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Tacos in the Philippines

From WikiTacos, the taco encyclopedia · Taco style
Also known as: Filipino tacos, Tacos in Manila

Tacos in the Philippines range from home-style ground-beef tacos in crisp shells, often seasoned with Filipino flavors, to a growing number of Mexican-style taquerías in Metro Manila that make their own tortillas and salsas.

Contents
  1. Background
  2. Home-style tacos
  3. Taquerías in Manila
  4. Recipe
  5. Where to try it
  6. Reviews
  7. See also
  8. References

Background

The Philippines and Mexico share a long history through the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade, which for about 250 years linked Asia with the Americas and brought New World crops such as tomatoes and avocados to the islands. Writers on Manila's taco scene point to that shared past, along with Catholicism and Spanish-derived surnames, as a reason Mexican food feels familiar to many Filipinos.

For much of recent history, however, the tacos most Filipinos knew were American and Tex-Mex in style. A 2016 VICE article reported that most so-called Mexican restaurants in Manila served Tex-Mex food, and suggested that migration played a part, since many Filipinos learned to cook Mexican food while working in US cities.

Home-style tacos

At home, tacos are often built on ground beef in ready-made taco shells with grated cheese and chopped vegetables, and they are adapted to local tastes. A recipe from the Unilever food site Recipedia, for example, seasons the beef with a kaldereta mix, borrowing the flavor of the Filipino tomato-based stew, and tops the tacos with diced tomato, onion, lettuce or red cabbage, cheese and singkamas, the crunchy jicama-like root.

Taquerías in Manila

The 2016 VICE piece profiled Lo de Alberto in Pasig, whose chef, Balam Nazar from Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico, persuaded owners who wanted Tex-Mex to serve carnitas and suadero tacos instead. Unable to buy nixtamalized corn flour, he milled his own corn for totopos, used liempo, Filipino pork belly, for fat, and adapted his salsas to local green tomatoes, citrus and achiote, known locally as anato.

Since then the scene has grown. A food newsletter survey of Manila's taquerías describes La Chinesca by chef Bruce Ricketts, with outlets in Rockwell and Bonifacio Global City; Mamacita in BGC, serving Baja fish and gobernador tacos; Los Tacos in BGC, with blue corn tortillas and wood-fire cooking; Taqueria Franco in Salcedo Village, Makati, with French-influenced soft-shell crab tacos and lamb birria; Lagrima in Makati; and House of Birria in Quezon City, which became popular for takeout birria with consommé. The same survey reports Michelin recognition for several of these; those claims were not independently checked.

Recipe

Makes 12 tacos · Time: About 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 750 g ground beef
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp liver spread or 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter (kaldereta-style)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce or fish sauce
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Salt and pepper
  • 12 taco shells
  • 2 cups shredded lettuce or red cabbage
  • 1 cup julienned singkamas (jicama)
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 2 cups grated cheese

Steps

  1. Heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic until soft.
  2. Add the beef and cook until browned, breaking it up.
  3. Stir in the tomato paste, liver spread or peanut butter, soy or fish sauce, bell pepper and water. Simmer until thick and glossy, about 10 minutes. Season.
  4. Warm the taco shells in the oven for a few minutes.
  5. Fill with beef and top with lettuce or cabbage, singkamas, tomato and cheese.

Packaged kaldereta seasoning mixes, sold in Philippine supermarkets, can replace the tomato paste and liver spread.

Where to try it

  • Lo de Alberto, Pasig, Metro Manila: Profiled by VICE in 2016 as a Mexican-run taquería serving carnitas and suadero.
  • La Chinesca, Makati and Taguig, Metro Manila: Taquería by chef Bruce Ricketts.
  • Los Tacos, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig: Blue corn tortillas and wood-fire cooking.

Reviews

Reviews and tips open at launch. Readers will be able to share where they found the best version of this and how they make it at home.

See also

References

  1. "Inside Manila's Only Authentic Taqueria". VICE. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  2. "At The Taco Crossroads: A Sampling Of Manila's Top Taquerias". Substack (rodriguezm). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  3. "Try This Beef Taco Recipe With A Filipino Kaldereta Twist". Recipedia (Unilever Food Solutions Philippines). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
Categories: Filipino cuisine Global tacos Tacos around the world Tacos in Asia