Food so exotic, so different, so tasty! In the Philippines, food is a serious pastime. Most countries have a culture which is eating three times a day from a clearly defined menu. But in the Philippines, the rules are different. Beside the normal three meals a day, there is also merienda. A light snack which is no longer just a spanish style cake or pastry but can be a small portion of anything!. In most Malls there is a food hall. up to 30 individual restaurants seling different food whch is then eaten in a common area. This is a big step forward in eating out.
You are no longer limited to the items on a single enu. But beware of ordering something that looks like something from home because you may have a surprise that may not be pleasant. You will see many street vendors selling mais(sweet corn), barbequed pork, chicken and banana, chicharon(pork skin or ears or chicken skin or entrails) squid balls, fish balls, kikiam, squid, eggs in bright range batter, sioamai, peanuts with or without shells, skin and chilli and the famous Balut (boiled duck embryo) and Penoy (Hard boiled duck egg).
There are many sticky rice snacks many with coconut or casava some coloured with the screaming violet color of Ube. The food in the Philipines has changed over the last 500 years due to the influence of the trading partners and Country of Occupation. The name of the dish tells you the origin. Traditional and real Filipino foods sit alongside Chinese adaptions and Spanish/Mexican introductions to give foods like adobo, dinuguan, ginataan, sisig, turon, puto, bopis, papaitan, sinigang, tinola, kare-kare, longanisa, tocino, pochero, menudo, lechon, chop suey, pancit, lumpia, escebeche, afritada, beef tapa and hot dogs.
If you have travelled thousands of kilometres to get here, then try some of the local gastromic delights. In Metro Manila, waiters and wautresses in places that have foreigners as customers will all speak English and will advise you on dishes. Not all foods suit the European palate. Ampalaya, or bitter gourd, is a favourite Filipino food but definitely and acquired taste. It can still taste bitter in your throat! Dinuguan is sometimes caled chocolate pudding but it is made from pork blood. Filipinos like fatty pork with the skin left on while it is boiled or stewed.
Bagoong is shrimp paste and is very salty. If you are in doubt, then order safe foods like pancit canton – simlar to chow ein made with wheat noodles, pancit bihon made with rice noodles or pancit sotanghon made from bean thread noodles. There is also pancit malabon made with thick rice noodles. Chop suey. pork chop or fried chicken. In many places, you will see tosiliog, longsilog, bangsilog, daingsilog. These are fried egg (itlog) served with tocino (Filipino ham) or longanisa(garlic pork sausage) bangus (milk fish) or daing(dried fish). All are popular for breakfast or merienda.
Try siopao for merienda. It is a chinese steamed dumpling filled with mixed meats (bola bola) or pork with garlic (asado). Tear or cut it open and apply the auce that is supplied but don’t forget to remove the paper on the base! Filipnos love seafood. The national fish is Bangus and is found on sale every. vhere. It has many bones, so opt for the boneless bangus if it is availTABLE. Other common seafood are tambakol, espada, tangigue, cream dory, yellow fin tuna, many varieties of prawns, oysters, squid, mussells, crabs, lobster, sea cucumber, seaweed and many others.
Chicken is very popular and the native chicken has a wonderful flavor. Local pork is of high quality and lean cuts are becoming more popular as the health lobby against cholestoral gains popularity. Local beef is also very good. Carabao meat is often availTABLE and tastes similar to beef but is a little more gamey. Goat (kambing) is good and popular as a pulutan (food to accompany beer). Often sold in kambingan. Mutton is usually imported. VegeTABLEs grow at a fantastic rate because of the climate. Potatoes are excellent quality.
Bell peppers, cabbage, cauluflower, brocolli, carrots, onions are found alongside Asian produce such as kalbasa, upo, patola, okra, chinese leaf, pak choy and bok choy (pechay), ampalaya, talong(aubergine), alugbati, pipino, kang-kong, sayote, singkamas, sigarilya, baguo beans, sitaw, alungay, tomatos and many others. Fruits are plentiful but some are seasonal. Philippine mangoes are the best in the world. They are brightyellow and very sweet. Bananas have many varieties lakatan, latandan, senoritas and saba and are always availTABLE.
Pineapple, santol, lanzones, rambutan, dalandan (Philippine orange) Chico, star apple, balambing, atis, guyabano, langka, durian, mangosteen, marang, watermelon, pomelo, papaya and, of course, coconut. Grapes and apples are usually imported. Bread is a surprise for most foreigners because sugar is added to the basic recipe of flour, yeast and salt which gives it an almost cake like taste. Sugar free bread is beginning to come on the market but there is a premium price to pay. Pan de sal is a traditional Spanish salt bread and is a cheap and tasty.
