‘Tis the season to get comfy.
With the rainy season officially underway, there is no better signifier than bundling up in clothes and blankets to get ready from the overcast skies and torrential downpour.
With the lure of staying at home during the #bedweather season getting stronger, it helps to complement the freezing air with warm, delicious meals one can prepare at home.
Here are 10 easy rainy day recipes that could help in making this season a little bit cozier for the whole family.
1. Sopas (Chicken Noodle Soup)
If the European’s have their French Onion Soup and the Americans their potato soup as favorite soup recipe, the Philippines’ chicken noodle soup does not fall behind as one of the top rainy day recipes.
Chicken Noodle Soup : A Childhood Favorite
More than a comforting soup to perk up a dreary day, sopas brings nostalgic childhood memories during the rainy season. This creamy soup which is also considered a delicious dish is loaded with flavors and health benefits, such as being rich in Vitamin B, B6, folate, beta-carotene from carrots, and protein from chicken meat.
What’s even better is that sopas can boost the immune system and calls for affordable ingredients readily available at the local supermarket. You can serve it with garlic bread on the side.
AllDay Supermarket has a great variety of budget-friendly items and best-price deals. You can find more information here!
Here’s how to make chicken noodle soup:
Ingredients:
350 grams boneless chicken breasts
egg noodles
½ cabbage, sliced
1 diced onion
3 pieces of hotdog, sliced
90 grams carrots, diced
350 grams evaporated milk
200 grams elbow macaroni
2 teaspoons minced garlic
6 to 8 cups of water
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled (optional)
3 tablespoons cooking oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Boil three cups of water in a medium sauce pot.
Add the chicken breasts and cover while cooking in medium heat for 20 minutes. Bring to a boil until the chicken is tender and cooked through. If you have leftover chicken or leftover turkey from the night before, you can use this instead.
Separate the chicken breasts from the water. Let it cool down, shred it, and then set aside.
Skim any scum that may remain on top of the broth and set aside.
In a large soup pot, heat the cooking oil (or olive oil for the health conscious) and sauté the garlic until it turns medium brown. Add the sliced onion and carrot. Continue to sauté for two to three minutes or until the carrot slices have softened.
Add the favorite toppings : shredded chicken, sauté for one minute, then add the sliced hotdogs. You can opt to use meatloaf instead of hotdogs.
Quickly stir and add the broth used to cook the chicken. Cover and bring this to a boil for about five minutes.
Put the elbow macaroni in an instant pot and cook for nine minutes.
Add the sliced cabbage. Stir and cook for 10 minutes then add evaporated milk. Stir, cover, and bring this to a boil for another three minutes until it becomes a savory soup.
Add the salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Transfer to a serving bowl with a ladle and serve hot.
Pair with puto (steamed rice cake), warm pandesal, or bread for a fuller meal. Enjoy!
2. Champorado
Champorado is a sweet chocolate rice porridge with sticky rice and tablea, traditionally served as a comforting dish for breakfast or mid-day snacks with pandesal or tuyo (salted fish). Others would go for baguette spread with sour cream and topped with salmon and capers in lieu of the salted fish.
Here’s how to make champorado for warmer and sweeter rainy days
Ingredients:
5 cups water
1 cup glutinous rice
– Trivia: Use regular long-grain rice and add rice flour to mimic champorado’s thick and creamy texture.
4 pieces tablea chocolate
½ cup sugar
½ cup evaporated or condensed milk
Instructions:
Boil five cups of water in a large sauce pot.
Add the rice and bring this to a boil. Set the heat to medium-low and stir regularly to avoid sticking.
Add the tablea and stir regularly until the chocolate has melted. Continue to cook until the rice is translucent and the liquid is reduced to a good consistency.
Add the sugar and continue to stir until it has dissolved.
Transfer to a bowl with evaporated or condensed milk.
Serve this hot and enjoy!
3. Lugaw (Congee)
Whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, lugaw is always a good idea! This creamy soup is a rainy day go-to food that can also be a meal in itself with your favorite toppings.
With only six ingredients on your list, you have comfort food in less than an hour. Here’s how to make lugaw in the comfort of your own home:
Ingredients:
1 cup long-grain white rice
4 to 5 cups water
4 tablespoons white onion, chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, julienned
2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce)
2 teaspoons salt
4-5 eggs (optional)
Spring onions, for garnish (optional)
Chicken stock (optional)
Instructions:
(If adding eggs)
Fill a medium pot with water and heat up until it simmers.
Add in the eggs, and boil for 10 minutes.
