Like many tasty foods, the empanada has been adopted by different cultures around the world. The empanada first originated in Spain in the 16th century, and since then it has become a staple in countries from Argentina to the Philippines, where they incorporate an unexpected, sweet ingredient.

If you bite into a Filipino empanada, you’ll encounter a sweet addition: raisins that have been mixed into the ground meat. Alternatively, if you’re not a fan of raisins, you might find variations that use brown sugar and canned tomato sauce to maintain the sweet and savory combo that is popular in the island nation.

When raisins are included in the filling for empanadas, they are first softened by simmering in a liquid like chicken stock, wine, or soy sauce. A recipe from Manilla Spoon adds a 1/2 cup of raisins to ground pork and beef along with onion, garlic, plum tomatoes, carrot, and a bit of soy sauce for a flavorful combo.