Cakes tend to be of just 5 types: Sponge which is very fine texture, Brownie type cake often spread with icing, Donuts either filled with cream or covered in icing, Tarts which have a fruit based filling and finally, Bread type cakesthat sometimes resemble Danish pastries. Alcoholic Drinks. San Miguel is by far the larges producer of drinks. pale Pilsen, Light and Red Horse dominate the market and are excellent lager type beers. Asia breweries are miniscule by comparison. Localy produced Brandy, Rum, Whisky, Gin and Vodka are all very good and remarkably cheap.
You will pay up to 20 times as much for an imported drink and they often are not as good as the local variety. There are traditional drinks like Lumbanog (Coconut sap wine) and Tuba (made from Coconut Milk). Non Alcoholic Drinks. Buko (young coconut milk) is sold everynhere as is Gulaman, Pineapple, Melon, Buko Pandan and many others but make sure they adverise that they use purified water. You will see blocks of ice being dragged through the streets at they may end up in drinks! Bottled Water is widely availTABLE as well as bottled and tinned fruit drinks from Del Monte, Dole and Magnolia.
There is not a dairy industry so milk is UHT or dried. There are some very good powdered juices including ice tea of various colors, strawberry, orange, dalandan, pomelo, pineapple, mange, guyabano and many others. Coffee, Chocolate and Mocha drinks are very popular both hot and iced but try other local companies and not just the intenational chains. Not only are the drinks cheaper but you will be assisting the farmers who produce the beans. Iced tea is widely availTABLE and hot tea usually served with Kalamns Philippine Lime).
If you really want burgers and fries,pizza, pasta etc then there is plenty of choice also. Filipino Cuisine The Filipino Cuisine has a humble beginnings. The early Filipinos used simple ways of cooking like broiling on an open fire, boiling and roasting. But with the frequent visit of Asian neighbours like the Indonesians, Arabs, Indians, The Malays and the Chinese who used to come to the Philippine shores to barter their goods and produce, the Filipinos were introduce to their use of spices and herbs to enhance the flavour of the food they eat. Spanish Influence
When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippine shores in 1 521, the Filipinos were introduced to a different style of cooking, The Spaniards have a big influence in the present Filipino dishes that is serve in every homes of the Filipinos today because the Philippines have been a Spanish colony for almost 400 years. History tells us that the First Governor General, Miguel de Leaspi who lived in Manila for several years have taught his helpers how to cook his favourite Spanish dishes who in turn passed the recipe to family and friends. When the Spaniards migrated and intermarried in the Philippines, the popularity of
Spanish cooking increase. The Spaniards introduced tomatoes and garlic along with the technique of sauteing them with onions in olive oil. Popular baked good and desserts like Pan de Sal (dinner roll), Leche Han (egg custard), Ensaymada (cheese buns) are from the Spanish influence. Favourite Filipino dishes served for special occasions like Pochero, Morcon, Mechado, Cocid. Paella, estofado, Callos, Calderaeta, Menudo can be traced to Spanish cooking, they -are generally considered fiesta food and most often found on the dining TABLEs Of the upper classes during the Spanish era.
Food historians claim that 80 % of Filipino dishes are of Spanish origin. Chinese Influence The Chinese migrants and traders have also added a different taste to the way Filipinos cook. Chinese migrants introduce the use of noodles known as “Mi” as in Lo-Mi, Mi-Ki, Ma-Mi, Mi-Sua. Now we have our own version of noodles called Pansit/Pancit. Pancit is a noodle dishes sauteed with pork, shrimp and vegeTABLEs. Other Chinese-inspired dishes, are Lumpia Shanghai (spring roll) fried and served with soy sauce and chopped garlic, kikiam, siopao, and siomai, have been a favourite and become a part of Filipino way of life.
The Filipino Cuisine Today The so called traditional Filipino cuisine is the result of various cultural influences from the different foreign settlers and invaders who have come to the Philippines. The Filipinos who have their own way of adjusting to new settlers have adopt to foreign ways without discarding their own way and thus become the Filipino cuisine of today Most traditional dishes have survived over the centuries and recipes have been handed down from one generation to another. Although most popular dishes in the Philippines are of Spanish origin, several factors proved influential in the cooking methods Of the Filipinos.
