It’s also one of my biggest points of anxiety. 2 ½ lbs.

It is an icon with title Down Triangle. This is considered the Philippine national dish. Snack heaven!

Filipino food may not be as famous as that of its Thai and Vietnamese neighbors.But with more than 7,000 islands and a colorful history, this archipelago has some delicious dishes of its own.Blessed with an abundance of seafood, tropical fruits and creative cooks, there's more to Filipino food than the mind-boggling balut (duck embryo).You just have to know where to find them and how to eat them.No list of Filipino food would be complete without adobo.But Filipinos found that cooking meat (often chicken and pork) in vinegar, salt, garlic, pepper, soy sauce and other spices was a practical way to preserve it without refrigeration.This cooking style can be applied to different meats or even seafood.It's best sample it in a Filipino home, but the garlicky version of the lamb adobo can be found at Abe restaurant in Taguig.The lechon is the most invited party guest in the Philippines.The entire pig is spit-roasted over coals, with the crisp, golden-brown skin served with liver sauce, the most coveted part.In Cebu, the stomach of the pig is stuffed with star anise, pepper, spring onions, laurel leaves and lemongrass resulting in an extremely tasty lechon, which needs no sauce. My mother taught me how to cook this, using her variation from the original recipe. A cacophony of colors and textures, halo halo is shaved ice and evaporated milk piled atop a mixture of almost anything sweet: from fruits like plantain and jackfruit, to jello, to beans that have been sweetened. It's true, but it's definitely an understatement. Sopas is a term for “soup”. When it arrived at my table, I was skeptical. Lumpia is a small word that describes a great many things. A Filipino-style barbecue using a popular pork part: liempo (pork belly).Arguably, the best is Cebuano style -- a slab of liempo stuffed with herbs and spices and roasted.The result is juicy flavorsome meat inside and crackling skin outside.The literal translation of these words is scaly pie.A traditional meat pie from Malolos, it is a flaky, croissant-like pastry filled with chicken and deep fried.Best freshly made, get it when in Malolos or from a reputable restaurant such as But a few miles away in Pampanga you'll see it stuffed or stewed.Or simply taking the place of chicken, such as in the common tinola -- a ginger-based soup usually cooked with chunks of green papaya and chili pepper leaves.Shrimp coated in egg and flour batter and deep fried.Served with a tomato-based sweet and sour sauce for dipping.For many Filipinos, Christmas is marked by the scent of bibingkas cooking at dawn.These rice cakes are made by soaking the rice overnight, grinding it with a mortar stone and mixing in coconut milk and sugar.The batter is poured into clay pots with banana leaves, with coals on top and below.It's garnished with salted eggs, kesong puti (white cheese made from Carabao's milk) and slathered with butter, sugar and grated coconut.

You can find this all over the Philippines at the ubiquitous cafe chain The texture of this is closest to a sponge cake: dense, yet somehow light. The infusion of flavor in the meat and contrast of textures of crispy skin and shredded meat will have you eating until you’re comatose.A whole article on Asian cuisine and not a noodle in sight? This one is slow-roasted over a fire for hours until the meat is tender and juicy. One look at his wacky concoction might make you want to but the cup down and slowly back away. They are wrapped in a rice paper a fried to perfection. These are the real deal: pork skin boiled, seasoned overnight, then deep fried. In Manila, folks can get their piggy from Elar's Lechon, while in Cebu, the best is CnT Lechon.In the culinary capital of Pampanga, they turn the pork's cheeks, head and liver into a sizzling dish called Sisig.The crunchy and chewy texture of this appetizer is a perfect match for a cold beer.Serve with hot sauce and Knorr seasoning to suit the preference of you and your buddies.

Serve over rice.This is a slow cooker version of a classic dish from the Philippines using chicken thighs, bok choy, apple cider vinegar, onion, and garlic.A traditional Pancit taught to me by a Filipino friend while stationed overseas.

Serve it hot with hot steamed Jasmine rice. When it arrived at my table, I was skeptical.