Whether that’s soup or a stew, nothing beats a hot bowl of liquid on rainy days. You watch the steam rise, your hands wrapped around the sides for warmth, as you hear the rainfall droplets from the heavy dark sky outside.
As you wrap yourself around your favorite blanket, you breathe in the smell of the food, feel the steam clear your lungs, and relish the familiar feeling as the taste of childhood meets your tongue.
While it’s common practice to eat hot, soupy food during cold weather, there is a valid reason why we crave it. During rainy seasons, when the air is colder, our bodies lose a lot of fluid, and our breathing becomes deeper and heavier. Furthermore, the lack of sunlight sometimes affects a person’s mood.
Eating hot soupy foods not only replenishes the lost fluid from your body but also has a warm and soothing effect. And more than anything, eating something you’re craving can give you that sense of satisfaction on rainy days when you feel blue and unmotivated.
During the rainy season, treat yourself to a warm, hearty meal to fill your stomach and soul. If you don’t know what to get yet, here are the top 10 Filipino foods you can try, perfect during the cold, rainy season.
1. Arroz Caldo, Goto, and Lugaw
Filipinos love soup. Filipinos love rice. So it’s not shocking if Filipinos love rice porridge. Rice porridge is a well-loved food because it’s easy to cook, and its plain flavor can be tweaked to your desired taste and flavor. In the Philippines, there are several rice porridge varieties depending on your region. Of all the kinds, these three are the most common ones that follow very similar recipes and taste wherever you go: Arroz Caldo, Goto, and Lugaw.
Lugaw is the “mother” of all rice porridge; it’s the classic of classics. It’s your typical plain rice porridge, usually topped with green onions, fried garlic, and boiled eggs if you’re feeling fancy. A drop or two of soy sauce or fish sauce will do the trick if you need more flavor.
Goto is like lugaw but meatier. This rice porridge contains beef tripe and other internal organs. It’s also called beef lugaw by some.
Arroz Caldo is what you cook if you want a whole meal in one bowl. Arroz Caldo is a Spanish term meaning “hot rice”. The strong ginger flavor of its broth separates arroz caldo from other rice porridges. It uses chicken as its primary protein ingredient and has a distinctive yellow color from turmeric.
Filipinos love experimenting with the toppings for their rice porridge. A top recommendation is the classic chicharron and fried garlic, which give a different texture to your usual porridge.
2. Sinigang
Everywhere you go, you hear its name, and it even reached the international palate—its sinigang. This local favorite Filipino native soup was recently declared the Best Soup in the World in 2021 by Taste Atlas Awards. Who wouldn’t love sinigang, right? It’s the perfect stew to gulp down, rainy season or not.
Sinigang is comfort food that’s good on its own but also goes well with steamy white rice. Its tamarind soup base makes sinigang distinct; it makes it sour and more appetizing. Sinigang na baboy or pork sinigang, is the most famous type of sinigang, but Filipinos also love to add seafood such as milkfish and shrimp as the main ingredients of the stew. The dish includes vegetables like labanos (radish), kangkong, okra, tomatoes, gabi (taro root), and miso.
A bowl of sinigang with pork ribs is truly home in the palm of your hands.
3. Batchoy
Batchoy is a noodle soup dish that uses miki noodles as the base and is then topped with pork, chicken, liver, fried garlic, green onions, chicharron, and egg. A beef or pork broth is poured over the noodles, completing the dish and giving it its unique Filipino taste and comfort. Batchoy is served so hot that it can cook a raw egg when cracked into the newly poured broth. It’s so delicious that you can get it in instant noodle packs and cups.
Many restaurants and noodle stalls sell batchoy now. A must try is the La Paz batchoy from the public market of La Paz, Iloilo. A usual pair for batchoy is pandesal and a bottle of soda to cut the oiliness of the dish.
4. Champorado
We’re not done with rice porridges yet, and this time, it’s to satisfy your sweet tooth. Champorado or chocolate rice porridge, is Filipinos’ all-time-favorite breakfast or merienda. Champorado is made of glutinous rice, cocoa powder or tablea, and milk. Champorado has a unique taste that comes from dark chocolate. The sweetness of this rice porridge depends on the amount of milk you top or combine it with. Other recipes use coconut milk to make the champorado more decadent and more delicious.
