Empanadilla — Philippines

The empanadilla is a small pastry that can be regarded as a variant of the empanada. In this bite-sized rendering it takes the form of a thin, crisp crescent, fried until golden rather than baked, giving it a delicate, shattering shell around a soft filling. This version is reported from the Philippines, where the empanadilla is a familiar party snack, sold in bakeries and carried to fiestas and gatherings across the Visayan islands and beyond. Its small size makes it easy to serve by the tray for a crowd. The dough is enriched with a touch of sugar and butter before being rolled thin and cut into small circles. A filling of ground pork sautéed with onion, garlic and diced carrot is mixed with raisins for sweetness, spooned onto the dough, folded into crescents and sealed with a fork-crimped edge. The pastries are deep-fried until golden and crisp, then, while still warm, lightly dusted with sugar. What sets this rendering apart is its smaller, thinner shape, its slightly sweetened dough, and a filling built on raisins and carrot rather than olives and aji amarillo, plus the final dusting of sugar — details that give the Philippine empanadilla its own sweet, snackable character within the wider family.