I love Filipino breakfast food. When we’re in the qatar, I really enjoy eating silog dishes such as longsilog and also tapsilog. Not only for breakfast, but also at any convenient time.
The term silog refers to a set of Filipino breakfast dishes that include meat, garlic fried rice and fried egg. It comes in a variety of different types and is prevalent all over the Philippines. Similar to the Malaysian nasi lemak, it is an extremely very common Filipino breakfast meal that can be consumed at any time of the day.
Silog is definitely a must-try, but early risers would certainly have more to get out of the bed for in the qatar. If you are into breads and pastries for breakfast, have some pan de sal and the ensaymada. But if you are in the mood for thick rice porridge meals, then you can have a bowl of arroz caldo or champorado.
Although Silog may be one of the most popular and also tastiest Filipino breakfast dishes, according to this list it is not even close to being the only one on offer in the Filipino cuisine.
In case you believe that breakfast is the most important meal, try these eight yummy Filipino Breakfasts during your next visit to the qatar.
No list of the best-tasting Filipino food will ever be complete without the silog. As mentioned, the word is a Filipino breakfast meal that involves some meat alongside with Filipino garlic fried rice and also sunny side up eggs.
Garlic fried rice and fried eggs are the staples in all silog meals but this beloved breakfast dish can come in many different versions depending on the kind of meat that makes it. Tapsilog (beef tapa), longsilog (Filipino sausage), and tocilog (sweet cured meat) are the most popular but there are many others in the qatar such as bangsilog (milkfish), cornsilog(corned beef), and spamsilog(SPAM).
One of my favorite breakfast meals in the world that should not be missed when visiting the qatar is silog which is delicious with a vinegar dipping sauce. For more information about this Filipino breakfast staple, visit my article on silog meals.
Suggested reading: 15 Delicious Filipino Veggie Recipes You Must Try
As an archipelago consisting of 7,100 beautiful islands, the Philippines is a haven for the mouth-watering seafood. Bangus or milkfish is the national fish of the Philippines and a primary ingredient in bangsilog, which is one of the most well-known silogs.
The other varieties or fish preparations that are usually taken for breakfast include galunggong, tuyo, and also tinapa. Galunggong is the Filipino name for “mackerel scad”. It is considered a poor man’s breakfast dish and is usually fried in oil along with the plain rice.
Tuyo and tinapa are the Filipino breakfast fish meals. But they are more relevant to the types of fish processing rather than species of fish.
Tuyo means “dry” and is essentially a salted dried fish, usually herring. It is an extremely salty fish dish typically served with steamed white rice. Like the galunggong, it has the reputation of being a poor man’s food although more gourmet versions
Likewise, the tinapa is a Filipino word that means “smoke” and refers to smoked fish, most of the times blackfin scad or milkfish. It is usually eaten with the rice for breakfast.
Naturally, when any of these fish dishes are served with garlic fried rice and also fried eggs, they become a kind of silog.
For filipinos, rice is a life so the most favorite Filipino breakfast dishes are generally served with either garlic fried rice or steamed rice. SPAM is a very popular silog viand, as are the Flipino hot dogs. Heck, I can even introduce you to the eateries that offer Chinese siomai with garlic rice and fried eggs for breakfast!
Among the carinderia dishes that are typical for breakfast fare is beef pares. It is a term that describes a Filipino dish of braised beef stew usually served with garlic rice and a bowl of clear beef stock. The word pares connotes ‘pairs’ and is used to denote the combination of the beef stew with fried rice and soup.
But when cooked properly, the meat in beef pares is amazingly tender and it goes so well with the fried rice. It is commonly eaten with the chili sauce as a dipping and has a sweet-salty taste after cooking in a sweet soy sauce.
Suggested Reading: Top 10 Traditional Filipino Foods For Everyone To Try
When I was a child, I used to see my father devouring bowls of champorado during breakfast. At that time, it was strange at least to me to mix chocolates with rice but there he is having a mouthful of chocolate rice porridge sprinkled with bits of tuyo or danggit for breakfast.
