Baboy galore! A list of the 300-plus pork dishes that got the Philippines a Guinness World Record

MANILA, Philippines – Anong ulam? (What’s the viand?)

In the Philippines, chances are the viand for one’s meal is pork or has some pork in it. One of the most popular, of course, is the Philippine dish adobo, which can either be pork adobo or chicken adobo.

Another mouth-watering pork dish, made famous globally by the late Anthony Bourdain, is lechon, which is often served in fiestas and big celebrations.

LECHON. A Sinigang sa Lechon is one of the pork dishes served at the National Hog Festival 2024 in Gateway Mall, Araneta City, where the Philippines copped the Guinness World Record for most varieties of pork dishes on display, on March 1, 2024. Jire Carreon/Rappler

Pork is so influential in Philippine cuisine that the country made the Guinness World Records for “most varieties of pork dishes on display” in one event. The title was achieved by the National Federation of Hog Farmers Incorporated at the National Hog Festival 2024 held at the Gateway Mall in Araneta City, Quezon City on Friday, March 1. The event seeks to support Filipino hog farmers and highlight Philippine pork cuisine.

“Filipinos are basically pork eaters,” said the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Hog Industry Roadmap 2022 to 2026.

Pork is the Filipino family’s main source of protein, and is generally preferred over other protein sources such as chicken meat, beef, fish, and legumes.

“The Filipino’s love for pork will remain because of the meat’s versatility as a preferred dish for nearly every memorable event with friends and family,” said Pilmico, a food and agribusiness subsidiary of the Aboitiz Group.

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) of the Department of Science and Technology said swine provides around 60% of total animal meat consumption of Fiipinos. Swine production ranks next to rice in terms of total value of agricultural production, it said in a 2016 article.

On the average, Filipinos eat more pork than the world average. The Philippines’ meat consumption in 2021 was around 15 kilograms (kg) per capita compared to the world average of roughly 11 kg per capita.

FAST FACTS: How much meat does the Filipino consume?

Before African Swine Fever (ASF) severely affected the country’s swine industry starting in July 2019, hogs were the number one livestock produced by the country. In 2018, for instance, the country’s hog production was 2.3 million metric tons (MT) followed by chicken at 1.8 million MT.

Roughly 70% of hogs in the Philippines come from backyard or small producers, and 30% come from commercial farms.

Pigs are sold in markets as live animal or as pork. Pork is processed into food such as ham, bacon, and sausages.

The biggest hog producers are Western Visayas (11.8%), Davao Region (10%), Zamboanga Peninsula (9.7%), and Bicol Region (9.5%). These five regions account for 55.8% of production of backyard/small producers.

Commercial hog producers are concentrated in the CALABARZON or Southern Tagalog Region, led by Batangas province.

The Philippines’ average annual inventory of hogs is 12 million heads. However, due mainly to the ASF, total swine inventory was down to 9.86 million heads in September 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Diversity and foreign influence

The more than 300 dishes prepared in the National Hog Festival 2024 represent the diversity of Philippine pork cuisine since most of the dishes were local.

Cafeteria, Indoors, Restaurant — RECORD. Sonia Ushirogochi, an official adjudicator of Guinness World Records, checks the more than 300 pork dishes in Gateway Mall, Araneta City, Cubao, Quezon City on Friday, March 1, 2024. Jire Carreon/Rappler

Among these are pork sisig, menudo, pochero, pork binagoongan, lechon, pork laing, embotido, pork adobo, pork sinigang, pork kinilaw, bagnet, lechon paksiw, dinuguan, pork tocino, pork morcon, pork dinuguna, pork menudo, pork afritada, picadillo, chicharon, and longganisa.

Among the Chinese pork dishes were siomai, sweet and sour pork, char siew, and dumpling.

Other Asian pork dishes presented were Indonesian Pork Satay, Vietnamese Pork Chop, Thai-style Grilled Pork, and Japan’s Tonkatsu. There were also German pork dishes.

Among the companies, restaurants, and schools that joined the Guinness World Record attempt were: Tunglok Seafood, Chef Laudico Guevarra’s, Mesa, Tim Ho Wan, Pound x Flatterie, Hawker Chan, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Little Chinatown, Perpetual Help College Manila, Robina Farms, Universal Robina, Del Monte, and Cargill Philippines.

A total of 341 dishes were displayed during the Guinness World Record attempt, 28 were disqualified. The total number of pork dishes that made it to the final list is 313.

Rappler obtained a partial list of the over 300 dishes. The list is still incomplete and includes 28 dishes that were disqualified since they were considered duplicates. We will update the list once we get the information. Some of these dishes contain the restaurant’s name.

Chopstick Siomai
Chopstick Lumia Shanghai
Sweet and Sour Pork
Braised Pork Belly in Sweet Soy Glaze, Burnt Leeks with Vikings Blend Coffee BBQ sauce
Pan de Porchetta