Filipino Food Month or ‘Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino’, celebrated throughout the month of April, is an opportunity to celebrate the culinary heritage of the Philippines. Founded by the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement (PCHM), it was made an official annual celebration by Presidential Proclamation No. 469 in 2018.

According to the PCHM, Filipino food is often referred to as one of the world’s earliest fusion cuisines thanks to the country’s history. During the period of the galleon trade Manila, the capital of the Philippines, was one of the world’s greatest ports focusing on trade between China and Europe. This, combined with influences from its Muslim neighbours and early Mexican visitors, has resulted in dishes that feature complex and distinct flavours, mostly a combination of salty, sour, sweet and bitter although there are also some spicy options.

Created to preserve, appreciate and promote Filipino culinary heritage, as well as the farmers and fishermen in the Philippines, the Filipino Food Month month of April is the perfect excuse to try your hand at cooking a dish from this Southeast Asian archipelago - the thirteenth-most-populous country in the world.

As a proud Filipino-British mix, who grew up with Filipino cuisine cooked by my mum, as well as a community of aunties and uncles from different regions of the Philippines, I’m sharing some of my own favourite Filipino-inspired dishes below, scroll through and click for the recipes: