25 Easy to Prepare Recipes for Filipino Potluck Party
Potluck season is on! it’s everywhere and it’s the season to gain a few pounds again. Now talking about potlucks, did you know Filipino potlucks are the best! One thing for sure when you are invited to one you will have a food coma as the food during these events are overflowing. Unlike other potlucks there are not hard rule on what to bring as long as it is edible then you are good to go. Many other potlucks are themed, i.e. you should match whatever you bring to the dining table, a lot are opposed to strong smelling items, and many do not touch the items that can be messy when eaten, on Filipino potlucks they are all welcome that is why you see crabs, prawns and shellfish on a Filipino potluck party and they usually are the best sellers.
Now that you are invited into one what should be a sensible dish to bring? Well with my experience in many Filipino potlucks there is one thing I notice, if you bring something that is not looking familiar regardless of how amazing your dish is, there is a high chance that it won’t be touched. Filipinos tend to go for their favourites during this time but having said that not everyone will be the usual Juan, others love to explore as well but it is not the majority.
I guess you are here to get ideas on what to bring right? Well, you came to the right place becuase I will be listing 25 Easy to Prepare Recipes for Filipino Potluck Party and these items are a sure-fire hit to most Filipino palate. So how I shortlisted these items on the list is by the following attributes:
- It should look familiar, so people actually try them, this is your marketing material, let then grab it first then taste.
- Taste should be really good and similar to what the Filipino palate is used to.
- It should be easy to prepare, and if there is a complicated process there are ready made alternatives you can buy in the supermarket.
- It should still be delicious if it’s in room temperature. We all know certain dish is good only when hot and cold, room temperature is the common temperature potluck food is served.
- It should not be the common Filipino dishes so there is no chance of doubling up, you don’t want your adobo to be compared with another one, don’t you?
- Dish may look similar, but it should be unique as well, a dish should stand out from the crowd.
- Finally, they are easy to consume (even though Filipinos love nibbling on bones)
I will be categorising this into 6 sections to clearly identify which dish falls which group.
Handheld Food
Spicy Chicken Gua Bao – Fried Chicken and Bao’s are a familiar favourite of the Filipinos, joining them in one dish would be a good idea. Sweetness and softness of the buns together with Savoury Spicy Crunchy Chicken, this is a match made in heaven.
Binondo Style Fresh Lumpia – Looks like Fresh Lumpia but you can handheld them, made with the very wrapper used on deep fried lumpia but no need to cook them. No need for plates on this delicious Filipino Chinese fresh style spring roll
Cheesy Chorizo Sausage Rolls – Chorizo on a flaky pastry that is extra cheesy, this was one of my best sellers on any potlucks I join to.
Asian Style Pulled Pork Sliders – They look like a burger but with a siopao asado filling, these two or three bite sliders is a crowd pleaser.
Meat and Vegetables
Salina Chicken – Another best seller on my repertoire, while eggplants and chicken are not commonly combined in the Filipino cuisine, this one look like and “ulam” you want to pair with your rice. It is also slightly sour so Pinoys would love them.
Caponata – Pinoys will always look for vegetables during these events, this is to offset any fatty food consumed. This dish may look similar to many Pinoys and might think it is a Pinakbet, but with its sour taste notes, it will be another crowd pick for vegetables so double up on the amount.
Lumpiang Pabasa – Now a Filipino dish on the list but its uncommon, this dish is made with stir fried vegetables like jicama, carrots, tofu, sweet potatoes, green beans and cabbage in a sauce made with peanut butter and annatto extract. It’s like Chopseuy but with a Kare Kare taste.
Tinumtuman – To be honest laing looks like “s#!4#$%!@” but they taste amazing, honestly one of the best Filipino vegetable dishes, now laing may attract a lot of Filipinos but definitely it will fend off others. Now you want to bring something similar but does look better? Make this dish made with sliced bamboo shoots and clams then cooked like laing.
Swedish Meatballs aka Ikea Meatballs – Everybody loves meatballs specially the creamy ones, so this is a no brainer.
Salted Egg Pork Belly – Anything deep fried is a crowd pleaser but this one puts it up a notch, pork belly that is lightly breaded then deep fried to a very crispy state then coated with salted egg sauce, OMG!
Pasta and Noodles
Creamy Kimchi Bacon Spaghetti – This will look similar to the Pinoy Spaghetti but once they tried it a nice surprise will hit them, creamy, spicy and savoury Korean surprise. A good pasta to bring now that Filipinos in the last 10 years or so started to like Korean food.
Yellow Cab’s Charlie Chan Pasta – It’s a pasta and a stir-fried noodle, basically a popular fast-food item back in the Philippines that many love. It’s basically a spaghetti stir fried like a Chinese noodle.
Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce, Egg and Cucumbers – Now this dish caught me by surprise and goes well with grilled meats. All you need are thick rice noodles, eggs and cucumber, the secret is in the roasted sesame sauce. It’s like a salad dressing with crack, each mouthful is full of umami even with the tiniest drop of it.
Pancit Choca – Now you want to bring pancit but be different, then bring this black tinted stir-fried noodle.
Salads
Ensaladang Filipino – This one is a no brainer, everybody loves this.
Japanese Potato Salad – Potato salad but with a Japanese twist, Pinoys love creamy salads and this one is nothing different.
Surimi Salad – Another creamy salad made with surimi and avocadoes
Som Tam – Not everybody loves a creamy salad so you can also bring a spicy savoury sour pungent salad from the Thai cuisine, flavours and ingredients are so close to the Filipino cuisine so I am sure this will be a hit.
Cake and Dessert
Buko Pie – Every Filipino loves a buko pie, but no one brings them on potlucks, so be the first one to do it. Trust me once you put this down in the table there will be names associated on each slice even before the eating starts.
Egg Pie – Same as the above and it’s a crowd favourite too, you will instantly notice because people will start putting this on their plates even though they are still having their mains.
Food For the Gods – A forgotten cake back in the 80’s but Filipinos do love them, in fact they give this away to friends and family like what they do with fruitcake now.
Mango Jelly Salad – Tired of Buko pandan, then this one is the best alternative for it.
Avocado Pistachio Cheesecake – One of my favourite things to bring on potlucks are cheesecake and my most recent flavour was the avocado, certainly a taste near to the Filipino palate.
Drinks
Red Iced Tea – Lemon iced tea with a pomegranate twist, definitely a thirst quencher on potlucks.
Sangria – Basically a fun juice! Fruity boozy summer delight.
There you go our 25 Easy to Prepare Recipes for Filipino Potluck Party, I had brought these things on potluck parties and all of them was a crowd pleaser, so pick one or two to bring on this list and let us know how it went.
I want to taste some buko pie too!