The Noche Buena Feast: A Culinary Extravaganza
The Noche Buena table is a reflection of Filipino ingenuity and adaptability, combining traditional Filipino dishes with Spanish and Western influences. Here are some of the most iconic items you’ll find during the celebration:
- Hamón and Queso de Bola: A nod to Spanish influence, these two staples are a must. Hamón (Filipino-style sweet ham) and queso de bola (edam cheese wrapped in red wax) pair beautifully, symbolizing prosperity and indulgence during the holiday season.
- Pasta and Noodles: Dishes like spaghetti or pancit canton are often served, representing wishes for long life and good health. The Filipino spaghetti, a sweet and savory dish, is especially popular among children.
- Kakanin (Rice Cakes): No Filipino celebration is complete without kakanin, such as bibingka and puto bumbong, steamed or baked rice cakes that are often topped with salted egg, cheese, or coconut.
- Fruit Salad and Desserts: For a sweet ending to the meal, families serve fruit salad, leche flan, or cakes. These desserts add a festive and colorful touch to the celebration.
The 15 Best Filipino Christmas Dishes
1. Lechon
Regardless of where in the world you’re hosting Noche Buena, the menu will include lechon, a crispy roasted pork belly. This Filipino Christmas food is one of the most popular dishes in the country and is also often served during birthday celebrations.
The pig is traditionally cooked on a rotating spit for several hours until it is perfectly golden and crispy. Depending on where you are in the Philippines, the meat is either seasoned with salt and pepper or stuffed with ingredients like garlic, spring onions, ginger, peppers, chilies, lemongrass and pineapple. Finally, this Filipino Christmas food is served with a dipping sauce, adding an extra layer of flavor.
2. Hamon
It doesn’t matter where in the world you’re celebrating Christmas, having a Christmas ham is a tradition and one that is very special to Noche Buena. Traditionally, Christmas hams have a sweet and sticky glaze, which is also found coating the Filipino Christmas food version.
Hamon (hamonadong baboy) is specifically a ham hock that has been marinated overnight in tangy pineapple juice and soy sauce for a rich flavor. The ham is browned with garlic and onions and flash-fried.
Next, the pork is boiled for a few hours until it's melt-in-your-mouth tender and is finished with a topping of extra sugar and pineapple slices. Traditionally, the ham is served with warm brown or white rice or alongside other Filipino Christmas dishes.
3. Lumpiang Shanghai
While there are many excellent main dishes to try, a menu of Philippines food for Christmas will also feature tasty appetizers and finger foods. One of the most popular of these snacking options is Lumpiang Shanghai, a delicious spring roll-type dish.
Despite the name of this Filipino Christmas food, it did not originate from Shanghai. This Filipino dish is said to have originated within the country and dates back to the 1500s.
This Filipino Christmas food is made by taking a thin egg crêpe wrapper and filling it with ground pork sautéed with onions, garlic, shallots and carrots. Each roll is then fried until crispy. Lumpiang Shanghai are typically served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.
4. Chicken Relleno
Chicken relleno, also known as chicken gallantina, is a popular Filipino Christmas food that you need to add to your holiday cooking repetoire. This Filipino Christmas food is a bird that is deboned except for the limbs. It’s also stuffed with a filling that combines ingredients like ground pork, Vienna sausages, raisins and gherkins.
Additionally, this stuffed chicken features hardboiled eggs in the center of the stuffing. Other alternatives you can add to the stuffing include Chinese sausage, olives and chorizo.
Traditionally, this Filipino Christmas food is served with banana ketchup (a fruit ketchup condiment made from banana, sugar, vinegar and spices) or a rich gravy with steamed rice, mashed potatoes or vegetables.
5. Caldereta
Caldereta (or kaldereta) is one of the coziest Filipino Christmas foods. Said to have been introduced by the Spaniards during their occupation of the country, this meat stew has become a Filipino classic and is seen at various celebrations, with some having their own twist on the recipe.
Typically, the dish features goat, but beef, pork or chicken may also be used. The meat is cooked into a stew with tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers and potatoes. Olives are often added as well along with a rich liver spread or paste. Some recipes also use tomato sauce alongside or in place of fresh tomatoes.
6. Kare-Kare
Kare-kare is a rich and creamy peanut stew. It's a popular and comforting Filipino Christmas food, although it’s enjoyed at other times of the year as well. This Filipino food includes meats like oxtail, tripe, pork leg and other meat offcuts and offal. It also includes vegetables like string beans, eggplant, banana blossoms and bok choy.
This stew is prepared like any other: tenderize the meat and then cook it down in the sauce (in this case, a peanut sauce) with vegetables. Variations of this dish include seafood, such as shrimp paste, prawns or mussels. No matter how you make it, this dish is a cozy and delicious addition to your holiday food spread.
7. Callos
Stew is a very popular Filipino Christmas food and callos is another of many stew dishes that may be served around the holiday. Historically, this ox tripe stew was considered a peasant food in Spain, but over time, it has become a popular dish in the Philippines, including becoming a staple during the holiday season.
Today, the meat used may vary but generally still includes ox tripe as well as trotter meat, blood sausage and even chorizo. Most recipes also add chickpeas along with vegetables like carrots, potatoes and peppers. The stew sauce is a rich and tangy tomato sauce and is served alongside crusty bread or rice.
8. Embutido
What’s Christmas without a hearty meatloaf? Embutido is a meatloaf-style dish that is also a popular Philippines food for Christmas. Interestingly, its similarity to American meatloaf isn’t just a coincidence. The dish is said to have been created during the American canning industry expansion in the Philippines in the early 1900s.
Although adapted from U.S. meatloaf that was served by Americans in the area during that period, this Filipino Christmas food does feature some differences from its U.S. counterpart. While the dish similarly contains bread crumbs and ground meat (usually pork), this mixture is also combined with minced carrots, raisins, garlic and sautéed onions. Hard-boiled eggs, sliced ham and Vienna sausages are traditionally placed in the center of the meatloaf as well.
Some locals like to add other ingredients like pineapple, bell peppers and cheese. Cooking this dish is conveniently quite simple as well — you just need to combine all the ingredients and wrap the meatloaf in aluminum foil before steaming it until fully cooked.
9. Pancit Malabon
Pancit Malabon is a Filipino Christmas food that originates from the city of Malaban. The dish features rice noodles cooked in seafood broth (which may include crab fat and fish sauce) with annatto seeds, contributing to the yellow color of the noodles.
It’s usually topped with seafood but may also include meat like pork, eggs and crushed chicharrón. This is another of many Filipino Christmas foods that can be enjoyed all year round, so you can likely try it if you visit the Philippines or a Filipino restaurant outside of the holidays.
10. Fruit Salad
The fruit salad is a quintessential Filipino Christmas food and one that is super easy to make. As with many Filipino recipes, there are lots of versions of this recipe, with various ingredients added.
However, most recipes will feature a base of tinned fruit cocktail, cream and sweetened condensed milk. You simply mix the ingredients together, chill until ice cold (or even partially frozen) and serve.
Variations on the dessert include adding nata de coco (coconut gel), shredded coconut, additional cocktail cherries or fresh fruits like cubes of apples or bananas. Some recipes even feature cubes of cheese. No matter which ingredients you add, this creamy and refreshing Filipino Christmas food is sure to become a favorite on your holiday menu!
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