Party Grub

The story goes that Beef Stroganoff was created by French chefs working for the influential Stroganov family in mid-19th century Russia. But food historians argue that earlier versions of this dish existed long before the mid-19th century, and the iteration we know today is a refined version of older Russian recipes.

Today, you’re likely to find Beef Stroganoff among an array of classic catering dishes at a Filipino wedding, or perhaps at your baby cousin’s christening. Or maybe you’ll find it served at your next family gathering, because your Tita swears it’s her signature dish. Whether you serve it with pasta or rice, this dish is the perfect go-to when you want something homey, hearty, and comforting.

We recommend using sirloin for this recipe. It’s one of the most versatile and flavorful cuts, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. But if cooked wrong, sirloin can end up being dry, tough, and unpleasant to eat.

Sirloin comes from the rear part of the cow, which tends to be leaner, so cooking it right is essential to getting that tender, delicate chew. Keep your slices thin, and avoid overcrowding the pan when you’re searing. If there are too many pieces of beef in your pan, heat can get trapped under the food. This results in too much moisture, steaming your beef rather than searing it! Searing the meat properly helps develop color and flavor, which is what you want in a rich, meaty dish like Beef Stroganoff.

More importantly, be careful not to overcook the meat. When you overcook meat, you risk rendering out all the fat and liquid inside it that makes it tender, juicy, and flavorful. It’ll leave you with nothing but tough muscle fibers that are impossible to chew. The beef will continue to cook as it simmers in the gravy, so there’s no need to cook it the whole way through while you’re searing it.

The gravy should be rich, creamy, and just slightly sour. Some versions of Stroganoff use cream of mushroom instead of heavy cream, or replace sour cream with Greek yogurt or crème fraîche, which can be hard to source at your local grocery store. Ours uses a combination of sour cream, heavy cream, and dijon mustard (brown mustard works too!) to get a velvety mouthfeel, and a touch of that addictive, bright, and tangy flavor.

Ingredients

Beef Stroganoff

Beef strips cooked in a sour cream gravy and served on a bed of rice (or pasta) can be both a comforting weeknight meal or a show-stopping party dish.

Whether in a pinch or on purpose, bagoong works as a surprising 

 It's funkier and saltier, for sure. But with a careful hand, the Pinoy condiment delivers that meaty umami that makes 

 so good. And while we're here, we added two more local ingredients to the mix—chicken oil and grated quezo de bola—to make a Filipino Caesar salad.

Headline Title

 Instead of anchovy fillets, this Caesar salad uses bagoong, or Filipino shrimp paste. It works 

 so why not in salad dressing? Use a bagoong brand you love.

 Freshly shaved Parm? Nope. This salad uses grated quezo de bola. The semi-hard cheese has a nutty, mildly salty flavor that works not just over ensaymada, but showered over a salad, too.

 Homemade croutons beat store-bought croutons any day. Just slice some bread into small squares, coat lightly in oil, then toast until crunchy. And instead of using neutral or olive oil, we toss our bread pieces in 

—the liquid gold that goes on your rice with 

 Annatto-colored oil will color the croutons a bit, but will still be savory and delicious.

How to Make Chicken Oil From Scratch

Can I make this recipe without the raw egg yolk?

If the idea of raw, uncooked eggs in your salad dressing makes you squeamish, that's OK. We get it! Replace the egg yolk in the recipe with 1–2 tbsp mayonnaise instead and follow the recipe as is. Zero anxiety, same creamy dressing. Plus, you won't need to fuss over emulsions!

Chicken Croutons

Filipino Caesar Salad

Make Chicken Croutons

Make Salad Dressing

Assemble Salad

Filipino Caesar Salad with Chicken Croutons

Give your classic Caesar salad the Pinoy treatment with bagoong-based Caesar dressing, grated quezo de bola, and chicken fat croutons.

 (Filipino pickled green mangoes) straight out of the jar, you'll often find it served as a condiment for fried or grilled food. The sourness comes straight from the unripe fruit, not vinegar—the pickling liquid is a simple brine of salt and sugar. It tastes tart, sweet, and pleasantly funky from fermentation.

The next time you make mango salsa, try using burong mangga instead of ripe fruit. That extra tartness makes a sunnier accompaniment to inihaw, pritong isda, or a big bag of chips.

Burong Mangga Salsa

For Serving

Burong Mangga (Filipino Pickled Mango) Salsa

Burong mangga, or pickled green mangoes, makes a vividly flavored salsa with its sweet, acidic, and funky flavor.

