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Calories · Filipino food

Filipino food calories, plate by plate.

A Filipino meal out is rice, a few viands for the table, and a lot of sharing. That makes the cup of rice — and how many of them — as important as the dish you ordered.

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In short

Most Filipino restaurant plates with one cup of rice land around 500–700 calories — chicken inasal with rice about 550, chicken adobo with rice about 620, a tocilog about 680 — and every extra cup of plain rice adds about 210. Restaurant portions vary, so treat these as rough.

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How a meal is built

Rice first, then everything else.

Nearly every Filipino plate comes with a cup of white rice, and many restaurants offer unlimited rice. Breakfast plates — the silog family — pair a meat with garlic fried rice and a fried egg. Family-style tables share a soup, a fried dish and something saucy, with rice for everyone.

A cup of plain cooked rice is about 210 calories and a cup of garlic fried rice about 300, so a second cup moves the number more than swapping one viand for another.

The menu

Filipino dishes, one rough number each

Filipino · typical restaurant servingEvery cuisine →

  • Cup of rice~210one level restaurant cup of steamed white rice · usually 150–300
  • Leche flan~230one restaurant slice · usually 180–400
  • Turon~230one large piece · usually 150–350
  • Ensaymada~240one bakery ensaymada · usually 200–450
  • Arroz caldo~250one bowl of chicken rice porridge · usually 200–450
  • Jollibee Peach Mango Pie~270one fried pie, US serving · usually 250–310
  • Bibingka~290one rice cake with cheese and coconut · usually 230–450
  • Garlic rice (sinangag)~300one level restaurant cup · usually 220–380
  • Halo-halo~330one restaurant glass · usually 250–550
  • Lumpia shanghai~340six pieces · usually 230–500
  • Jollibee Yumburger~360one Yumburger, Jollibee USA standard size · usually 330–410
  • Siopao~380one regular steamed pork bun · usually 250–520
  • Pancit palabok~410one regular order of Jollibee USA’s Palabok Fiesta · usually 330–600
  • Bulalo~480about an eighth of a restaurant pot, with broth, rice not included · usually 330–720
  • Pancit canton~480one restaurant plate · usually 350–700
  • Chicken inasal with rice~550one grilled leg quarter, or paa, with one cup of rice · usually 450–800
  • Jollibee Burger Steak~570two burger steak patties with mushroom gravy and steamed rice, US serving · usually 380–750
  • Lechon kawali~580one restaurant serving, rice not included · usually 370–770
  • Sinigang na baboy~580about a sixth of a restaurant pot, with broth, rice not included · usually 400–800
  • Jollibee Chickenjoy with rice~600a 1-piece Chickenjoy thigh with steamed rice and a small gravy, US serving · usually 440–700
  • Pork sisig~600one sizzling plate for one, no egg, no rice · usually 420–850
  • Jollibee Spaghetti~610one regular order, US serving · usually 450–700
  • Chicken adobo with rice~620two pieces of adobo with sauce and one cup of rice · usually 480–850
  • Tocilog~680tocino, garlic fried rice and one fried egg · usually 550–900
  • Longsilog~690longganisa, garlic fried rice and a fried egg · usually 550–950
  • Tapsilog~720beef tapa, one cup of garlic fried rice and one fried egg · usually 550–950
  • Beef pares~870braised beef with sauce, one cup of garlic rice and a bowl of clear beef broth · usually 650–1,150
  • Kare-kare~1,050one serving of oxtail kare-kare with vegetables, a spoon of bagoong and one cup of rice · usually 750–1,350

What drives it

Fried pork, sweet glazes and extra rice.

  • Deep-fried pork. Lechon kawali is about 580 calories for 150 g before any rice; crispy pata and chicharon go further.
  • Saucy braises. Adobo sauce is rich in fat from the meat, and it gets spooned onto the rice.
  • Sweet cured meats. Tocino and longganisa are sweetened, and silog plates add garlic fried rice and a fried egg.
  • More rice. Unlimited rice is generous; count the cups.
  • Dessert and drinks. A restaurant halo-halo is about 330, more with ice cream and leche flan on top.

Lighter orders

If you want a lighter plate.

  • Sinigang or tinola made with fish, shrimp or chicken rather than pork belly — a pork sinigang is about 580 before rice, as much as lechon kawali.
  • Grilled chicken inasal, especially breast, instead of fried pork.
  • Plain rice (about 210 a cup) instead of garlic fried rice (about 300), and one cup instead of two.
  • Share the lechon kawali or crispy pata across the table.
  • Spoon less sauce onto the rice.

How the dishes compare

A Filipino menu, roughly.

Restaurant portions vary, so read these as rough. For a table of shared viands, PlateDiary’s calorie counter reads every dish from one photo — calories are off unless you turn them on.

Rough calories for typical Filipino restaurant servings
OrderRough numberNotes
Plain rice, 1 cup~210Garlic fried rice is ~300
Halo-halo, a glass~330Ice cream and flan add more
Lumpia shanghai, 6 pieces~340A little under 60 each
Pancit palabok, a regular order~410Sauce and toppings
Pancit canton, a plate~480Oil and meat
Chicken inasal with 1 cup rice~550Leg quarter, grilled
Sinigang na baboy, no rice~580A sixth of a shared pot
Lechon kawali, 150 g, no rice~580Add ~210 per cup of rice
Sisig, sizzling plate, no rice~600No egg; egg and mayo add more
Chicken adobo with 1 cup rice~620Two pieces with sauce
Tocilog~680Garlic rice and fried egg included
Tapsilog~720Garlic rice and fried egg included
Kare-kare, one serving with rice~1,050Oxtail, peanut sauce, bagoong

In PlateDiary

A rough number for the dishes you save — only if you want one.

Off unless you turn them on

Calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and, when PlateDiary AI reads your photo of the table, each dish gets one rough “~” number. Accept it or change it; a number you correct is remembered for that dish. With Calories off, the app looks exactly as it did before.

A read sends small pictures of the cut-out dishes, with the place's name as a hint — never the table photo, faces or your location. Calorie numbers never go to analytics, and nothing is written to a health app. PlateDiary AI starts with free tries; here is how it works.

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Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. Philippine Food Composition Tables (FNRI-DOST) — meats and pork belly
  2. USDA FoodData Central — Adobo, with rice (FDC 2708958)
  3. USDA FoodData Central — Rice, white, cooked, no added fat (FDC 2708408)

Questions

Questions people ask.

How many calories are in a cup of rice?

A level restaurant cup of plain steamed white rice is about 210 calories, usually 150–300 depending on how it is packed. Garlic fried rice is about 300 a cup because it is fried in oil.

How many calories is unlimited rice?

There is no single number: count the cups at about 210 calories each, then add the viand.

Is sinigang lighter than adobo?

Not always. A serving of pork sinigang is about 580 calories before rice, while chicken adobo with a cup of rice is about 620 — the pork belly in sinigang adds up. Fish, shrimp or chicken versions are usually lighter.

How many calories are in chicken adobo with rice?

About 620 calories for two pieces with sauce and a cup of rice, usually 480–850 depending on the cut and how much sauce goes on the rice.