Across the country this week, storms have brought heavy rain and uncertainty. If you’re lucky enough to be home and indoors, now’s the time to slow down, check in on loved ones, and find comfort in small, steady rituals. Like cooking.
For generations of Filipinos, rainy days meant steamy broths, hot rice, and meals that told us we were cared for. Whether it’s Nanay’s tinola or Lola’s champorado, these dishes are more than food—they’re reminders that we’ve weathered hard days before.
In this Simpol roundup, we’re sharing five easy Filipino rainy day comfort recipes that offer warmth, nourishment, and a sense of home. Cook them for your family, your neighbors, or just yourself—when it’s safe to do so.
1. Chicken Tinola
A light, gingery broth, tender chicken, green papaya, and fragrant malunggay leaves—tinolang manok is the definition of comfort in a bowl. It’s simple yet nourishing, the kind of dish mama would make when you were under the weather. Best served piping hot with a bowl of rice on the side.
Watch on Simpol YouTube: Chicken Tinola
2. Sinigang na Baboy
Nothing hits the spot like a steaming bowl of sinigang on a rainy day. The sour tamarind broth, tender pork belly, and hearty vegetables like kangkong and labanos create a rich, tangy-sour flavor that’s distinctively Filipino. Each slurp tastes like a hug.
Watch on Simpol YouTube: Sinigang na Baboy
3. Arroz Caldo
This comforting rice porridge is simmered with chicken, ginger, garlic, and finished with toppings like toasted garlic, scallions, and hard-boiled egg. Arroz caldo is often served as a merienda or a rainy morning meal, especially when paired with a splash of calamansi or patis. Thick, creamy, and oh-so-satisfying.
Watch on Simpol YouTube: Arroz Caldo
4. Champorado with Tuyo
When the rain falls softly in the early morning, champorado is the ultimate sweet start to your day. Made from sticky rice and tablea (native cocoa), this thick chocolate porridge is traditionally paired with crispy tuyo—a sweet and salty combo that surprises and delights. Drizzle some evaporated milk on top and you’re good to go.
Watch on Simpol YouTube: Champorado
5. Creamy Chicken Sopas
Think Filipino-style macaroni soup—sopas is creamy, loaded with shredded chicken, elbow macaroni, cabbage, carrots, and those iconic slices of hotdog. It’s filling, familiar, and absolutely satisfying during a stormy afternoon. One bowl and you’ll be back in childhood.
Watch on Simpol YouTube: Chicken Sopas
Rainy days in the Philippines carry more than just showers—they bring memories, worries, and sometimes, real hardship. But even during storms, the act of cooking can be grounding. A bowl of sopas. A pot of sinigang. These aren’t just meals—they’re ways we remind each other: you’re not alone.
If you’re staying in this week, may these dishes offer warmth and a little calm in the middle of it all. And if you’re out helping others, or simply trying to get through the day, we see you.
For your rainy-day reads:
How Rich Watanabe and SGD Coffee Brought Sagada’s Specialty Coffee to the World
A Taste for the Lost: How John Sherwin Felix Revives Filipino Food Heritage
The Art of Slowing Down at Bluewater Panglao
For more comforting Filipino dishes and step-by-step video guides, subscribe to Simpol.ph YouTube channel.