Let canned cream of mushroom live a life beyond heat-and-eat soup. In this recipe, we use it as an instant substitute for 

Once you've made your spaghetti, it goes into a baking dish in a single layer. Cream of mushroom, warmed on the stove and seasoned with a bit of nutmeg, follows on top. Shredded mozzarella and cheddar help it bake up into a blanket of 

 It's all the joy and pleasure of children's party spaghetti tucked into a dinner party dish. What's not to like?

Filipino Spaghetti

Cheesy Cream of Mushroom Topping

Make Filipino Spaghetti

Bake Spaghetti

Baked Filipino Spaghetti

Top this baked Filipino spaghetti with two kinds of cheese and one surprise ingredient: cream of mushroom soup.

It's Taiwanese popcorn chicken, but vegan. Mushrooms, with their woodsy umami flavor and meaty bite, make a compelling substitute for the usual boneless chicken. Potato starch gives them a crunchy coat. Five spice powder imparts that signature flavor, while deep-fried basil leaves adds extra aroma and an attractive burst of green.

Popcorn chicken is a popular street food in Taiwan: boneless chicken bites deep-fried until crispy, tossed with aromatic five spice powder and fried basil, and served in a paper bag. Like its big sister 

 there's enough flavor and texture for you to enjoy the chicken as is—no sauce or gravy necessary.

This recipe uses a mix of fresh oyster and shimeji mushrooms. You can stick to one type, or change it up with other kinds: spindly 

 or fat king oyster mushrooms sliced thinly can work. Salting the mushrooms beforehand will help draw out excess moisture and dry them out for a crispier fry.

Taiwanese Popcorn Mushrooms

Give meaty mushrooms like oyster and shimeji the Taiwanese popcorn chicken treatment.

 you can drop your noodles straight into hot oil, transforming them into something crisp, brittle, and delicious.

This recipe tops it off with a rich, dead-simple sauce made with 

 Toss in some protein for heft (like shrimp and chicken) and sturdy vegetables for extra crunch (carrots, bok choy, cabbage).

You want to serve this dish ASAP while the noodles are at their crispiest. The sweet spot is when they sop up just enough sauce to soften slightly, yet maintain a bit of a toothsome crunch.

Crab & Corn Sauce

Stuff

Crispy Noodles

Make Crab & Corn Sauce

Cook the Stuff

Fry Noodles

Crispy Noodles with Crab & Corn Sauce

Use instant crab & corn mix to make a sauce (not a soup!) for these North Park-inspired crispy noodles.

 in this Filipino take on banana pudding. This version adapts Magnolia Bakery's 

 with local butter cookies and a turon-inspired indulgence: chunky caramelized 

 bananas and langka (jackfruit), cooked with a bit of brandy for a fun wink of flavor.

Remember when cupcakes were everywhere in the early 2000s? You can thank M Bakery—or 

The New York-based neighborhood bakery shot to fame after appearing on an episode of Sex and the City. Fans and tourists waited in long lines for their own pink-frosted 

 would jump on the trend and bring it to the Philippines with 

In 2018, Magnolia Bakery opened its first Manila branch as M Bakery. Why the name change? So you won't confuse it with a certain 

After the cupcakes, everyone knows Magnolia Bakery for their second most popular dessert offering: the 

Banana pudding is a classic dessert from the American South. Similar to 

 it's a chilled, no-bake dessert made with layers of fruit, cream, and biscuits—sliced bananas, creamy vanilla custard, and vanilla wafers—in a glass dish. Some home recipes will top it off with whipped cream or toasted meringue. 

How to Make M Bakery-Style Banana Pudding

Every banana pudding needs three things: 

This turon-inspired recipe replaces the plain sliced bananas with something more exciting: 

 (jackfruit) caramelized in brandy and sugar. Sweet, jammy, and a little chunky.

The steps for the vanilla pudding come straight from the source: the 

While the authenticity helps, simplicity is the recipe's bigger draw. The pudding comes together with just four(!) ingredients:

You can find Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix in your supermarket's baking aisle, usually next to the gelatin. If you can't get your hands on a box, you can make vanilla pudding 

 with eggs, milk, sugar, and a bit of cornstarch.

Banana pudding purists will insist on using Nabisco 

—no substitutions. (Torey echoes the same sentiment in her cookbook.)

