Among the many Christmas traditions that Filipinos celebrate during the holiday season, everyone’s most awaited event would be the Noche Buena. For this much-anticipated festivity, many families prepare their Noche Buena staples, which consists of traditional comfort food and treasured family recipes that bring back childhood memories. The feast is usually celebrated at home, with the whole family, and sometimes even with extended relatives for a merrier evening.
Enjoy a taste of Filipino Christmas as we share some of the dishes that Filipinos look forward to the most during this time of the year.
1. Hamon
Hamon is a traditional Christmas ham in the Philippines. It is covered in brown sugar and pineapple glaze which gives it that scrumptious combination of savory and sweet. In the Philippines, hamon is also usually enjoyed with rice and is considered one of the main dishes.
2. Macaroni salad
Even though it’s simple and easy to prepare, macaroni salad is a dish usually enjoyed during Noche Buena. The Filipino version of this salad can also be prepared in two ways. The chicken macaroni salad, which is a savory dish with lots of chicken and vegetables, or the sweet macaroni salad which has pineapple chunks, cheese, nata de coco, and condensed milk.
3. Filipino Spaghetti
Filipino spaghetti is present in almost every celebration throughout the year, but Filipinos still love making it part of their Noche Buena anyway. Filipino-style spaghetti is known for being a sweet version of the highly popular pasta dish, which contains not just ground beef but hotdogs as well.
4. Lechon
The star in every Filipino feast, everyone at the table would surely grab some of the lechon first before anything else. This roasted suckling pig specialty is one of the most popular dishes in the Philippines, and for a good reason. Its crispy skin and tender pork meat is truly exquisite and is loved not just by Filipinos but by many people all over the world.
5. Embutido
This dish is the Filipinos’ take on everyone’s favorite meatloaf. Its ingredients include ground pork, bell peppers, carrots, relish, cheese, and raisins. What makes it different from the usual meatloaf dish is that embutido is actually cooked by steaming. Once it’s cooked, it can be served warm, cold, or even fried.
6. Leche Flan
There’s really no denying that Filipinos love sweets. Another Noche Buena mainstay is leche flan which is the Filipino version of crème caramel. Made with egg yolks, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract, Filipinos can’t seem to have enough of this rich, smooth, and creamy treat.
7. Arroz a la Valenciana
A Latin American specialty that has become part of Philippine cuisine, Arroz a la Valenciana is a paella dish that many Filipinos love to eat during Christmas time. To make this dish Filipino-style, glutinous rice and coconut milk are usually used. Its usual ingredients include chorizo, chicken, prawns, squid, and mussels.
8. Fruit salad
A sweet staple in a Filipino Noche Buena feast is fruit salad. But for a fruit salad to be truly Filipino, one must use canned fruits instead of fresh fruits. For sweetness, a combination of condensed milk and all-purpose cream is used. Many households also make this dish extra special for Noche Buena by adding in shredded coconut to the mix.
9. Morcon
This meat roll dish is almost similar to cordon bleu, but Filipinos prefer to use beef when preparing morcon. Stuffed inside the tender meat roll are hotdogs or sausages, carrots, pickles, cheese, and boiled egg. While its ingredients are fairly simple, this dish is usually reserved for Christmas Eve because preparing it can be time-consuming.
10. Bibingka / Puto Bumbong
Bibingka and puto bumbong are rice cakes that are traditionally sold only during Christmas time which is why they’re usually part of the Noche Buena menu. Bibingka is a coconut cake baked in clay pots over a charcoal fire, while puto bumbong is a purple rice treat steamed in bamboo tubes.
Bonus: Queso De Bola
You’ll be hard-pressed not to find one of these bright red, wax-coated balls of cheese on someone’s Noche Buena table. Believed the bring good luck and fortune to the family, queso de bolas have a salty and slightly nutty taste similar to Dutch Edam. They’re perfect for Christmas day sandwiches with some leftover hamon.
