Noche Buena has been one of the most significant celebrations globally, especially for Filipinos. Filipino families gather to celebrate Christ’s birth with their favorite dishes.
Noche Buena, which means “the Good Night” in Spanish, refers to Christmas Eve or the 24th of December celebrated every year.
It all started in the 16th century when the Spanish friars required churchgoers to practice fasting until Christmas morning. Since the natives feel hungry coming from the Christmas midnight mass (the first liturgy of Christmastide), they gather for a nocturnal feast before bed.
Here are five delicious dishes that you can add to your Noche Buena feast.
Traditionally known as Yule Ham, Christmas Ham’s history was adopted from other winter celebrations. It started when Germanic pagans considered Ham as part of their Yuletide celebrations, a ceremony honoring the mythical Wild Hunt along with praying for fertility, harvest and good weather.
As Christianity spreads worldwide, Christmas trees, including Christmas Hams also influence us.
Today, Noche Buena wouldn’t be complete without Christmas Ham as the centerpiece. It is one of the classic dishes symbolizing festivity, thanksgiving, and warmth.
While you can serve the Christmas Ham straight to your table, you can also explore unique twists to feed your family and wow your holiday guests! Try Root Beer Glazed Ham, Ham and Cheese Frittata, Slow Cooker Ham, or Elevated Baked Ham.
Check out our premium Christmas ham and infuse a touch of gourmet delight into your festive celebrations.
Source: Yummy.ph
Indulge the whole family with the mouthwatering deep-fried pork knuckles, Crispy Pata.
This culinary wonder was invented by Rodolfo Ongpauco, the son of the Barrio Fiesta owner in Caloocan back in the 1950s when he tried to deep fry discarded pork legs.
Since then, Filipino families have included this dish during Noche Buena, especially those who don’t have access to Lechon. This is beyond a great alternative!
There’s no other key reason why Filipino families fell in love with Crispy Pata than its extraordinary taste – golden brown and nice crisp texture on the outside, tender meat on the inside, and the savory taste of combined seasoning (bay leaves, garlic, salt, and star anise).
Source: Yummy.ph
Embutido is another Christmas favorite with Spanish origins. While they refer to it as cured sausages, Filipino Embutido is not cured at all. It is a local version of meatloaf using ground pork with onion, bell pepper, carrots, hard-boiled egg, and raisins. Special recipes include longganisa, cheese or ham as well.
Embutido, also a classic Filipino comfort food, is wrapped in foil, and you can either fry or steam it before eating.
To keep the table more appetizing, nutritious and bright, put some greens on Embutido as side dishes and place them between pure meat dishes such as Crispy Pata, Christmas Ham, or Lechon.
Source: WhatToEat.ph
Noche Buena wouldn’t be the same without red meat on our plate, so cheers to this timeless Filipino stew, Beef Caldereta.
Caldereta came from the Spanish word “caldera”, which means cauldron or a metal pot with a lid and handle used to cook in an open fire. It consists of chuck beef (with a nice amount of fat), beef brisket, ribs, shanks, carrots, bell peppers, and potatoes. If you have a robust palate for spice, you can also add chillies.
There’s no other way to make your Noche Buena even warmer than having this comforting food.
Unarguably, Lumpiang Shanghai is everyone’s favorite party food from typical dining setups, weddings, fiestas, and of course, during Noche Buena.
In fact, Lumpiang Shanghai was named the best Filipino Food according to TasteAtlas, the global map of local dishes and flavors.
Lumpiang Shanghai is a perfect appetizer to set in your Noche Buena main dishes with its crispy exterior and tasty filling. Hence, you can make this as your snack, too – a perfect pair with red wine, a cocktail, or even an ice-cold glass of soda.
Hallowed not only by Christian tradition alone but also by life’s existence, Noche Buena is a meaningful meal and should be celebrated in any way with loved ones.
To keep your meat dishes sumptuous, delectable and worth remembering, always consider fresh and high-quality meat from your trusted meat shop in the Philippines.
The Philippines is a meat-loving country.
In fact, 2020 statistics showed that every Filipino consumed an average of 13.74 kilograms of meat poultry. Fitch Solutions, a think tank, also mentioned that Filipinos are likely to spend more than ⅓ of the household budget to buy more meat and poultry products while cutting back on rice consumption by 2025.
With these numbers, meat dishes will undoubtedly reign over our tables in decades!
To receive high-quality meat, supporting local producers is a huge factor. Below are the reasons why.
Knowing where your meat comes from and how it was raised leads to a safer and healthier lifestyle. You’ll be familiar with your local farmers and their practices to ensure that livestock is free from preservatives, chemicals, added hormones, and antibiotics.
When livestock is free from unhealthy diets, they do not produce too much fat. Instead, they form beautiful marbling — white flecks of fat between meat muscles, attributing to its tenderness, juiciness, and great flavor.
When you purchase local meat, you save shipping costs whether it comes across or from other countries. You also avoid a series of retailers or wholesalers from its source thus, giving you the best price.
Aside from that, local meat stores are primarily available within your community and online. Walk around and pick your favorite cuts or order through mobile, and they’ll deliver it straight to your doorstep.
Once you buy from local meat stores, you boost the business of our local farmers. You are helping them grow their profit and expand their business — improve their processes, invest in equipment/ facilities, and build skills to deliver premium meat.
Supporting local farmers also creates opportunities/ local jobs such as the farmers themselves, logistics who bring goods to the market, and teams who set up stalls and sell the products.
With higher meat demand, we establish a greener future for farming. Farming and relevant jobs will bloom, and younger generations will continuously explore this field. This phenomenon can also foster food security in the country – nutritious, sustainable, affordable, and accessible meat produce.
Purchasing local meat has an enormous impact on our environment.
It reduces food miles or the distance food travels before reaching your local market. Meat doesn’t need long truck trips or travel via planes. There’s no need for substantial storage facilities or refrigerators before reaching your plate. Thus, decreasing energy usage and carbon footprints.
Generally, we massively reduce our greenhouse gas emissions if we buy local meat produce.
Local meat suppliers have plenty of benefits to our community.
If you’re looking for a local meat shop in Metro Manila, meet The Good Meat. The Good Meat is a local online meat shop offering pre-packed fresh meat cuts such as pork, chicken, and beef.
The Good Meat products came from local farmers to preserve their natural properties and provide the high-quality meat you deserve.
Visit our online store to know more about our products.