Since Nilla Wafers aren't available in the Philippines, we use the next best thing: 

 Any plainly-flavored crunchy cookie will work here. Once chilled, they soften and take on a more cakey texture. Save a few crushed pieces for garnishing on top.

Caramelized Banana & Langka

Vanilla Pudding

Make Caramelized Banana & Langka Layer

Make Vanilla Pudding

Assemble Banana Pudding

M Bakery-Style Caramelized Banana and Langka Pudding 

Whip up Magnolia Bakery's famous banana pudding at home with a local twist: butter cookies and a turon-inspired combo of saba and langka.

 has an assertive fishy and smoky flavor that adds surprising depths to this creamy dip. This recipe treats it like smoked 

 pairing it with fresh dill and tangy sour cream.

Do I have to cook tinapa before using it?

Thanks to hot smoking, tinapa is fully cooked and ready to eat. Hot smoking cooks and flavors the fish at the same time, producing tender, smoky, and throughly cooked meat that lasts for months.

If you're still feeling wary, however, it wouldn't hurt to heat your flaked tinapa in a pan before using it in the dip.

Assemble a dip board with the tinapa dip at the center, surrounded with crunchy and sturdy snacks:

Raw carrots, cucumbers, or bell peppers sliced into batons

Outside of dipping, try spreading it on bread to gussy up a sandwich, or adding a dollop over a salad.

Smoked Galunggong (Tinapa) Dip with Dill

There's more to tinapa than breakfast with eggs. The smoked fish shines in this creamy, meaty dip for chips, crackers, and raw vegetables.

You can simply reheat your lechon in a pan or 

, then serve it with hot rice and Mang Tomas. Or you can transform those scraps into a 

—one that's just as satisfying and festive as the roasted pig. Here's three ideas to get you going:

Meaty Lechon Paksiw

In a typical Filipino household, leftover lechon = lechon paksiw.

 uses a lot of vinegar. (The word literally means "to simmer in vinegar".) This non-traditional recipe demotes it from key ingredient to seasoning, lending a mild brightness to a braising liquid of 

 and beef broth. The final dish leans meaty and sweet—add more vinegar if you prefer a punchier tang.

Prep Time: 10 mins. Active Time: 40 mins. Serves 3.

Lechon Paksiw

Lechon Rice

So you have leftover lechon, but how many more times can you eat lechon paksiw? The answer is many times, but let’s shake things up a little with Lechon Rice. This recipe combines pan-fried meat, crackling skin, and shredded crispy flakes, adding tremendous texture to a fragrant base of lechon-spiced rice.

Prep Time: 20 mins. Active Time: 50 mins. Serves 4.

Cebu Spice Paste

Lechon Adobo Tacos with Garlic Rice, Eggs, and Salsa

 breakfast the morning after. This breakfast 

 spread of lechon adobo, garlic rice, fluffy eggs, and salsa 

If you prefer the heft of a burrito, go ahead and use bigger tortilla wrappers. Or ditch the wrappers completely and assemble a breakfast 

Prep Time: 10 mins. Active Time: 45 mins. Serves 4.

Lechon Adobo

Adobo Garlic Rice

Fluffy Scrambled Eggs

Tomato & Onion Salsa

3 Recipes for Leftover Lechon: Paksiw, Rice, and Tacos

Remix your leftover lechon into lechon paksiw, lechon rice, or breakfast lechon tacos.

Yes, you can eat shrimp shells! Once double-fried, they turn into a crisp potato chip-like snack that tastes great on their own, or showered over noodles and rice meals as a textural element. Make them once, and you'll never dare throw out your shrimp shells (and heads!) again.

Shrimp shells are edible and perfectly safe to eat. Like shrimp heads, they carry a delicious briny flavor. Their tough texture, however, makes them unpleasant to eat on their own.

When you fry them in hot oil, those tough shrimp shells turn into a crispy treat. 

 sounds like an extra step, but it pays off dramatically by dehydrating those crisp shells further, giving them an extra brittle, glassy crunch. Plus, it only takes a minute.

Once you’re done with the first fry, increase your oil’s temperature to 375°F. Toss your fried shells into the hot oil, let cook for 1 minute, then drain on paper towels.

Season fried shells with salt and instant sinigang mix

 mix gives these shrimp shells a similar flavor profile as 

 chips, like Oishi’s Ribbed Cracklings or Marty’s Chicharon. Expect sharp, mouth-puckering acidity followed by salty-sweet brine after every crunch. You’ll want an ice-cold beer to wash this down.

