This page provides a list
of Filipino cuisine/food glossary, based on Doreen G. Fernandez's Palayok: Philippine Food Time, On Site, in the Pot.
Manila: Bookmark Inc., 2000.
Some definitions were expanded and/or modified. Terms in italics are
the corresponding scientific names of plants, fruits, vegetables, fish, animals.
Click on any of the letters on the left-side frame if you know the beginning letter of the
cuisine/food terms in Tagalog/Filipino and you will be linked to the appropriate
table.
| achuete,
atswete |
bixa
orellana, annato seed; also called lipstick plant |
| adobo |
a dish of
meat, seafood or vegetables cooked in vinegar and spices |
| adobado |
cooked in
vinegar and spices |
| agahan |
breakfast |
| agkud |
(Manobo) a
liquor made from rice, corn, cassava or sorghum |
| alak |
the generic
Tagalog term for liquor or wine |
| alibangbang |
bauhinia
malabarica, butterfly-shaped leaves from a tree used for souring |
| alimango |
mud crab |
| alimasag |
blue crab |
| alugbati |
bassela
alba, Ceylon spinach |
| ampalaya |
momordica
charantia, bittermelon or bitter gourd |
| anonas |
annona
reticulata, custard apple, bullock heart |
| apa |
wafer, also
cone for ice cream |
| apahap |
lates
calcarifer, silver sea bass |
| aratiles |
muntingia
calabura, a little cherry-like wild fruit |
| arroz
caldo |
rice gruel
cooked with chicken, often flavored with kasubha |
| atis |
annona
squamosa, sugar apple |
| ayungin |
datnia
plumbea, silver perch |
| babaylan |
high
priest/priestess in the native religion |
| bacalao
(a la Vizcania) |
(Spanish)
salted codfish cooked in the style of Biscayne |
| balbakwa |
in Luzon,
salted fish; in Mindanao, a meat stew |
| bag-o |
(Waray) tuba
newly taken from the coconut |
| bagoong |
salted,
fermented fish or shrimp paste/sauce |
| bahal,
bahalina |
fermented
tuba weeks, months, or years old |
| bakuli |
ophicephalus
striatus, murray fingerling |
| balangay |
balanghay, a sailboat with 12-16 rowers |
| balimbing |
averrhoa
carmbola, star fruit, carambola |
balut
balut sa puti |
a fertilized
duck's egg 16-19 days old, balut sa puti is still wrapped in white membrane and thus literally
"wrapped in white", which is what the phrase means |
| banak |
family
magulidae, mullet |
| bangus 
|
chanos
chanos, milk fish |
| baon |
a food
package from home taken to work or school |
| barilis |
(Davao
Bisayan) neothunnus macropterus, yellowfin tuna |
| batsoy |
a dish of
pork internal organs in broth |
| batuan |
garcinia
morella, a small sour green fruit with a large seed |
| baya |
high-grade
rice wine (tapuy) from the Cordillera |
| bayabas |
psidium
guajava, guava |
| baye-baye |
(Ilonggo) a
snack made of pinipig (young rice, pounded) and young coconut |
| bayawak |
monitor
lizard |
| beche-de-mer |
(French) sea
slug, trepang, sea cucumber |
| betute
|
(Pampango) a
dish of stuffed frog |
| bia,
biya |
family
gobiidae, goby |
| bibingka |
a rice cake
often garnished with salted eggs and carabao (water buffalo) milk cheese |
| bignay |
antidesma
bunius, Chinese laurel |
| binubudan |
(Ilokano)
yeast for rice wine |
| binuro |
(Ilonggo)
fish salted in layers |
| bodbod |
(Cebuano)
glutinous rice cooked iwth coconut milk and wrapped in banana leaf |
| brazo
de mercedes |
a meringue
roll with an egg filling |
| buan-buan |
megalops
cyprinoides, tarpon |
| bukayo |
a sweet made
from mature coconut |
| bulalo |
kneecap; a
dish of this and other beef bones and meats boiled with vegetables |
| bulalohan |
the eateries
that offer boiled bulalo |
| buñuelos
de viento |
(Spanish)
wind puff, a pastry served with syrup |
| burong
isda |
fish
fermented with rice |
| buwad |
(Cebuano)
dried salted fish |
| cadera |
(Spanish)
sirloin |
| caldero |
(Spanish)
cooking pot |
| caldereta |
(Spanish)
goat stew |
| callos con
garbanzos |
(Spanish)
tripe cooked with chick peas |
| camachille |
pithecellobium
dulce, kamachille, Madras thorn fruit |
| camaron
rebozado |
(Spanish)
batter-fried shrimp, a Chinese dish |
| camote |
ipomoea
batatas, sweet potato |
| canonigo |
(Spanish) a
