Food in Filipino Culture
Food is an important part of Filipino culture, so much so that it is customary to greet someone with “have you eaten yet?” instead of “how are you?” Eating and eating out are favorite Filipino pastimes. A typical Filipino diet may consist of up to six meals a day: breakfast, snacks, lunch, merienda (afternoon snack), dinner, and snacks before bed. And central to every Filipino gathering is a bountiful selection of food. Food becomes an expression of hospitality and friendship — so the more food available, the more “love” is expressed.
Most Filipino food and dishes are a delectable blend of native and foreign cuisines that have evolved through the centuries. Historians narrate that a couple of hundred years ago, foreign traders and settlers, colonizers and missionaries brought with them their native recipes and unique style of cooking to the Philippines. Culinary artifacts and centuries-old pottery cooking was excavated from the central and southern part of the country proved that the Philippine cuisine was influenced by Austronesian origins mixed with cuisines from the Spaniards, Americans, Chinese along with the culinary impressions from other neighboring Asian countries. The dishes adopted from these foreign influences was adapted to domestic ingredients and to the delicate local palate.
Lechon
Lechon, or litson in Filipino is basically a roasted pig. The skin of a perfect lechon is crispy, yet it melts in your mouth after the initial bite. The better part is the belly, where the secret herbs and spices come in close contact with the meat. It’s the centerpiece of the feast. Lechon is among the recipes closest to the (cholesterol-saturated) hearts of Filipinos.
Filipino Pride
Filipinos in the Philippines and all across the world love getting together for festivals, holidays and other special occasions.
This is because most Filipinos give premium on pakikisama or the concept of pleasantly dealing with family members, friends and acquaintances.
In most of their gatherings, of course, Filipinos feast on Filipino foods and drinks.
Filipino cuisine is an amazing amalgam of native, Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian and Spanish cooking. Popular dishes are adobo, pancit, lumpia, sinigang and halo-halo. Filipinos love bold flavors and rich dishes. Abundant use of patis, or fish sauce, soy sauce and sugarcane vinegar give food a bold punch. Rice is a staple. Chicken and pork are favorite meats.
Philippines
Signatured & Everyday
Dishes
Rice
In the Philippines, learning to cook rice is one of the very first things a mother teaches her daughter in the kitchen.
That’s because we, Filipinos have different preferences when it comes to rice. Some like it loose and fluffy (buhaghag), others like it gooey and very sticky(malata) , and still a lot others like it in between. Rice is the main staple food among Filipinos.
Adobo
The Spanish term ‘adobo’ means ‘seasoning’ or ‘marinade’. Adobo is a consistent favorite dish among Filipinos because it has a distinctive delicious aroma and the cooking method is very simple. You just put all the ingredients inside a pot and let it boil over medium to low heat until tender. Adobo requires only vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaves, and whole peppercorns. The adobo recipe is so versatile, any kind of meat and fish can be used as alternative, such as: chicken, beef, goat, fish, and even exotic meats like snake.
Pork Sinigang
As one of the most popular everyday dishes in the Philippines, theSinigang recipe is as easy as the adobo—almost. The cooking method is boiling, too; but there are various vegetables added. The sour taste is derived from tamarind or other unripe fruits like mango and kamias; however, guava and tomato are more sour when ripe. Common sinigang vegetables are sitaw (long string beans), kangkong (water spinach), okra, labanos (radish), gabi (taro root), onion, siling pansigang (Mexican green chili), and sampalok (tamarind). Alternatives for pork are fish, shrimp, and beef.
Fish Sinigang
Shrimp Sinigang
Sinigang na Hipon - Shrimp in Tamarind Broth
Pansit
Pancit Bihon and Pancit Canton are cooked in almost similar way. Both include sauteing garlic, onion, pork cubes or chicken flakes, ground pepper, and soy sauce. Pancit bihon uses thin and transparent rice noodles; while pancit canton uses semi-thick egg noodles. These two pancit dishes are sometimes combined together, maybe just to mark a special occasion like birthdays. Garnishing may be stir-fried slivers of pork or chicken liver, boiled quail eggs, chicharon, and chopped kinchay stems and leaves.