Eating champorado can really take you on a trip down memory lane. This food is a childhood constant for most Filipinos, and it can warm you up and brighten your day. Champorado is usually paired with pandesal or tuyo (dried fish).
5. Lomi
Arguably one of the most filling and hearty noodle soup dishes, lomi is the perfect fully-loaded meal to satisfy your rainy day cravings. A bowl of lomi contains thick egg noodles and a thick, rich broth. But the show’s real star is the generous amount of meat, innards, and chicharron in one serving. Lomi is sinfully good, and it’s worth all the calories.
Lomi is enough to keep your stomach full until your next meal. You can cut the meat and swap it for tofu if you want a healthier version. If you want a taste of the original lomi, head to Batangas for some of that delicious Batangas lomi.
6. Bulalo
Just sipping? How about slurping this time? If you want a bowl of protein and fiber, try some Bulalo. Bulalo is a soup with a light-colored broth made by boiling the beef shank and bones for long hours until the flavor becomes rich. The highlight of bulalo is the bone marrow removed by slurping it directly from the bone or tilting and scraping it. This soup contains vegetables like corn, bok choy or pechay, cabbage, chayote, onion, and ginger.
Famous places known for their delicious bowls of bulalo are found in Tagaytay and Batangas. Just make sure to prepare your lips, the oil in this dish is unavoidable.
7. Ginataang Bilo-Bilo
Okay, let’s tone down the flavor and go for something sweet again. Another Filipino favorite during rainy days or cold weather is ginataang bilo-bilo. This rich, decadent dessert/afternoon snack is made of glutinous rice balls, coconut cream or milk, sago pearls, plantain bananas, sweet potatoes, ripe langka, and sugar. A bowl full of goodies brings delicious comfort to your taste buds, almost like a cooked version of halo-halo.
Depending on where you are, the name for this dish differs. Ginataang bilo-bilo is available almost everywhere in the Philippines, and you can even spot some street vendors selling it. While others love eating this cold, many love a hot serving of creamy bilo-bilo.
8. Sopas
Sopas literally means soup. This dish is made up of elbow macaroni cooked in a creamy broth of evaporated milk and combined with vegetables like cabbage and carrots. You can add chicken, pork, or sliced hot dogs to complete the dish.
Hot sopas are a guaranteed food eaten when someone is sick, much like lugaw. Sopas are a filling meal and are a good fix if you’re the type to want milk in your broth.
9. Tinolang Manok
With its thin ginger-based broth soaking the chicken and green vegetables, tinolang manok is lighter than the other dishes on the list. This chicken stew dish is also one of the healthiest and best given warm to someone sick.
Tinolang manok is relatively easy to prepare, and its ingredients are simple and easy to find, making it a perfect dish when you’re not feeling the heavy preparations. Garlic, ginger, and onion are sautéed with the chicken. Chicken broth or water is added afterwards. When the cooking time is halfway through, add the unripe papaya, and when it’s nearly done, the chili leaves go into the pot. This bowl warms the stomach just right.
10. Chicken Sotanghon
If western countries have chicken noodle soup, Filipinos have chicken sotanghon to help them get through the rainy days or just when they feel under the weather. Chicken sotanghon is made of shredded chicken, mung bean glass noodles, and vegetables. Some recipes also add fried garlic, scallions, and fish sauce to enhance the flavor.
This dish is comforting, light, easy to make, and can be eaten on its own or with rice. You can even add soft-boiled eggs if you’re feeling a little fancy.
On rainy days, emotions are low, and activities get halted, so you’re either stuck at home or in your office. Having a hearty meal is essential to fill your stomach and warm you up while also giving you the energy to make it through the day.
Whether you’re down with a cold or just not feeling like it, don’t hesitate to grab a warm bowl of your comfort food to help you recover and energize. Nothing beats a good bowl!