In a large sauce pot, heat two tablespoons of cooking oil (or Olive oil) over medium heat and sauté onions, garlic, and ginger until fragrant.
Add the fish sauce and stir. Add water, stir, then bring to a boil for three minutes.
Add salt to taste and stir.
Simmer for 30-40 minutes while stirring constantly or cook until the mixture thickens to a good consistency. You have the option to fire this in a slow cooker.
Transfer to a bowl with hard-boiled eggs and spring onions.
Serve hot and enjoy!
4. Chicken Adobo
Every household in the Philippines has its own version of chicken adobo, and it’s an integral part of Filipino culture to respect every variant. Most Filipinos use boiled egg as addition to this tender chicken recipe. Others eat it alongside mashed potatoes or garlic bread.
But the true Filpino in us would top it over hot wild rice for lunch then use the leftover chicken to mix with pasta for dinner!
It is the star of even family dinner or weeknight dinners with friends or neighbors. This means that there is no wrong way or time to eat adobo and each one is as good as the next one.
Ingredients:
1 kilogram chicken, adobo cut
3 pieces dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
4 cloves garlic
500 grams water
60 grams cooking oil
½ tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon whole peppercorn
Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine chicken, soy sauce, and garlic. Mix well and marinate the chicken for six hours.
Heat a medium instant pot and pour cooking oil.
When the oil is hot enough, pan-fry the marinated chicken for two minutes per side.
Pour in the rest of the marinade, add water, and bring to a boil.
Add dried bay leaves and peppercorn. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken gets tender.
Add vinegar. Stir and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the sugar and salt, then stir and turn the heat off. Serve hot and enjoy!
5. Arroz Caldo
Arroz caldo is a type of porridge and comfort food for many Filipinos, typically paired with fried garlic, hard-boiled eggs, or crusty bread.
Trivia: Here is the main difference between lugaw, goto, and arroz caldo:
Lugaw is essentially a dish without meat, the base for goto and arroz caldo, and is usually flavored with fish sauce to taste.
Goto is a meal that uses innards and ox tripe, while arroz caldo has a prominent gingery taste, has chicken meat, and saffron that adds a yellow tint to the food.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 2-inch pieces fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 and ¼ pounds chicken wings, split and tips discarded
1 tablespoon fish sauce
5 cups water
1 cup glutinous rice
– Note: Most types of white rice may be used as an alternative if glutinous rice is unavailable.
Salt and pepper to taste
1 green onion, chopped
1 calamansi (Philippine lime), halved (optional)
Instructions:
In a large instant pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté for about five minutes.
Add chicken wings, cook, and stir for one minute. Add fish sauce, cover, and cook for two minutes.
Add water into the pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce the temperature to a medium-low and mix. Add the rice, stir, and continue boiling for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
If the desired consistency isn’t achieved, add more water until the mix has a good consistency.
Season with salt and pepper. Add fish sauce to taste, if desired.
Serve hot in a bowl and garnish with green onion. Add calamansi on top. Enjoy!
6. Pork Sinigang (Tamarind Stew)
Ingredients:
1 kilogram pork belly
1 bunch kangkong (river spinach)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
12 pieces string beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
2 pieces tomatoes, quartered
3 pieces chili
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 liters water
1 piece onion, sliced
2 pieces taro, quartered
1 pack sinigang mix
Instructions:
In a large soup pot, add cooking oil and heat it.
Sauté the onion slices until the layers separate from each other.
Add the pork belly and cook until the outer part turns light brown.
Put in the fish sauce and stir.
Pour the water and bring to a boil.
Add the taro and tomatoes then simmer for 40 minutes or until the pork is tender.
Put in the sinigang mix and chili pieces then stir.
Add the string beans and simmer for five to eight minutes.
Add the kangkong, stir, turn off the heat, and cover the pot. Allow this to cook using the remaining heat in the pot.
Serve hot and enjoy!
7. Beef Nilaga (Meat Stew)
Nilaga is a traditional Filipino stew made with boiled beef and various vegetables, bursting with texture and flavor. A favorite dish for many Filipinos during the cold weather, this is usually best paired with rice and served with fish sauce or calamansi.
Ingredients:
4 ½ pound beef short ribs
1 liter water
2 onions, chopped
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 potatoes, quartered
2 carrots, cut into chunks
2 stalks celery, quartered
¼ head cabbage, cut into wedges
Salt to taste
Instructions:
Place the beef short ribs into a slow cooker with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat then boil for five minutes. Note that the ribs will not be fully cooked. Drain and discard the cooking water.
