Nicole Ponseca

Sinuglaw is a combination of fish ceviche—in this case, vinegar-cured tuna—plus smoky grilled pork belly. The flavorful dish gets dressed with coconut milk, ginger, red onion, chiles, and tomato.

Pork belly is ubiquitous throughout the Philippines; the fat is glorious and tastes great grilled. Getting a nice char on the fatty bits is important, as it adds another level of flavor to the salty-sour-tart-sweetness of the soy-calamansi marinade.

You can store this all-purpose sweet-and-spicy vinegar in clean mason jars, but it is easier to keep it in repurposed glass bottles. Note that this recipe can be adjusted as you like—try using different chiles or other spices like bay leaf.

Pansit palabok is a luscious, buttery, bisque–like shrimp sauce tossed with white rice noodles and topped with tsitsaron, crisp-fried pork rinds.

You can store this all-purpose sweet-and-spicy vinegar in clean mason jars, but it is easier to keep it in repurposed glass bottles. Note that this recipe can be adjusted as you like—try using different chiles or other spices like bay leaf.

This dish—both a backyard staple and street food treat in the Philippines—is slightly sticky when cooked and develops a nice char while the dark thigh meat stays tender and juicy.

A ubiquitous staple on Filipino tables, this rice dish is heavily perfumed with garlic oil and tossed with crispy sautéed garlic chips.

For this popular Filipino breakfast, the eggplants are heavily charred before being battered with egg and pan-fried, making them smoky, creamy, crispy, and totally satisfying.