Beef Empanadas

What is Filipino Beef Empanada

Filipino Empanadas were influenced by Spain when they colonised the country. It’s similar to South American and Cuban empanadas. Each Spanish colony adapted the recipe to their own using ingredients available to them. Making each country’s empanada unique to them.

I only know 2 variations on empanadas in the Philippines. Vigan Empanada and the standard Empanada that is either beef or chicken and this can be cooked either fried or baked. This recipe is inspired by my mother-in-law’s recipe who is from Pangasinan. She may have tweaked the recipe to her own taste but it’s still close to the standard recipe. This I think version is the most popular as it’s the easiest to make and the ingredients are easily accessible. The other empanada is Vigan Empanada, this is named after a place in the Northern Philippines. It’s one of the last few sites in the Philippines where you can still see old houses and cobbled streets from the Spanish era. Vigan Empanada is made with rice flour and the fillings have green papaya, Vigan sausage meat and an egg! I know right, it’s completely different to the standard empanada.

One thing that splits some people is whether to add raisins or not! I say it’s okay, as it balances the sweet and the saltiness of it all. This balance compliments the dough perfectly as the dough has a sweetness itself that makes the empanada very moreish!

Let’s talk ingredients

This dish has ingredients that are easily accessible which is a bonus for me, especially when I don’t live in the Philippines. Mince Beef, Potatoes and Raisins can be found in most supermarkets. 

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