New ingredients cooking techniques and easy to use ready made sauces and mixes became more popular which suited the present fast-paced lifestyle of Filipinos today. Different regions in the Philipines have developed their own dishes, depending on the availability of ingredients found in that region. In the Bicol Region because of the abundance of coconuts, “gata” or coconut milk is a common ingredients in Bicolano cooking. n the Philippines cooking is a tradition and extravagant fiestas, birthday, weddings, family reunions, Christmas and New Year are still causes for lavish celebrations among Filipinos.
Fiestas showcase Filipino cooking signature dishes. No matter how humble a family is, each member look forward to a happy gathering during these occasions because their favourite Filipino dishes will always be on the TABLE. Filipino Cuisine can be best described as a mixture of the eastern and western influences it provides an array of rich flavours, colour and spices which made the Filipino cuisine unique, delicious and irresistible. – History and legend say that the Filipinos came from Indonesia and Malaysia. They founded villages and small kingdoms in the 7,000 or so islands which make up the Philippines today.
Chinese traders were common visitors to these settlements. So were Hindu merchants, Japanese fishermen, and later on, Spaniard, Portuguese, Dutch and English adventurers. In 1521 , Ferdinand Magellan reached the islands in his effort to circumnavigate the world, reaching the east by sailing west Spain colonized the county soon after that and gave it the name of Philippines, after the Spanish King, Philip II Spanish rule held sway over the Philippines for more than three centuries until the Americans took over in 1898. The Philippines gained its independence from the United States in 1946. Filipino cooking reflects the history of the islands.
On a Malayan base, Chinese, Hindu, Spanish and American ingredients have been added through centuries of foreign influence and surprisingly, a blend with an identity of its own has emerged. In the cosmopolitan city of Manila, this mixture is most in evidence. Far from the capital city, however, one can still sample the simple dishes that native Filipinos eat Many of these dishes are remarkably close to native fares still found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and other Asian countries. Native Filipino cooking is not too spicy despite the fact that spices are lentiful and readily availTABLE in the islands. Europeans, after all, stumbled upon the Philippines in their search for the fTABLEd Spice Islands). The basic staple is rice of which hundreds of varieties are cultivated. Main source of protein is fish which abound in oceans, lakes, rivers, streams and ponds. Meat, especially pork and poultry, is also commonly eaten. Beef is readily availTABLE but is more expensive; the cattle industry not being well developed in the country. Veal and lamb are not too popular but goat meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of the country as are frogs, rabbits and deer.
It is often when sampling native Filipino dishes that one appreciates the regional variations in the country. For while it is true that Filipino culture is homogeneous, there are specific differences in cooking and food preferences that readily identify the regional origin of many dishes. Although these differences are not as pronounced as in the regional variations of Chinese cooking, for instance, they are widely recognized in the country where regionalism plays an important role because of its geographical division into many island-groups.
It is generally observed that from a culinary viewpoint, the Philippine rchipelago may be ethnically divided into six regions. Based on the people’s cooking styles and eating habits, the regions from north to south are: NORTHERN LUZON ” the region around the northern tip of Luzon Island peopled mainly by Ilocanos, Pangasinans and several minority groups like Ifugaos, Bontocs, Ibanags and Kalingas. Cooking in this region is very simple relying mainly on native vegeTABLEs, fish, poultry and meat.
A preference for native vegeTABLEs particularly saluyot (a leafy green that looks like spinach but turns slippery like okra when cooked) and the widespread use of bagoong shrimp paste) give Northern Luzon cooking a definite identity. The Ilocanos usually like their vegeTABLEs steamed or plain boiled and dipped in bagoong. For additional flavor, they may boil their vegeTABLEs with pork or broiled fish as
pinakbet, dinengdeng or inabraw. The Pangasinans are justifiably famous for the quality of their bangus (milkfish) which are artificially reared in ponds through an ancient system of aqua-culture.
Generally, Northern Luzon cooking uses locally grown ingredients, involves simple procedures and may even be called sparse fare. Life in this coastal and mountainous region is hard nd the people tend to be thrifty and live simply. These traits are well reflected in their dishes. SOUTHERN TAGALOG ” homogeneously Tagalog speaking area south of Manila and the country’s major source of coconuts as well as rice and fruits. Their cooking and eating habits are strongly influenced by their products and the availability of certain foodstuffs in the region.
For instance, they have a strong preference for fresh water fish which abound in streams and rivers and which are usually sold swimming in buckets Of water in the market. Their cooking tends to be sour with their constant use of vinegar and sour fruits ike kamias,tamarind and over-ripe guavas. Vinegar seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper, is used as a marinade for fish before frying or as a dip. Tamarind and other sour fruits are used to s6ur the broth of sinigang a favorite way of cooking fresh water fish.
