In the Philippines, Christmas begins in September. As soon as the “ber” months roll in, you’ll hear curated holiday playlists and see colorful festive decor everywhere. Seasonal bibingka and puto bumbong vendors also start setting up shop, while department stores bring out the Christmas trees. By then, you should already have your Noche Buena menu finalized.
Isn’t that too early? With all the excitement surrounding the holiday season, many Filipinos enjoy thinking about their Christmas meals way in advance. As a food business, you should anticipate demand and meet customer needs before others. Don’t wait until December to plan your lineup. By July or August, you should already be looking for ways to fill your menu with delicious, carefully crafted, and festive dishes guaranteed to spread holiday cheer.
If you're looking for Filipino Noche Buena menu ideas to serve this year, start testing these recipes!
6 Creative Noche Buena Recipe Ideas
Several staples appear year after year on every Filipino Noche Buena menu. Your task is to modernize these traditional dishes while keeping the same familiar tastes. Make your menu stand out by reinventing these festive flavors. Here are six recipes you can try.
1. Boneless crispy pata with ensalada
Crispy pata is an all-time Pinoy party favorite that can steal the spotlight from lechon kawali and sisig. Except, it’s not always the easiest dish to consume. The perfect solution? Serve it boneless. Have your customers spend more time savoring every crunchy, meaty bite of pata without the hassle of wrestling the meat off the bone. Serve this crowd-pleaser with a side of fresh, tangy ensalada, and see it devoured in no time.
2. Holiday Chicken Galantina
For the ultimate meat lover, this dish is a wish come true. It’s an entire chicken marinated in calamansi, black pepper, and spices, then stuffed with ground meat, ham, eggs, cheese, chorizo, and colorful vegetables. It’s a dish many home cooks shy away from because of its complexity. Take advantage of this and market your product as a delicious, fuss-free alternative to spending hours in the kitchen. Don’t forget to pair it with a two-ingredient hearty gravy that makes the dish an unbeatable classic Filipino Christmas food.
3. Roast Beef with Truffle demi-glace
No holiday table is complete without roast meat. And for many, beef is the star of their Noche Buena spread. Make this simple yet sophisticated dish extra special with a drizzle of truffle demi-glace packed with complex, umami-rich, earthy flavors. Impress your customers with a unique sauce made with all the good stuff – heavy cream, butter, truffle paste, peanut butter, garlic, black peppercorns, Knorr Liquid Seasoning, and Knorr Aromat All Purpose Seasoning Powder.
4. Holiday special pork embutido
Embutido is another classic Filipino Christmas food that requires minimal effort but promises maximum satisfaction. How can your product stand out compared to the many versions in the market? Choose high-quality ingredients and follow the recipe to a tee. Make sure you choose ground pork with an 80-20 meat-to-fat ratio and use eggs, breadcrumbs, and milk powder for the binder. For the filling, you can stay traditional with hot dogs, eggs, cheese, raisins, and veggies. But you can also add chorizo, mushrooms, olives, and pickles.
5. Prawn sinigang paella
Filipino and Spanish cuisines have many similarities. Highlight the best flavors from both in this hearty seafood dish. You can make this following traditional paella procedures but using classic sinigang na hipon recipes. It’s a unique creation that will pique the interest of your customers. Plus, it requires fresh, juicy prawns and fresh vegetables that will add color to any Noche Buena spread.
6. Baked salmon with lemon butter sauce
For customers who prefer less indulgent holiday eats, a perfectly baked salmon fillet with a creamy lemon butter sauce is the perfect dish. The right balance of freshness, tang, and herbs makes this a bright addition to your Noche Buena menu. It’s also simpler to prepare than many think. The fish only requires five ingredients and 30 minutes to cook. You can spend the rest of the time finishing the delectable sauce.
Versatile Products for Your Pinoy Menu for Christmas
Holiday operations need extra prep and attention. Peak-season prices, fully booked delivery riders, eager customers, and nonstop inquiries can cause quite a stir. But when it comes to your kitchen, Unilever Food Solutions ingredients can help increase efficiency and cut costs. Here are Knorr Professional products you can use when finalizing your Filipino Noche Buena lineup.
Knorr Beef Broth Base 1.5kg
Made from long-simmered beef and fat, Knorr Beef Broth Base delivers full, meaty flavors to soups and stews consistently. Make a rich broth base in just five minutes versus the six to eight hours it takes to make from scratch.
Knorr Liquid Seasoning 3.8L
Preferred by chefs, Knorr Liquid Seasoning has an iconic taste and aroma unmatched by any other liquid seasoning. Use it to add deeper flavors to classic Filipino Christmas food.
Knorr Potato Flakes 2kg
Whip up delicious potato sides for your meaty mains in minutes. Made from 99% potatoes, Knorr Potato Flakes provides real flavors without the hassle of boiling, peeling, and mashing. For every 2 kg of the product, you can already produce 15 kg of mashed potatoes. You’ll earn more while spending less on ingredients!
Knorr Demi-Glace Sauce Mix 1kg
Treat your customers to the rich, full-bodied flavor of authentic demi-glace. Made with real tomatoes and spices, Knorr Demi Glace Sauce Mix helps in creating instant gravies with from-scratch qualities.
Make preparing and serving your Noche Buena menu more cheerful with Unilever Food Solutions ingredients. Start testing these recipes today and stock up on essential products before the holiday rush.
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