Crispy Sinigang Shrimp Shells

Don’t waste your shrimp heads and shells! When deep-fried and coated in sinigang mix, they transform into an irresistible crunchy snack.

 in easy mode. Instead of taxidermied green chilies, these pockets encase a rich and mildly spicy cream cheese-based filling. Wonton wrappers make assembly a breeze, and their toasty deep-fried crunch will have your friends and family fighting for the last piece.

Chili Cheese Filling

Pockets

Cream Cheese Dynamite Pockets

 turns the cheeseburger from a solo affair into a shareable snack. Simply roll Worcestershire-seasoned ground beef, crunchy veg, and a slice of American cheese in lumpia wrappers, then deep-fry until golden.

For the dip, combine two burger condiments: ketchup and mayo. Add pickle relish for chunkiness, plus a squeeze of lemon for a bright zip. Serve as is, or lean into the 

 theme further with lettuce leaves to wrap your lumpia with, Vietnamese 

Cheeseburger Filling

Burger Sauce

Lumpia

Prepare Cheeseburger Filling

Prepare Burger Sauce

Assemble and Fry Lumpia

Cheeseburger Lumpia with Burger Sauce

A cheeseburger, but crispy. Stuff your lumpia with ground beef and American cheese, then serve it with a tart ketchup-mayo dip.

's comforting flavors into a crisp, lumpia-wrapped package.

This recipe is simple enough to pull off for a weekday lunch: just a combo of garlic, cumin, and turmeric for the spice mix, then a one-minute garlic sauce using all-purpose cream and more garlic. (If you prefer a mayo-yogurt base, try 

) To top it off, a colorful side of finely chopped fresh veg. Easy!

Side Vegetables

Garlic Sauce

Beef Shawarma

For Assembly

Prepare Sides and Sauce

Make Shawarma Lumpia

Plate and Serve

Shawarma Lumpia with Garlic Sauce

Instead of pita bread or buttered rice, match shawarma-spiced beef with lumpia wrappers for that added crunchy texture.

Shrimp balls come in many forms. Street food carts serve their most basic iteration: bouncy ping pong balls molded from pale shrimp paste. Chinese restaurants, on the other hand, like to add a deep-fried coating for texture. 

 for example, roll their shrimp balls in panko breadcrumbs. 

 takes it up a notch by using strips of wonton wrapper.

Then there’s these shrimp balls, resembling grenades or turtle shells. Establishments like 

 Comida China de Manila serve them in this style: clad in bread cubes with a side of sweet chili sauce or mayonnaise.

These homemade bread-crusted shrimp balls make an impressive addition to any dinner spread, sure to be the star of your family's flatlays. They taste as good as they look, too, so make sure to make a double batch. Here's how to make them.

 these shrimp balls are rolled in cubes of sandwich bread. This gives the balls their turtle shell-like appearance. Once fried, the cubes dehydrate into a golden brown coating with a light, shattering crunch.

You want to slice your sandwich bread into ½- to ¼-inch cubes—not too big, not too small. Anything bigger will fall off your shrimp balls while frying.

Most deep-fried recipes call for frying oil at 350°F. We found that a frying temperature 320–325°F works better for these shrimp balls, crisping up the outside while perfectly cooking the minced shrimp filling.

A tangy dipping sauce cuts through the fat while adding a bright flavor. Use your favorite bottled sweet chili sauce—or make it 

Turtle Shell Shrimp Balls

This classic Chinese appetizer gets its eye-catching appearance and crunchy texture from a coating of white bread cubes.

 restaurant will have these shrimp cakes on their menu. Laced with curry and paired with s

 the chubby two-bite coins make an excellent appetizer. At home, you can treat them like 

 served with hot rice, or on their own as a meaty merienda.

Shrimp cakes (tod mun goong) belong to the tod mun family of Thai deep-fried patties.

You can make tod mun from different ingredients: chicken, crab, even 

 (tod mun pla), in particular, enjoy as much popularity as their shrimp-filled sister.

Whicever meat you end up using, making tod mun is straightforward: Mince the meat, shape into cakes, roll in breadcrumbs, and fry until golden.

These shrimp cakes get their flavor from red curry paste, a pantry staple used to make spicy Thai curry. They come in bottles and packets at the grocery. Any brand will do, but if the label says "Made in Thailand", even better.

Shrimp Cakes

Thai Shrimp Cakes (Tod Mun Goong)

A popular Thai appetizer, these easy shrimp-filled cakes are flavored with red curry paste and served with sweet chili sauce.

