The Top 10 Best Filipino Breakfasts You Must Try
Wake up next to an attractive Pinay girl after a night of debauchery, and you both need something wholesome and nutritious to keep you going.
Filipinos enjoy a variety of low/high protein Filipino breakfasts. Which breakfast foods must you try first?
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The most common breakfast dishes eaten throughout the Philippines are Torta, Tocino, Silog, Tapsilog, Lugaw, Chicken Arroz Caldo, Champorado, Kalamay, Hotsilog, and Tosilog. High-fat breakfasts to avoid are Porksilog (Pork Chop), Pork Tocino, Pork Torta, and Chicken Arroz Caldo.
This is the second part of our series in knowing your way around Filipino food and drinks. Check out 'Popular Pinay Girlfriend Drinks.'
Starting a new day with your new Pinay girl will be an everyday experience now that you're in the Philippines. You both need to power through the up-and-coming day's activities. And prep for your night-time energy expenditure too.
Take your Filipina girl out for a hearty Filipino breakfast.
All South-East Asian women love good food.
Now is the time to study up on the local dishes and order for yourself.
Here are our Top 10 Filipino breakfast choices to power up your Filipino girlfriend:-
Torta - a very popular Filipino breakfast
'Torta' is the term used for an omelet in the Philippines.
A Filipino torta is perfect for a quick Filipino breakfast and remains the No #1 breakfast.
This exquisite omelet has a filling of ground meats and vegetables, including diced potatoes. We recommend you also pair a torta with banana ketchup (sauce).
It is also referred to as 'tortang giniling' (giniling = ground) since it has ground pork or beef.
An eggplant-based torta is called 'tortang talong,' and vegetable-based tortas are 'tortang gulay.'
This wholesome Filipino breakfast is an art-form in itself, in the Philippines, though. Filipino people pride themselves on the variety of ingredients and presentation.
Ask your Pinay girl to choose a breakfast restaurant where you're able to select the filling of your torta and prep yourself for the rest of the day.
My torta of choice consists of chopped onions, garlic, beef or pork, extra eggs with sliced green onions, and salt and pepper. So good!
A torta is high in protein and carbohydrates.
Tocino - a Real Filipino Breakfast
Tocino is a sweet-cured meat product native to the Philippines. And traditionally prepared with pork, and occasionally beef or chicken.
Where the real Filipino breakfast begins is the sliced meats infused in different combinations of spices and seasonings. These seasonings include sugar, salt, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, anise wine, pineapple, or orange juice.
The typical Filipina girl's breakfast consists of a pork Tocino with salted duck egg, chopped plum tomato, and rice. She loves this sweet dish due to its low-calorie count while still getting a healthy protein boost.
Remember to try all the varieties; pork, beef, or chicken variations of Tocino are available.
Silog
Silog refers to a group of Filipino breakfast dishes.
Silog is an abbreviation for sinangang at itlog, meaning fried garlic rice and eggs.
The various varieties of silog include sliced meat (tapa), longganisa sausages, tocino bacon, bangus milkfish belly, chorizo, hot dogs, pork chops, Spam, fried chicken, dried danggit (also known as rabbitfish), and beefsteak.
Silog breakfasts are quick for any restaurant or street stall to prepare. It's only a matter of having fried garlic rice on hand and combine it fried (or boiled) eggs with any of the meats or fish described above.
Types of 'Silog' you will find well-known around the Philippines include:-
| Silog Variety | Ingredient Components |
|---|---|
| Adosilog | adobo, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Bacsilog or baconsilog | bacon, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Bisteksilog | beef steak, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Daingsilog | daing na isda (dried fish), fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Bangsilog | dried (daing) or marinated bangus (milkfish), fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Dangsilog | daing na danggit (dried rabbitfish), fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Chiksilog or noksilog | fried chicken (piniritong manok or pritong manok), fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Chosilog | chorizo, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Cornsilog | corned beef, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Hotsilog | hotdog, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Litsilog or lechonsilog | lechon or lechon kawali, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Longsilog | longganisa, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Masilog or malingsilog | Ma-Ling brand Chinese luncheon meat, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Porksilog | pork chop, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Sisilog | sisig, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| Spamsilog | Spam brand luncheon meat, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
| or tocilog | tocino, fried rice, and a fried egg. |
Tapsilog
Tapsilog receives special mention in the 'Silog breakfast dishes' family.
