Garlic fried rice (sinangag)Fry cold cooked rice with plenty of garlic and lay the adobo on top.
Rice and adobo wrapped in a banana leaf (binalot)Wrap each portion while it is hot and open it at the table or on a trip.
Rice boiled in woven palm pouches (puso)Cut a pouch in half and dip the rice straight into the sauce.
Steamed white riceSpoon the sauce over the rice before anything else goes on the plate.
An egg, potatoes and bananas 3
Boiled saba bananas (nilagang saging)Serve them in their skins and eat a piece between salty bites.
Fried egg, sunny side upLay it on the rice and break the yolk into the sauce.
Potatoes cooked in the potCut them into big chunks so they hold their shape in the sauce.
Pickles, salads and relishes 12
Bitter melon salad (ensaladang ampalaya)Blanch thin slices, cool them and dress them just before the meal.
Fern frond salad (pako)Toss the young fronds with tomato, onion and a sharp vinegar dressing.
Green mango with fermented shrimp paste (bagoong)Slice the mango thin and put a small dab of the paste on each piece.
Grilled eggplant in smoky coconut milk (kulawong talong)Serve it at room temperature, with rice to carry the dressing.
Grilled eggplant salad (ensaladang talong)Peel the charred eggplant and dress it with tomato, onion and vinegar.
Pickled bamboo shoots (atcharang labong)Use it where you would use the papaya pickle.
Pickled chayote (atcharang sayote)Drain it well and serve it cold in a small dish.
Pickled green papaya (atchara)Put a spoonful at the side of the plate and take a little with each bite.
Pickled mango (burong mangga)Serve a few cold slices straight from the jar.
Sea grape salad (ensaladang lato)Dress it with vinegar, tomato and onion at the table, just before eating.
Tomato and fermented anchovy relish (KBL)A small saucer is enough. Take a little with each spoonful of rice.
Tomato, onion and salted egg saladChop everything roughly and serve it cold next to the hot rice.
Vegetable dishes 8
Banana blossom in coconut milk (ginataang puso ng saging)Shred the blossom fine and serve it warm.
Bitter melon sautéed with egg (ginisang ampalaya)Slice the melon thin and fold the egg through at the end.
Boiled vegetable soup (bulanglang)Ladle the light broth into cups to sip between bites.
Jackfruit in coconut milk (ginataang langka)Give it a bowl of its own so the two sauces stay apart.
Sautéed chayote (sayote)Cook it with garlic, onion and tomato until just tender.
Squash and long beans in coconut milk (ginataang kalabasa)Put it on the table for anyone who wants something mild and creamy.
Vegetable stew with shrimp paste (pinakbet)Serve it in its own bowl and spoon some beside the rice.
Water spinach sautéed with garlic (kangkong)Cook it fast in a hot pan so the stems stay crisp.
Something sweet after 3
Ripe papaya with calamansiChill the fruit, cut it into wedges and squeeze the citrus over it.
Saba bananas in syrup (minatamis na saging)Serve it warm in a small bowl, or cold over crushed ice with milk.
Shaved ice with sweet corn and milk (mais con yelo)Stir it in a tall glass and eat it with a long spoon.
Drinks without alcohol 2
Calamansi juiceSweeten it lightly and pour it over ice.
Ginger tea (salabat)Serve it hot after the meal, with a little honey.
How it works
What to eat with Filipino chicken adobo? Rice first, to catch the sauce. These 32 ideas add the pickles, salads and vegetable dishes of a Filipino table, an egg, potatoes from the pot, three sweets and two drinks.
Read the full guide
What to eat with adobo in the Philippines
Adobo is served with rice, at everyday meals and at feasts. With garlic fried rice and a fried egg it is a breakfast plate called adosilog. Atchara, a pickle of grated unripe papaya, and the salads known as ensalada are served as side dishes. Chicken and pork are the most common kinds of adobo.
What to eat adobo with tonight
Adobo tastes salty and sour, so take one thing from each kind: rice, something sharp and cold, and one vegetable dish. A dish cooked in coconut milk is the mild one on the table. Potatoes can go into the pot with the meat.
Cook more than one meal needs. Adobo is known for tasting better a day or two later.
Questions and answers
What do you eat chicken adobo with?
Rice first: steamed white rice or garlic fried rice. Add pickled green papaya or a salad of tomato, onion and salted egg for something sharp, and one vegetable dish such as water spinach sautéed with garlic.
What to eat with pork adobo?
The same sides as chicken adobo. One way pork adobo is served is with pandan-leaf jasmine rice and a mango pickle. Green mango with shrimp paste is another sour partner.
What vegetables go with adobo?
Pinakbet, a stew of squash, eggplant, okra and bitter melon flavored with shrimp paste; squash and long beans in coconut milk; or a salad of grilled eggplant and tomatoes. Water spinach and long beans are also cooked as adobo themselves.
What do you eat with leftover adobo?
Rice fried in the sauce and oil left from the adobo, with a fried egg on top. Shredded adobo also makes a filling for a pandesal roll.
What do you drink with adobo?
Without alcohol: calamansi juice, sweetened and poured over ice. Hot ginger tea, called salabat in the Philippines, is for after the meal.