dessert of meringue with an egg-butter sauce |
| carajay |
a native
frying pan with a rounded bottom, a wok |
| carinderia,
karinderia |
a low-priced
eating place, often at roadsides or markets |
| champurrado |
a dish of
rice cooked with chocolate |
| chicharron |
crackling
made from pork, beef, or carabao skin |
| chico 
|
manilkara
zapote, a brown sweet fruit with black seeds |
| chorizo |
(Spanish)
sausage |
| churros |
(Spanish)
fluted breakfast crullers usually taken with chocolate |
| cocido |
(Spanish) a
stew of mixed meats, sausages, and vegetables |
| dahon bawang |
the leaves
of the garlic plant, allium sativum |
| daing |
fish split
open, salted, and dried |
| dalag |
ophicephalus
striatus, murrel |
| dayap |
citrus
aurantifolia, lime |
| de recado |
(Spanish)
spiced; in the Philippines, it refers to spicy sausages |
| dikin |
the woven
rattan ring on which the round-bottomed palayok is set to stand |
| dilao, dilaw |
curcuma
domestica, turmeric |
| dinuguan at
puto |
a dish of
blood stew with steamed rice cakes |
| duhat |
syzygium
kumini, Java plum |
| dulang |
a low table,
formerly for dining |
| durian |
durio
zybethinus, a fruit with a strong smell |
| kadyos |
cadjanus
cadjan, pigeon pea |
| kaimito,
caimito |
chrusophillum
caimito, star apple |
| kakang gata |
coconut
cream |
| kakanin |
snacks,
light cakes, usually made of rice |
| kalamansi
|
citrus
madurensis, a small lime indigenous to the Philippines; also called Chinese orange,
Panama orange |
| kalan |
a clay
stove for wood or charcoal fuel |
| kalkag |
(Ilonggo)
tiny shrimps, lightly salted and dried |
| kamachille |
see
camachille |
| kamaru |
(Pampango)
mole cricket |
| kamayan |
eating with
hands instead of Western utensils (see comic strip below) |
LOVEKNOTS
mula sa Philippine Daily Inquirer Internet Edition,
25 September 2001
|
| kamias |
averrhoa
bijimbi, a small acidic fruit |
| kanduli |
family
ariidae, sea catfish |
| kangkong |
ipomoea
aquatica, swamp cabbage, also called potato vine |
| kaong |
the fruit
of a sugar palm |
| kari |
pre-cooked
food |
| kari-kari |
a stew of
ox tail/feet/tripe with vegetables and a sauce thickened with ground roasted peanuts and
rice |
| karihan |
an eatery
selling pre-cooked food |
| karinderia |
an eatery
selling pre-cooked food |
| kasim |
lean pork,
picnic |
| kasubha |
the dried
stigmas of a plant, used for coloring and flavoring food; a kind of saffron |
| kasuy |
anacardium
occidentale, cashew |
| katuray |
sesbania
grandiflora, a white flower used in salads |
| kawa |
a vat used
for cooking large amounts of food |
| kesong puti |
literally
"white cheese", a cottage cheese made of carabao's (water buffalo) milk |
| kinchay |
apium
graveolens, Chinese celery |
| kinilaw |
a dish of
fish, seafood, meat or vegetables dressed with vinegar or lime juice, but not cooked over
fire |
| kiping |
a rice
wafer used for decoration in Lucban and other towns in Quezon |
| kolis |
pisonia
alba, lettuce tree, also called maluko in Tagalog |
| kulitis |
amarnthus
viridis, slender amaranth |
| kundol |
benicasa
hispida, wax gourd |
| kutsay |
allium
odorum, Chinese chives |
| kutsinta |
a little
cake made of steamed mixture of sugar, rice, lye |
| lagundi |
vitex
negundo, a medicinal plant |
| laksoy |
liquor
distilled form the sap of a nipa palm |
| lakub |
the bamboo
tube attacked to the coconut bud to catch the sap for tuba |
| lambanog |
liquor
distilled from the sap of coconut palm |
| langkawas |
galingale,
galenggal |
| lanzones |
lansium
domesticum, a small fruit that grows in bunches, with translucent flesh in segments
enclosing seeds |
| lapu-lapu |
family
serranidae, grouper |
| laswa |
(Ilonggo) a
dish of mixed leafy, pod and fruit vegetables steamed with bagoong and dried shrimps |
| lawot-lawot |
(Waray) a
dish of mixed leafy, pod, and fruit vegetables |
| leche flan |
(Spanish)
milk custard; creme caramel |
| lechon,
letson |
(Spanish)
pig; in the Philippines, split-roasted pig |
| lechon manok |
chicken
roasted on a split |
| lengua
estofada |
(Spanish)
stewed ox tongue |
| liempo |
pork belly |
