For as long as I’ve known my ex-husband, he has loved “Filipino Breakfast” (Tocilog), a taste he has passed on to our son. It was something that never really interested me for years… I’m not sure why. I mean, I’m not a huge fan of “traditional” sweet breakfasts… although ironically I love having a sweeter breakfast dish for dinner 🤷🏻♀️.
But for breakfast breakfast, IF I actually eat breakfast, I prefer something that approaches a lunch dish. I like savory, salty, and/or spicier dishes. So, a traditional Filipino breakfast should have been right up my alley. But for the longest time, I just refused to go there. Granted, my ex generally made his Filipino breakfast more traditional with eggs and Spam over rice, and I just couldn’t get past the Spam.
Back in 2019, my son and I traveled to Southeast Asia, and I found myself having rice, eggs, and sausage for breakfast most mornings. It was then that it dawned on me that I could find a way to make Filipino breakfast work for me.
At his Lolo and Lola’s house, my son will have a traditional Tocilog with rice, eggs, and Spam. At home, since I won’t buy Spam, he makes it with bacon. And even though bacon, eggs, and rice isn’t a far cry from a typical American breakfast of bacon, eggs, and home fries, it always seemed kind of bland to me. So when I finally mustered myself up to make Filipino breakfast, I wanted to kick up the flavor.
The first thing that occurred to me was using chorizo. Chorizo is bursting with flavor and even has a slight spiciness to it. The second thing that occurred to me was making garlic rice. My ex-parent-in-laws used to buy fried garlic at their local Asian market that used to just blow my mind back before I started cooking more often.
Rather than buying it from the Asian market, though, it was super easy to make at home. And WOW, let me tell you, garlic rice has absolutely blown my mind, and I don’t think I ever want to go back to traditional rice for Asian dishes! Fried up in a small amount of butter until golden brown and crispy, I added it to the rice and fluffed it all together. I’m telling you, mind blown!
The combination of the garlic rice with the chorizo and eggs made this such a fantastic Asian fusion dish on a traditional Filipino breakfast. The ingredient list is small, but don’t let that deceive you. There is so much flavor going on in this dish. I served this for dinner… but this is great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch, you name it, it’s amazing!
Enjoy!
Fusion Tocilog- Filipino Breakfast with Chorizo & Garlic Rice
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Asian, Filipino
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Ingredients
16 oz chorizo
2 cups dry medium-grain rice
8 to 12 eggs
1 TB butter
8 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
Instructions
Cook the rice according to the package. Leave covered.
Meanwhile, cook the chorizo over medium heat in a large frying pan, crumbling it up as it cooks, until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set on paper towels to drain.
While the chorizo cooks, melt the butter in a small frying pan. Add the garlic and fry, stirring often, until most of the butter is absorbed and the garlic is a rich, golden brown. Remove from the heat. When the rice is done cooking, add the garlic to the pot and fluff together until evenly mixed.
Cook the eggs last. I recommend cooking over easy. Using the same pan as the chorizo cooked in, cook the eggs over medium low heat. Add the eggs to the pan, working in batches, and cover with a glass lid. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the whites have set.
Serve immediately over the rice and chorizo.
Enjoy!
Keywords: Tocilog, Filipino breakfast, Asian breakfast, rice and eggs