These honey bagoong wings will make you forget about Buffalo, yangnyeom, or snow cheese.

 (prawn paste wings) proves that the sweet-fishy pairing works wonders with fried chicken.

So does Vietnamese gà chiên nước mắm (fish sauce wings), also known as 

In this recipe, the savory-sweet glaze uses honey to tame bagoong's saltiness. Bright, citrusy calamansi juice rounds everything out. Toss in some double-fried wings and you have an umami bomb that's funky, salty, and sweet all at once.

Finish your fried chicken with crispy garlic and chopped green onions, and serve with steamed rice or pickled vegetables, and an ice-cold beer—obviously.

Chicken

Breading

Honey Bagoong Glaze

For Garnish

Honey Bagoong Chicken Wings

Sweet honey + funky bagoong = an addictive, flavor-packed Filipino counterpart to Vietnamese fish sauce wings.

Want to wow your family and friends? Make this cheesy baked salmon a la 

Save yourself the headache of ordering from the shop—in just 30 minutes, you can achieve the same silky salmon covered in a rich, cheesy crust. The buttered vegetables complete the feast while adding color and crunch. Bonus: You can make it in your air fryer!

How to make Conti’s-inspired baked salmon

Conti's-Inspired Baked Salmon with Buttered Vegetables

Make Conti's bestselling baked salmon—cheese crust, buttered vegetables and all—in your oven or air fryer.

Party Grub

Beef Stroganoff

Filipino Caesar Salad with Chicken Croutons

Burong Mangga (Filipino Pickled Mango) Salsa

Baked Filipino Spaghetti

Taiwanese Popcorn Mushrooms

Crispy Noodles with Crab & Corn Sauce

M Bakery-Style Caramelized Banana and Langka Pudding

Smoked Galunggong (Tinapa) Dip with Dill

3 Recipes for Leftover Lechon: Paksiw, Rice, and Tacos

Crispy Sinigang Shrimp Shells

Cream Cheese Dynamite Pockets

Cheeseburger Lumpia with Burger Sauce

Shawarma Lumpia with Garlic Sauce

Turtle Shell Shrimp Balls

Thai Shrimp Cakes (Tod Mun Goong)

Honey Bagoong Chicken Wings

Conti's-Inspired Baked Salmon with Buttered Vegetables

Omakase-Inspired Oysters Butteryaki

Korean Corn Cheese-Filled Lumpia

Best Filipino Carbonara with Bacon

Sisig Hooray-Style Pork Sisig

Three Cheese Baked Bangus

Manam-Inspired Crispy Pancit Palabok

Cibo-Inspired Spinach Gorgonzola (Spinaci Zola) Dip

Korean Corn and Chicken with Cheese

Crispy Fried Enoki Mushrooms

Fish Tacos with Chili Crab Sauce

Best Crispy Pata

Best Crispy Lumpiang Shanghai

Korean Grilled Stuffed Squid

Classic Caesar Salad with Perfect Croutons

Mamou Lorenzo Truffle Cream Pasta

Filipino Beef Salpicao

Shakey's-Style Mojo Potatoes

Nono's-Inspired Truffle Cheese Wontons

Cucumber Melon Soju

Sinigang Onion Rings

Dynamite Lumpia (Dinamita) with Cheese

Best Pancit Palabok (Filipino Rice Noodles with Shrimp Sauce)

Best Filipino Pork Barbecue

Shawarma-Spiced Roast Chicken

Korean Fried Chicken Skin

Salt and Vinegar Chicken Wings

24 Chicken-Style Jack Daniel's Chicken

Crispy Squid Calamares

Best Beef Kare-Kare with Tripe, Shank, and Oxtail

Chili's-Style Classic Nachos

Lechon Sisig

Two Seasons-Style Four-Cheese Pizza

Best Crispy Shrimp Tempura

Lime and Pepper Squid

California Pizza Kitchen-Style BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad

Italianni's-Inspired Sicilian Salad with Mangoes and Grapes

Tex-Mex Nacho Bake

Best Chicken Pastel

Queso de Bola Mac & Cheese with Hamon

Wooden Spoon-Style Crab Pancit

Pancake House Best Taco in Town

Classic Cheesecake

Chinese Char Siu Sesame-Crusted Pork Ribs

Rum Coke-Glazed Ribs

Under PHP300 Korean BBQ at Home