But the southern Tagalogs are well known for their native cakes and delicacies such as espasol, suman, hinalo, sinukmani and bibingka, the main ingredients of which are glutinous rice and coconuts. VISAYAS ” the region that includes islands that occupy the middle part of the Philippine archipelago and parts of Mindanao island inhabited by Christian Filipinos: The two main dialects spoken in the region are Hiligaynon and Cebuano. The people thrive on salt water fish abundant in the Sibuyan, Visayan, Sulu and Mindanao seas surrounding them, not to mention the China Sea and Pacific Ocean.
Fish and seafoods not immediately consumed are preserved in salt and dried in the sun. The region is noted for these various types of dried salted seafoods such as daing tuyo, pus it, hipon and kalkag. Visayan cooking tends to be salty not only because of its dried salted foods but also because of its liberal use of guinamos, a type of bagoong that s different from that used in Northern Luzon. Bagoong in Northern Luzon is made of shrimp or fish fermented in a salty sauce.
Guinamos is made of fermented shrimp or fish and salt pounded to a paste and has no sauce. It has a much stronger flavor and odor than the other type. Visayan cooking is simple. The people like their fish broiled over live coals or boiled in well seasoned vinegar as in pinamarhan which is similar to the Tagalog’s paksiw na isda but cooked until it is almost dry. Some even eat their fish raw as in kinilaw, a dish of sliced raw fish marinated in seasoned vinegar with onion, omatoes and slices of unripe mango.
Like the Northern Luzon people, they also like their vegeTABLEs simply boiled or steamed but dipped in guinamos with a squeeze of lemon. Being the country’s main producer of sugar, the region is well known for its native snacks such aspinasugbu, turrones, banana chips, utap, and the traditional cookies and biscuits of Panaderia de Molo (Bakery of Molo, a town in Ilorlo). Native sweets such as biko and baybaye are made of coconut and glutinous rice. MINDANAO ” that part of Mindanao Island inhabited by ethnic groups having Islam as a common religious bond.
There are several groups in this region: the Maranao that inhabit the shores of Lake Lanao, the Maguindanao which occupy the province of Cotabato, the Tausugs, Badjaos and other maritime groups that live in the Sulu Sea area, etc. Ethnically, however, because of the strong religious affinity among them, these groups can be seen as one. Mindanao cooking is marked by simplicity and the, non-use of pork which is universally used in the rest of the country. It is closely similar to Indonesian and Malaysian native fares in the use Of hot chilies and strongly flavored spices such as curry.
The more popular dishes are tiola sapi (spicy boiled beef)/piarun (fish with chilies), and Iapua (blanched vegeTABLEs seasoned with salt and vinegar or guinamos). The most easily identifiTABLE difference in Filipino culture is of course reflected in religion. The Christian Filipinos, found mostly in the large island of Luzon and the Visayas make up about 96 per cent of the country’s population of about 50 million. Filipino Muslims, on the other hand, are concentrated on the southern part of Mindanao Island close to the borders of Indonesia and Malaysia. Among Christian Filipihos there are many variations in cooking.
The fragmented nature of the islands, the fact that they were probably settled at different times by people coming from different parts of Malaysia and Indonesia, and the difficulties of communication and transportation have woven various threads into the tapestry which is Philippine culture. As in other cultures there are food favorites in each region in the Philippines. For example,even in staples, most Filipinos living in Luzon Island prefer rice while Visayans in the Island of Cebu, Leyte, and Sarnar like corn. People in Luzon and some iff the Visayas will eat roots crops (sweet potatoes, yams, assava, etc. as desserts or snacks but to eat them as staples in these regions would indicate that one is poor. In Mindanao, however, panggi (cassava) is the staple food in many areas. Preferences in food are also determined by the ready availability of certain foods. For example, Bicolanos and Tagalogs especially those in southern Luzon use a lot of coconut in their cooking. Coconut trees dominate the landscape in these regions. Coconut milk comes from the meat of the mature coconut which is grated, mixed with a little water and squeezed between the palms to get the milk out.
Added to dishes, coconut milk makes them thick and oily, imparting to the foods the unmistakTABLE taste of coconut. While hot peppers are found in all parts of the Philippines, only Bicolanos in the southern tip of Luzon and the Muslims of Mindanao eat them raw or use them extensively in cooking. Many varieties of pepper are found in the country but the hottest ones are tiny red devils known as labuyo. Added to meat, fish or vegeTABLEs, they give dishes a mouth burning quality. Among the Bicolanos, the wide use of coconuts and hot peppers give their cooking a regional identity all its own.
