chinese dimsum called “bao-zi” .

It literally means “steamed bun” which relates to how it is cooked although there is a baked variety. It is a popular snack sold mostly in Chinese restaurants and sidewalk vendors in the Philippines.

Different varieties of siopao are based on the filling. There is asado filled siopao and bola-bola (meatballs). In this siopao pork asado recipe, we will learn how to prepare the filling and siopao dough and create that soft and white fluffy bun so that you can make your own siopao at home!

Siopao is best served while hot and paired with hot noodle soup like chicken sotanghon soup, pancit lomi, or la paz batchoy after a long tiring day or just any day you want– just like cotton candies that can be made easily with a decent cotton candy machine.

How to make siopao dough:

How to make Siopao Pork Asado Filling:

Did you try this recipe? Let us know what you think!

Pancit, also spelled pansit, are noodles which are introduced in the Philippines by Chinese traders and have since been adopted into local cuisine. The term pancit is derived from the Hokkien “pian i sit” which literally means “convenient food.” During the Spanish Era, the native dish became a popular “takeout food” and women who worked in factories became the first customers of panciteros because they usually did not have time to cook for their families. There are numerous variants and types of pancit and pancit bihon guisado is one of these types.

Pancit bihon guisado is a traditional Filipino noodle dish that uses bihon or thin rice noodles. Guisado is a tagalog word which means “sauteeing”. There is no one recipe for pancit bihon guisado as it is a versatile dish. It is however always prepared with thin rice noodles that are fried with soy sauce, sometimes with fish sauce (patis),meat (either pork or chicken or both), Chinese sausage, seafood and chopped vegetables that is served with citrus such as calamansi. It is usually served during celebrations commonly on birthdays as the pancit represents long life and good health. Other variants of pancit include pancit lomi, a Chinese-inspired egg noodle soup which is served in thick starchy soup, pancit palabok, a moist noodle dish made special by using a special sauce which is really thick and yellow in color, and pancit canton, a type of Lo Mein or tossed noodles.

This pancit bihon guisado recipe uses both chicken and pork. Some chorizo are also added and uses snow peas, also called “chicharo”, instead of green beans as it is much sweeter.

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Crispy Pata has always been treated as one of the beloved pork dish that’s commonly served by Filipinos on special occasions. The process of making one is almost the same as Lechon Kawali, the only difference is the tenderness to be achieved before frying the meat and the broth it’s cooked with. In this recipe the whole pigs leg is to be boiled in flavorful broth with soy sauce in order to achieve a dark crispy rind and juicy meat that will determine a good Crispy Pata.

A whole pig’s leg; Pata or Pangunahan in Filipino, is required for this recipe, It may look easy to prepare this dish but the reason why it’s only made for special occasions is due to the dangers of frying the leg coming from the refrigerator, as the sudden change in the oil temperature will cause serious splattering but will make the skin crispy, so one must be cautious in doing this procedure.

The best way to enjoy Crispy Pata is with a dipping sauce, made by combining some soy sauce with vinegar together with chopped onions and tomatos. It’s also a common practice to accompany it with Atsara; a green papaya salad. Many famous restaurants serve Crispy Pata in their menu as it’s one of the most adored pork entree there is. Boneless Crispy Pata has also become trendy these days that’s often paired with beer.

Quick tips on How to make Crispy Pata

• Make sure that the meat is already very tender at the boiling process, it will ensure that the Pata is moist after frying.
• Be cautious in frying the Pata as it will make a lot of splattering.
• Rubbing the meat first with soy sauce will add color to the Pata when fried.

From time immemorial, Filipinos have celebrated festivities and special occasions with the star of the table; the “Lechon”. It has been said that any happenings without it is incomplete. Through their ingenuity Filipinos found a way to make a Lechon-like dish without using a whole pig, which of course not everyone can get in the olden days. So the idea was to have pig parts, especially the belly where the ratio of skin, fat and meat is perfect for making a crispy and tender Lechon Kawali. No one has really been credited for creating the recipe, but most probably it came from the surrounding areas of Luzon where there has been the tradition of boiling meat before frying.

What is Lechon Kawali

Lechon Kawali is different from Chicharon, Kinupsan and Bagnet, though all this recipes are the crispy validation of how Filipinos know and love their pork. When you bite into the crispy rind and chew the moist and tender meat, it will hit you right in the spot and this is when you will know how beautiful and delicious this dish is. It will always keep you wanting more. Dipping it with coconut vinegar will cut the fattiness of the Lechon or pairing it with sweet and sour sauce will make sure that you’ll have another bite of this scrumptious cuisine. Nowadays in places like Davao City, It’s a favorite beer-match food, enjoyed with any kind of drink or eaten together with Bulalo to prevent hangovers.

Quick tips on How to make Lechon Kawali

• Cooling the meat for an hour or two will make sure that the pork will have a crispy texture when done.
• Seasoning the meat with salt and pepper right before frying will add more flavor to the dish.
• Heating the oil at the right temperature will make sure that the pork will cook thoroughly and even.

Siomai is originally a traditional Chinese dumpling often served as Dim Sum but somehow it has been assimilated by Filipinos as well. A testament to this are the Siomai corner stalls that you can find everywhere, be it in malls, bus stops, night markets and places where you think people might just get hungry and needs to get a quick bite into these moist, hot and flavorful snack. Commonly you can find varieties of it, like beef, shrimp, sharks fin, tuna and many more but the most favored of them all is made with pork.

Popular Siomai that Filipinos regularly buy are the ones coming from Chowking and Master Siomai but this recipe will make good addition to your all-time favorites having the oriental taste that most Filipinos are looking for. Normally cooked through steaming and eaten while it’s still piping hot you can also fry it once it cools down, pair it with Yang Chow Fried Rice or just plain rice and complemented with a chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce and calamansi or a Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce.

Most of the time one might have difficulties in making this dish because of the way you have to wrap the meat mixture into the Wanton wrapper but I hope you will have patience in trying until you get a nice rounded shape that would resemble the store bought ones.

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Quick tips on How to make Siomai

• Brushing the steamer with oil prior to steaming will help with the siomai sticking.
• Refrigerating the filling before wrapping will help bind the meat mixture together and make the wrapping easy.
• Condiments like soy sauce and calamansi will surely boost the taste for a more savory experience.   
• Pairing it with any rice dish will also make it very enjoyable, like Garlic Fried Rice and so on.