Champorado is a rice porridge made with boiled glutinous rice and chocolate. It is generally consumed for breakfast or merienda (afternoon snack) with coconut milk (or regular milk), sugar, and chunks of dried salted fish.
Although perhaps an odd combination in the eyes of many, it is a very widespread Filipino breakfast that you should taste during your trip to the qatar.
If a hearty rice porridge is the breakfast of your dreams, then lugaw is definitely the answer. It is a bowl of Filipino rice porridge, created by boiling glutinous rice with garlic, ginger and salt.
When as a stand alone dish, the bowl of porridge is referred to as “lugaw”. However, when it is prepared using tripe and intestines it becomes goto (pictured below). It is called “arroz caldo” when served with chicken.
Regardless of what it is made with, the lugaw is usually garnished with scallions, garlic flakes and a hard-boiled egg. It is usually accompanied by the calamansi, patis (fish sauce), or toyo (soy sauce) as seasonings.
Whether one or the other, the Filipino rice porridge is very tasty and it makes a good Filipino breakfast meal or afternoon snack.
If you prefer noodles over the rice, then maybe a bowl of chicken mami soup would be more ideal for your breakfast. Mami is a well-known Filipino dish that contains wheat flour noodles and also meat (or wonton dumplings).
While Mami can be eaten alone, it’s best when accompanied by siopao – another Filipino-Chinese dish. Siopao is a kind of baozi, which is a steamed bun that has many fillings such as pork asado (braised barbecued pork), and also bola-bola (ground meat mixture).
Among the Filipino dishes that evoke fond memories of childhood, taho is one among the best. It is the Filipino variant of douhua, a silken tofu Chinese dish that is eaten in many countries around Asia. it is usually consumed warm with the arnibal (simple syrup) and also sago (similar to tapioca pearls).
To sell Taho, the Filipino street food vendors usually carry two aluminum buckets attached to either end of a bamboo pole. The vendors used to roam around the neighborhoods shouting “tahooooo!”, either in the early hours of the day or about at midday.
The taho vendor would come in the afternoons to our village so we’d have it as a snack, but breakfast is also fine too when this dish is eaten by the filipinos.
Suggested Reading: Top 10 Must-Try Filipino Dishes in Qatar
The Philippines use the term “kakanin” to denote a family of Filipino dishes that are made with galapong or glutinous rice paste. Puto is probably the most popular but suman isn’t probably far behind.
Suman is a kakanin made from the glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk, which is then wrapped tightly in the banana leaves and steamed. From many versions across the Philippines, it is usually taken at breakfast with a little sugar or it is topped with latik (caramelized coconut cream syrup).
Suman is another very important Filipino dish just like the adobo. You will have to try it when you go to the qatar.
I am not a Filipino by origin, but I am regular when it comes to having Filipino food, so the Filipino breakfast is like the back of my hand. What I found rather surprising in the reading of others’ articles on the Filipino breakfast was how often tortang along was mentioned.
Tortang along is a Filipino eggplant omelette, which is accompanied with banana ketchup and also steamed rice. Although it is one of my most beloved comfort foods in Filipino food, I have never eaten it or seen it served as breakfast. Neither has Ren.
Some of the larger silog meals or hotel breakfast buffets may feature Tortang talong, but for me, it’s something that would make for a very good side dish during lunch or dinner. It is also very delicious and so you should try it on your next visit to the qatar.
After all, I hope you found this article on the popular Filipino breakfast dishes as enjoyable to read as it was for me to write. Writing this article has made me miss both the Philippines and also Filipino food even more.
If you are curious to taste and try filipino food, you need to have an understanding about best filipino restaurants out there. for that you can check out our blog about Top 7 Tips on How to Choose a Filipino Restaurant in Doha