Return the ribs to the pot. Add in the water, onions, peppercorns, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil then cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for one hour.
Skim any fat rising on the surface. Stir in the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender or for about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste then put in cabbage and cook for five more minutes.
Serve hot with rice and enjoy!
8. Ginataang Bilo-bilo (Glutinous Rice Balls)
Ginataang bilo-bilo is a famous Filipino dessert made with glutinous rice balls, coconut milk, sugar, and tapioca pearls. It is said that bilo-bilo symbolizes prosperity and togetherness, so it’s part of tradition for many families to have this in their New Year’s feast.
Ingredients:
20 pieces bilo-bilo (glutinous rice balls)
600 grams ripe jackfruit, sliced
500 grams water
480 grams coconut cream
150 grams granulated white sugar
230 grams sago (tapioca pearls), cooked
Instructions:
In a large cooking pot, pour in water and bring to a boil.
Add the coconut cream. Stir and cook until the mixture starts to boil again.
Add sugar and gradually stir.
Add the ripe jackfruit, cover, and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.
Add in the bilo-bilo. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes while stirring every three minutes.
Put in the sago. Cook for three to five minutes.
Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!
9. Kare-kare (Peanut Stew)
Kare-kare is a Filipino dish made with oxtail, vegetables, and peanut butter. This dates back hundreds of years in local culinary history and is said to be a traditional dish to the Moro people, one of the indigenous groups in the Philippines.
Some provinces add coconut milk to produce a savory flavor. Kare-kare is usually with bagoong (shrimp paste) on the side. Filipinos traditionally pour its creamy sauce on top of piping hot rice for a truly satisfying meal. Others would put melted cheese on top and forego of the shrimp paste. The gooey cheese add a different flavor to the dish.
For the flavor of the beef to come out, fire in slow cooker over low heat for hours like you would a pot roast.
However it’s prepared it remain one of the best dinner recipes in the country.
Ingredients:
1.35 kilogram oxtail
1 piece small banana flower bud, sliced
1 bundle pechay or bok choy
1 bundle string beans, cut into 2-inch slices
4 pieces eggplants, sliced
145 grams ground peanuts
130 grams peanut butter
60 grams shrimp paste
1 liter water
120 grams annatto seeds
90 grams toasted ground rice
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 piece onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
In a large soup pot, bring the water to a boil.
Add in the oxtail followed by the onions and simmer for two and a half to three hours or until tender.
Once the meat is tender, add the ground peanuts, peanut butter, and annatto seeds and simmer for five to seven minutes.
Add the toasted ground rice and simmer for five minutes.
In a separate pan, sauté the garlic then add the banana flower, eggplant, and string beans, then cook for five minutes.
Transfer the cooked vegetables to where all of the ingredients are then add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot and enjoy!
10. Bulalo (Filipino Beef Marrow Stew)
Bulalo is one of Philippines delicious soup. It is a nourishing beef soup dish in the made with beef shanks, marrow bones, and different vegetables. For the incredible flavor to come out the beef is usually fired in a slow cooker on low heat for many hours.
For many people, it’s a tradition to go to Tagaytay, a famous city and tourist destination in Cavite, during the cold weather and enjoy bulalo hot soup with family and friends. At home, it is one of the favorite rainy day recipes on a cold day.
Ingredients:
1 kilogram beef shanks
½ cabbage, whole leaves individually detached
1 bundle bok choy, leaves separated
2 corn cobs, each cut into 3 parts
2 tablespoons whole peppercorn
2 tablespoons fish sauce
50 grams of green onions, chopped into medium-sized pieces
1 onion, quartered
1 liter water
Salt to taste
Instructions:
In a large cooking pot, pour in water and add beef shanks. Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes. Remove the scum on top of the water.
Add the onion, peppercorn, and fish sauce. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for two hours or until the beef is tender.
Add corn and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the pechay, cabbage, green onions, and season with salt to taste. Cook for another three minutes.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Cozy up and stay warm with these dishes until the sun comes up again. Benefit from getting ingredients at a nearby AllDay Supermarket and prepare any of these comfort foods at an affordable price.
Did you know that AllDay is the first-ever self-checkout grocery in the Philippines? Use their self-checkout kiosks when buying essentials, a great and safe option when minimizing social contact.
Place orders online on AllDay’s website or send shopping list to AllDay Supermarket’s personal shopper service through Viber!
For more information, visit AllDay Supermarket on Facebook or download the AllDay Supermarket app on the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Check out our House and Lot for Sale Properties
Discover our house and lot for sale properties in the Philippines