Nowadays, tapsilog is on the menus of many Filipino fast-food chains and eateries.
A plate of tapsilog consists of sliced beef jerky (known as tapa), a heap of garlic rice, and a fried egg. This dish fills Filipino workers' needs searching for a quick, cheap, and nutritious Filipino breakfast.
In the Philippines, a restaurant that primarily serves tapa is called a tapahan, tapsihan, or tapsilugan.
The most popular tapa is cured beef, but there are versions made of carabao beef, horse meat, and even fish.
Hint: The most famous Manila tapsilogs restaurant is Rodic's Diner - tell them PinayRomances sent you and get a unique treat.
Lugaw
Lugaw is a Filipino breakfast rice porridge or congee.
Rice porridge doesn't sound like an exciting breakfast, but it's cooked in broth. A perfect way for Filipinos to extend a bunch of frozen chicken bones into another hearty meal.
Typically, the Lugaw you buy at street vendors has been simmered in broth for a few hours.
Street vendors simmer their Lugaw for a few hours. The mushy rice absorbs all the nutrients from the bones to the cooking liquid and then infused into the rice.
The bones, lemongrass, pandan leaves, and ginger slices are removed from the mixture when the rice grains turn soft. A serving of Lugaw has sliced spring onion, small red pepper/chili, and a dash of garlic chips sprinkled on top. I prefer toppings of garlic chips, sliced hard-boiled eggs, and calamansi.
Lugaw is quite a delicious Filipino breakfast.
Chicken Arroz Caldo
Arroz Caldo is a Spanish variant of Lugaw.
When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, they gave the traditional Lugaw a more Spanish characteristic. They infused the natural Filipino rice porridge with ginger and chicken pieces.
Chicken Arroz Caldo is best when topped with hard-boiled eggs, chopped scallions, and toasted or roasted garlic.
You'll find upmarket restaurants add a dash of Spanish saffron, which will give your Arroz Caldo extra flavor and a distinct yellowish color.
This dish is especially popular with your Filipina girl if the weather has turned chilly. Arroz Caldo is a flavorful way to start your day.
Champorado
Do you like chocolate?
Only the inventive Filipinos can turn chocolate into a range of delicious Filipino breakfasts.
Champorado is a sweet chocolate rice porridge using sweet glutinous rice (sticky rice) and cocoa powder as the main ingredients. The traditional component is tableya (pure cocoa blocks) instead of cocoa powder.
This porridge can be served hot or cold and, surprisingly, is best when complemented with Tuyo (salted, dried fish). Yes, chocolate and salted, dried fish! The salty fish offsets any sweetness of the porridge.
A word of warning, though: while chocolate is the main ingredient, it's not very sweet. The mixture shows the complexities of dark chocolate. Most of the sweetness comes from the milk drizzled on top.
If you aren't up to start champorado with dried fish, you should opt for pan de sal (Filipino bread rolls). Many Filipinas prefer pan de sal, so you won't be alone in choosing bread rolls.
Varieties of Champorado also use red rice, brown rice, and even oatmeal.
Kalamay
Kalamay has the components of coconut milk, brown sugar, and ground glutinous rice.
For interest's sake, the process involves boiling glutinous rice and coconut milk, grounding it to a paste, mix in brown sugar, and then cooking until the desired consistency.
Varieties of Kalamay differ from region to region in the Philippines, with ingredients and serving styles.
You eat Kalamay as a sweet snack or a nutritious breakfast. However, kalamay is also a sweetener in various Filipino desserts and beverages.