Beef Nilaga
Nilagang Baka or beef soup is also known as Bulalo, when beef shank with bone and marrow was used instead of beef chuck or bricket. Even though cooked with lots of clear broth and can be classified as soup, beef nilaga is considered as main dish and often served for lunch with fish sauce and calamansi as table condiment. The beef nilaga often has vegetables like cabbage, potato, and string beans. The beef bulalo is popularly served as hot soup in roadside eateries, accompanied with crush siling labuyo, calamansi, and fish sauce.
Sisig
Sisig is considered as the most famous ‘pulutan’ for beer-drinkers. The cooking method for this dish is quite long but the end result is always tasteful and satisfying. Made from chopped roasted or boiled pig ears and snout, sisig is mixed with chopped onion, chili, salt, and pepper. Aside from pork, beef, chicken, and fish are also used to make sisig.
Chicken Inasal
Chicken Inasal is an authentic Filipino recipe. The Spaniards discovered the dish in Bacolod and called it ‘asar’, which means roasted. The term evolved to chicken ‘inasal’. The recipe preferred the chicken leg and thigh intact. There are several variations in the ingredients but the chicken is always marinated in herbs and spices and grilled over hot coals until tender. The red-orange color of cooked meat is acquired from annatto basting sauce.
Caldereta
Caldereta is obviously of Spanish origin but the Filipinos had made lots of changes in the way the dish is cooked. Caldereta also uses annatto but tomato sauce is the preferred alternative. Beef is the traditional meat for caldereta but goat meat is also a popular choice. Sauteed in liver spread and siling labuyo, the dish acquires a richness of taste that is unforgettable. Potato, carrot, and bell pepper may be added.
Halo-halo
For Filipinos, a favorite way to cool down is with the popular summer treat, halo-halo (from the Tagalog, literally meaning “mix-mix”). Halo-halo is loved because all the tropical flavors in that one glass bring back memories of home. Since it is so refreshing, especially on a hot afternoon, halo-halo is often served at merienda, as well as for dessert. A simple version consisting of pure carabao milk paste and dayap lime, sweet corn, sweet bean paste, shaved ice and milk. There are many regional variations of halo-halo, but it typically includes sweetened preserved fruits, evaporated milk and crushed ice topped with ice cream or leche flan (custard). The dessert is usually served in a tall, clear glass to show off the colorful layers.
Kilawin
Kilawin is like ‘cooking with vinegar or citrus juice alone’ -- without using heat. Like the Japanese, the Filipinos have a penchant for raw fish or shellfish. Usually, the fish or shellfish are cleaned and washed very thoroughly and drained well before marinated in vinegar and seasonings. The kilawin recipe is also used on scorched goat skin to make ‘kinilaw na kambing’. Some vegetables like eggplant, cucumber, and ampalaya are also used to make veggie kinilaw.
Filipino
Street
Foods
Balut
Balut are hard boiled 3 week old duck egg. The looks of it are not quite good since the nearly formed embryo can be seen. However, balut are very high in protein and aphrodisiac. Proper way of eating balut is to suck the amniotic fluid before peeling it off. It is best toeat the chick and yolk with vinegar and salt.
Kwek-kwek
Kwek kwek are quail boiled eggs dipped on orange batter while tokneneng are chicken or duck boiled eggs. Thery are deep fried until crispy. Same with fish balls, squid balls and chicken balls, they can be easily seen in the streets near schools.
Banana and Camote Cue
They are one of the popular street foods in the Philippines wherein the banana or sliced sweet potatp is coated with caramelized brown sugar and skewered in a bamboo stick. Some offers like toron also. Banana that are wrapped with a lumpia wrapper. These are mostly prepared in the late afternoon for the merienda or snacks.