Meat and fish are common throughout the Philippines but there are also regional differences. Generally, people living in coastal areas or river streams eat a lot of fish while Inland people prefer meat. The most popular meat for Christian Filipinos is pork followed closely by chicken, duck and other poultry. However, Muslims do not eat pork and Pampangos are generally known as eaters of dog meat as are so called non-Christian tribes in northern Luzon (Igorots, Bontocs, lfUgaos and Ibanags). Among fish eaters, variations exist between those who prefer salt water fish or fresh water varieties.
Most Visayans prefer ‘salt water fish such as sardines, tuna, bonito and mackerel which abound in the seas surrounding them. Many Tagalogs, Pampangos, Ilocanos and Pangasinans prefer fresh water fish caught in rivers, lakes and streams. In Pangasinan and Pampanga the cultivation of fish in ponds (aquacuiture) is a well developed art. The most popular “cultured” fish is the bangus (milkfish) which is grown in ponds of brackish water. Mudfish, catfish, carp and tifapia are not as carefully cultivated as milkfish but they are also somewhat “domesticated” in that they usually co-exist with wet rice (paddy) cultivation.
There are many peculiarities in food habits among Filipino ethnic groups which are extremely hard to explain. For example, though the leafy green vegeTABLE known as saluyot can be grown in any part of the country, only the Ilocanos seem to like it a lot. To others,the slippery leaves are very unappetizing. Visayans eat fish raw, though unlike the Japanese, they marinate it first in a mixture of vinegar, garlic, onions and salt. Tagalogs and Pampangos eat frogs, others rarely touch them. Cookiog styles and seasonings also vary from region to region although all basic cooking methods are used.
Some places, however, tend to use one ethod more than the others. The Northern Luzon people,for instance, boil most of their foods and season them with bagoong (shrimp paste). The Southern Tagalogs tend to marinate their meat, fish and poultry in seasoned vinegar and then fry them. Central Luzon people favor sauteing in, garlic, onion, and tomatoes and the use of soy sauce and gravies. The Visayans also favor frying as well as boiling while the Muslims prefer to boil or roast their food over a live fire. (Sinugba or inasal means broiled. ) The basic cooking methods commonly used in the Philippines are boiling, roasting, frying and steaming.
Freshly caught fish is usually broiled over live coals or a wood ‘fire. The fish is simply skewered from end to end with a bamboo stick and broiled. The burnt scales are then peeled off to reveal the tender meat. Fresh kalamansi (native lemon) juice or vinegar with a little salt is placed in a small dish and the fish dipped into this before it is eaten usually with handfuls of plain boiled rice. Meat and poultry are also cooked this way. On special occasions a small suckling pig may be roasted in the festive lechon. The pig is cleaned, stuffed with rice, . tender tamarind leaves and arbmatic herbs.
A long bamboo pole is thrust through the pig from head to tail and the pig is roasted over live coals until it is golden red, the skin crispy and its curling tail signals it is ready. This most festive of Filipino dishes is eatpn with a sweet-sour liver sauce that is spiced with lots of garlic, onions and peppercorns. Most daily fares are boiled with the ingredients thrown into the pot in the order of how fast they cook. Certain fruits or vegeTABLEs are boiled with fish or meat to impart their peculiar taste, usually sour, to the dish. Kamias, tomatoes, guavas, fruits, flowers and even young leaves of the tamarind tree re often used.
They are boiled, crushed through a sieve and the puree poured back into the pot. One such favorite Filipino dish is called sinigang a boiled sour dish of fish, shrimps, pork, beef or chicken mixed with vegeTABLEs. Similar dishes seem to be popular throughout Asia where it is called sayur asam in Indonesia and tomiam in Thailand. Fresh vegeTABLEs are sometimes boiled and dipped in a vinegar and bagoong mixture before eating. Often, however, they are simply washed and placed on top of boiling rice just before the rice is fully cooked, thus achieving a steamed effect.
They may also be cut into small pieces and sauteed in garlic, onions and tomatoes with pieces of pork and shrimps. Some, like eggplants, may be sliced thinly, dipped in batter and deep fried not unlike the Japanese tempura. Frying seems to have been introduced to Philippine cooking by the Chinese. Coconut oil must have been used in the beginning as it is still often used now although lard and other vegeTABLE oils have become popular.