Variations are:-
| Kalamay Types | Variation Description |
|---|---|
| Antipolo kalamay | is traditionally served as a flat disk on banana leaves, topped with latik curds. |
| Bohol kalamay | is distinctive for being sold inside halved smooth coconut shells (the mesocarp of coconuts, locally known as bagol or paya). |
| Baguio Kalamay | is sweetened with molasses and uniquely packed into halved pitogo (Sago Palm of the genus Cycas) shells and sealed with red crepe paper. |
| Iloilo kalamay | is thicker in consistency than other types of kalamay. |
| Candon kalamay | is sold wrapped in banana leaves or coconut shells. Candon City also celebrates a Kalamay Festival. |
| Nilubyan or iniruban | is a kind of kalamay made from pounded green rice. This variation originates from Camiling, Tarlac in the Northern Philippines. |
| Mindoro kalamay | usually contains grated coconut and peanut butter or vanilla. |
| Indang kalamay | is a sweet delicacy of sticky rice, brown sugar, and coconut milk. This variety is from glutinous pulverized rice mixed with coconut milk and panutsa (native jaggery). |
| Ube kalamay | is a Filipino 'kakanin' (or rice cake) made from grated purple yam (known as 'ube'). |
| Kalamay hati | is a sticky Filipino rice cake made from glutinous rice flour, muscovado sugar, and coconut cream and is usually eaten for breakfast with coffee. |
Hotsilog
Hotsilog is a cheap popular silog variety - 3 cooked hotdog sausages with fresh fried garlic rice and a fried egg.
Hotsilog is a commonly eaten Filipino breakfast in a local Philippines household with a condiment of banana ketchup and some pickled shredded papaya (atchara) on the side.
The juicy red-colored hotdogs are the most common type of hotdogs sold in the Philippines.
Ingredients:-
- Three pieces red hotdogs
- Two eggs
- One cup garlic fried rice
- One medium sliced tomato
- 3/4 cup water
- Six tablespoons cooking oil
Easy to cook from start to finish in 25 minutes. But a hotsilog breakfast is more convenient to buy from any street vendor, food stall or restaurant, in the Philippines.
Tosilog
Tosilog is a combination Philippines breakfast of tocino (cured pork), sinangag (Filipino garlic fried rice), and a sunny-side-up egg.
It's best to eat Tosilog with a spicy vinegar dip on the side.
The name of the dish contains all three components: tocino (to), sinangag fried rice (si), and itlog fried eggs (log).
If you want to avoid fatty, fried foods in your breakfast choice, avoid this one. I love the rich tocino flavor.
Breakfast Nutrition Facts
| Calories | Carbohydrates | Protein | Fat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pork Torta | 291kcal | 5g | 24g | 19g |
| Pork Tocino | 368kcal | 10g | 22g | 23g |
| Tapsilog (Sliced Meat) | 364kcal | 50g | 20g | 7g |
| Porksilog (Pork Chop) | 400kcal | 17g | 25g | 26g |
| Spamsilog (Spam Meat) | 380kcal | 84g | 6g | 3g |
| Lugaw Plain | 138kcal | 28g | 1g | 1g |
| Chicken Arroz Caldo | 294kcal | 14g | 14g | 19g |
| Champorado | 292kcal | 68g | 5g | 1g |
| Ube Kalamay | 132kcal | 18g | 1g | 6g |
| Tosilog | 447kcal | 35g | 34g | 15g |
* values change with additional ingredients
Closing
As you can see, garlic fried rice and fried eggs are central components in many Filipino breakfast dishes. The Filipino people add in cheap cuts of different meats, fish, and condiments, for a wide variety.
Your Filipina girlfriend regularly enjoys all of the above breakfasts too. You will be wise to take her lead on recommendations and the places to try them when you're in the Philippines.
And since Filipino girls are great cooks, ask her to make you breakfast. She'll jump at the chance to please you with her cooking prowess.
FAQ
What are the high-calorie Filipino breakfasts in the Philippines?
- Tosilog at 447kcal
- Porksilog (Pork Chop) at 400kcal
- Spamsilog (Spam Meat) at 380kcal
- Tapsilog (Sliced Meat) at 364kcal
What are low-calorie breakfasts enjoyed by local Filipinos?
- Ube Kalamay at 132kcal
- Lugaw Plain at 138kcal
- Champorado at 292kcal
- Chicken Arroz Caldo at 294kcal
What are low-fat breakfasts in the Philippines?
- Lugaw Plain with 1g fat
- Champorado with 1g fat
- Spamsilog (Spam Meat) with 3g fat
- Ube Kalamay with 6g fat
What are high-protein Filipino breakfasts in the Philippines?
- Tosilog has 34g of protein
- Porksilog (Pork Chop) has 25g of protein
- Pork Torta has 24g of protein
- Pork Tocino has 22g of protein
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