| lina |
(Ilonggo)
newly-gathered tuba |
| lomi |
wide noodles
in broth |
| lomo |
(Spanish)
beef loin |
| longaniza |
(Spanish)
long sausage |
| lugaw |
rice
porridge or gruel |
| lumpia |
Chinese-style
eggroll; meat and/or vegetables wrapped in thin crepe |
| macapuno |
sport
coconut |
| mameng,
maming |
family
labridae, wrasse |
| mami |
a dish of
noodles, chicken or beef, and broth |
| manamis-namis |
(adjective)
mildly sweet, not the sweetness of sugar but of freshness |
| marang |
artocarpus
odoratissima, a large aromatic fruit containing segements each enclosing a seed |
| mazapan |
(Spanish)
marzipan |
| mechado |
(Spanish)
beef cooked with pork lardoons |
| menudo |
a stew dish
of diced pork, chicken, sausage, potatoes, carrots, peas, and tomato sauce usually eaten
with rice on the side |
| merienda |
a
mid-afternoon snack |
| merienda-cena |
a late
afternoon meal; an early supper or dinner |
| minoron |
a snack of
glutinous rice cooked with a streak of chocolate |
| miso |
soybean cake
or mash |
| mole |
(Spanish) a
Mexican dish of chicken cooked with peanuts |
| morisqueta
tostada |
(Spanish)
rice fried with vegetables and other condiments |
| munggo |
phaseolus
aureus, green mung bean |
| musang |
civet cat |
| mustasa |
brassica
juncea v. integrifola, mustard greens |
| paella |
(Spanish) a
dish of rice cooked with meats and/or seafood and vegetables |
| pahiyas |
the feast of
San Isidro Labrador on May 15, celebrated in Lucban, Quezon by decorating the houses with
food. In Madrid, Spain, the same feast is celebrated on the same day, and San Isidro
Labrador is also the patron saint of Madrid. |
| pako |
arthyrium
esculentum, edible fern |
| paksiw |
a dish
cooked in vinegar and garlic |
| paksiw na
pata |
pork
trotters cooked in vinegar |
| palay |
unhusked
rice |
| palayok |
a
round-bottomed clay pot |
| palitaw |
small cakes
made from glutinous rice |
| pan de sal,
de limon, de coco, de leche, americano |
(Spanish)
bread respectively with salt, lemon, coconut, and milk; sliced loaf bread |
| pandan |
pandanus
odoratissimus, screw pine |
| panga |
literally
jaw; the jaw of yellowfin tuna |
| panghimagas |
dessert; a
sweet taken after meals |
| pancit,
pansit |
a dish of
noodles and shrimps, fish, meat, or vegetables, with many variations, e.g., luglog
(shaken in hot water, flavored with sauce), molo (with pork-filled
wontons and broth), Malabon (with shrimps, oysters, and squid), habhab
(eaten off a banana leaf), Canton (with egg noodles), bihon (with rice
noodles), buko (with coconut strips instead of noodles) |
| pansit-pansitan |
peperomia
pellucida, a scculent herb, the leaves of which have medicinal properties |
| pantulak,
panulak |
literally
"for pushing"; refers to drinks, which "push" the pulutan down |
| pasalubong |
a gift
brought home from a trip |
| pastel de
pollo |
(Spanish) a
chicken pie; a dish of chicken with crust |
| pastillas |
(Spanish)
pastilles; usually pastillas de leche, sweets made of milk |
| pata tim |
a Chinese
dish of stewed pork leg |
| patis |
fish sauce |
| patola |
luffa
cylindrica, sponge gourd |
| patupat |
(Ilokano) a
rice cake wrapped in banana leaf |
| pavo
embuchado |
(Spanish)
stuffed turkey |
pesa
pesang manok |
a dish of
fish or chicken cooked with vegetables, often served with a miso sauce |
| pescado en
salsa agrio-dulce |
(Spanish)
fish in a sweet and sour sauce |
| petsay |
brassica
chinesis, pakchoy, bokchoy |
| pili |
canarium
ovatum, a hard nut indigenous to the Philippines, with an oil-rich kernel |
| pinya, piña |
pineapple |
| pimientos
morrones |
(Spanish)
red bell peppers |
| pinais |
a dish
native to Quezon province, of shrimps and coconut wrapped in banana leaf and steamed in
coconut water |
| pinakbet |
a dish of
Ilokano origin, of ampalaya, okra, eggplants, and tomatoes steamed with fish bagoong |
| pinamalhan |
(Ilonggo)
fish cooked in vinegar, which is allowed to evaporate |
| pinapaitan |
(Ilokano) a
dish of goat meat with goat bile |
| pinaupong
manok |
chicken
steamed in a bed of salt |
| pochero |
(Spanish) a
