Ilocano
The thrifty north — bitter-savoury vegetables in bagoong, glass-skinned bagnet, the crisp Vigan empanada, and bile-bittered soups.
Bagnet
Pork belly boiled then deep-fried twice until the skin shatters like glass — the Ilocos icon.
View page →The Ilocos north is the Philippines' frugal, vegetable-forward kitchen, where bagoong (fermented fish or shrimp) seasons everything and nothing is wasted. Pinakbet — mixed vegetables sautéed in bagoong — is its emblem, born here before it spread nationwide. Around it: bagnet, pork belly fried until the skin shatters; the orange, longganisa-stuffed Vigan empanada; grilled, brain-dressed dinakdakan; soy-and-vinegar igado; and pinapaitan, a soup deliberately bittered with bile. Bold, briny and unsentimental.
Start Here
Mixed vegetables sautéed in fermented-shrimp bagoong.
Why start here · Born here, eaten everywhere.
Grilled pig's face dressed with pig brain or mayo.
Why start here · The Ilocano answer to sisig.
The Pantry
See all 31 ingredients›
Fruits
Herbs & Spices
Grains & Staples
Sauces & Condiments
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
Kindred Kitchens
Cuisines built on the same signature ingredients
Other regions
Siblings within Filipino — each its own tradition.