stew of mixed meats, sausages and vegetables with tomatoes |
| polvoron |
a sweet of
powdery texture made of powdered milk and sugar |
| postre |
(Spanish)
dessert |
| puchero |
a native
stew of meat, sausage and vegetables with an eggplant relish |
| pulutan |
any cooked
dish (meat, chicken, pork, seafood) taken with beer, wine, liquor during a drinking
session; could also be nuts; a pulutuan is similar to Spanish tapas-tapas |
| punta y
pecho |
(Spanish)
beef brisket |
| pusu |
rice cooked
in a fist-sized woven-leaf basket; "travelling" or "hanging" rice |
| puto |
steamed rice
cake |
| puto bumbong |
a
cylindrical cake of violet rice (pirurutung) steamed upright in a bamboo tube |
| sa malamig |
cold drinks
sold at streetside |
| sahog |
the shrimps,
meat, etc. used to flavor vegetables or noodle dish |
| salabat |
ginger
tea/brew |
| saluyot |
corchorus
olitorius, Jew's mallow |
| sangke |
star anise |
| santol |
sandoricum
koetjape, a fruit with a thick rind and pulp enclosing whitish, furry seeds,
sour-sweet in taste |
| sapin-sapin |
a rice sweet
of blanc-mange consistency, made of several layers, usually of different colors |
| sarten |
(Spanish)
frying pan |
| sawa |
snake;
python or boa constrictor |
| sayote |
sechium
edule, chayote, mirliton pear |
| shawarma |
a Middle
Eastern snack of sliced meat (beef, lamb, chicken) and condiments served with pita bread |
| sili |
capsicum
annuum, chili |
| sinalok |
(Cebuano)
a steamed corned cake eaten with kinilaw |
| sinampalukang
manok |
chicken
cooked with tamarind leaves and sprouts |
| sinangag |
garlic-fried
rice |
| sineguelas,
sinegwelas |
spondias
purpurea, Spanish plum |
| sinigang |
a stew of
meat/fish/seafood and vegetables in a sour broth |
| singkamas |
pachyrrhizus
erosus, yambean |
| solasi,
sulasi |
ocimum
sanctum, holy basil |
| solomillo |
(Spanish)
tenderloin |
| sotanghon
guisado |
mungbean
noodles sauteed with meats and vegetables |
| suam |
soups and
dishes made of rice water |
| suha |
citrus
grandis, pomelo |
| suki |
a vendor
from whom one buys regularly; also a regular customer |
| sugpo |
prawn |
| suman |
a rice cake
from glutinous rice, often wrapped in palm or banana leaves |
| tabon-tabon |
hydrophytune
orbiculatum, a fruit, the juice of which is used in kinilaw, and for
finishing baskets |
| tagay,
tagayan, tagatagayan, tagay-tagay |
the measure,
the practice, and the one in charge of drinking at a drinking session |
| taho |
a drink made
of soybean curd and syrup |
| tahuri |
soy bean
cake |
| talbos |
the
young sprouts or tendrils of squash, camote or sayote
plants |
| tamales |
a rice cake
flavored with peanuts, pork, eggs, etc. and wrapped in banana leaves |
| tanghalian |
the noon
meal; lunch |
| tanglad |
cymbopogon
citratus, lemon grass |
| tapa |
slices
or strips of dried meat; tapang usa is dried venison |
| tapey |
(Manobo) the
yeast for making rice wine |
| tapoi |
(Igorot) the
yeast for making rice wine |
| tapuy |
(Igorot)
rice wine |
| tausi, tawsi |
salted
soybeans |
| tilapia |
tilapia
zili, a fast-growing fish |
| tinapa |
smoked fish |
| tinolang
manok |
a dish of
chicked cooked with vegetable (green papaya, chili leaves) and broth |
| tinowa |
(Cebuano) a
dish of fish and vegetables in a lightly soured broth |
| tocino |
(Spanish)
salt pork; in Tagalog or Pampango it is sweet cured pork |
| toge, togue |
mung bean
sprouts |
| tokwa |
firm soy
bean curd, also fried soy bean curd |
| torta de
cangrejo |
(Spanish)
crabmeat cooked with egg |
| torta del
rey |
(Spanish) a
cake of many thin layers |
| tortilla de
patatas |
(Spanish)
potato omelet |
| tuba |
palm toddy |
| tupig |
(Ilocano) a
kind of rice cake wrapped in banana leaves |
| turo-turo |
an
eatery in which the pre-cooked foods are laid out, and chosen by pointing (turo) |
| turon |
a
fried spring roll, either meat, vegetable, or banana; turong
saging (deep fried banana fritter) is usually cooked in oil
with brown sugar and some jackfruit strips, and a typical snack or dessert in the
Philippines |
| turron |
(Spanish)
nougat |
| tuyo |
whole fish,
dried and salted |
