Filipino Recipes
If we talk about Filipino Recipes, we have to talk about Filipino culture. A Filipino's economic status & their living conditions greatly affect their food choices & cooking methods. This reality is true for most cultures. Every society has their rich and their poor; but, the definition of poor varies greatly amongst cultures. In the Philippines, the average family consists of mom, dad, and at least 4 children, usually more, with grandma & grandpa possibly living with the family. Many live in self-constructed shanties made of old plywood, corrugated metal or even cardboard. The lucky will use cast off cement blocks for part of their home. They may have one to two rooms, dirt or plywood floors, a single light, a self-created window & some sort of bathroom with privacy or one they share with neighbors. Mom or Dad may have a job getting paid anywhere from $1 to, at best, $8 a day. But more than likely, the harsh reality is neither parent has a job, so they try to create work, beg or send their kids to the streets to beg. Of course, not all Filipinos live this way, but for those we serve in ministry; this is their reality. 40% of the population lives in poverty.
The Filipino way of life greatly affects their food choices & cooking conditions. Most Filipino's use water that is collected & stored in a bucket outside. This is used for washing clothes, washing dishes, bathing & drinking. So to clarify: No running water in their homes. Most have figured out some way to get electricity, so they can have a light, fan & possibly a TV; but, most definitely not an oven. This means all cooking is done over an open flame outside.
Here's the thing: I would be whining up a blue streak by now if I had to cook every meal outside! It's like camping all the time & I hate camping! I'm a super big baby. I'm sorry, but I love hotels. I grew up camping & it's really difficult when you're the mother. I know there's a kindred spirit out there with me on that one :) Anyway.....amidst these uncomfortable conditions, most Filipinos are gracious, accepting, patient, forgiving and joyful. Big time Props to Filipinos! :) One more small digression for a moment :) The average Filipino doesn't expect anything more; they grew up like this, and it is "normal" to them. It's referred to as generational poverty. Families with these limited resources can not educate all their children; so, they may pick one child who seems exceptionally promising and sacrifice to educate that one. In doing so, that child will then be educated, get a job & support the whole family and extended family, if necessary. They will "be the one" as the culture says. The poor of the Philippines face great difficulty as they try to survive and feed their families. Okay already! Let's get back to Filipino recipes & cooking :) These realities greatly influence their eating, or lack of it. Many wonder where they will get their next meal, and it wouldn't be right to talk about Filipino recipes without paying respect to their reality. Cooking methods: For the majority, but not all, foods must be either boiled, sauteed or fried; all processes done over an open flame & in an open pot or saucepan. Most don't have refrigerators either, so everything is bought fresh at the market & does not require storage. What does this mean to cooking & the home cook? 1. Daily trips to the market for fish, meat or vegetables.
2. The use of vinegar in dishes preserves the food, so refrigeration is not necessary. When we lose power, the first meal we have is chicken adobo, with it's delicious balsamic vinegar. It can be left out of the refrigerator without fear of going bad. This is definitely weird at first, because we are so trained to refrigerate everything. Vinegar is the perfect solution for storing food without refrigeration. 3. Food is often fried; frying suits the available cooking conditions well. Other cultural influences on Filipino recipes. 1. Filipinos love fat, or they have been raised to love fat, and use it as a substitute for meat, because it's inexpensive & fills the tummy. Most fat is left on meat for cooking & eating. You can buy fried fat, called chicharon right off the street from a vendor. It's actually delicious dipped in vinegar. I have eaten more things I never would have dreamed of, because we live here :) For that, I am glad. I have certainly relaxed my perspective on eating. My motto is now, Everything in moderation. And you know what? I think that's pretty reasonable. :) 2. Street food. Vendors sell their wares & foods walking up & down the streets through traffic. Cooked bananas, candies, peanuts, and bottled water. Some vendors remain stationary for a while, and then are on the move. They are selling fish balls, pork kabobs, chicharon, and balut. Technically, balut is a fertilized duck or chicken egg with a nearly developed embryo inside. It can be boiled or fried. Either way, you hear & feel a distinctive crunch :) Sounds appetizing, right?! :) You can buy fruit, veggies & rice at open stands on the side of the road too; very convenient. 3. Rice is a staple of the Philippine culture & an integral part of Filipino recipes. When I say it's a "staple" that doesn't mean the occasional use; I mean rice is eaten 3-plus times a day. From infancy, rice is the beginning point of every meal. Some tribes of the Philippines believe rice has a soul. Pictured below is the average amount of rice served to a man at each meal.
4. Fish is served at almost every meal. It is also a staple of many Filipino recipes & meals. 5. Filipinos enjoy a variety of flavors at each meal. When a Filipino sits down to a meal, they will eat savory & sweet at the same time. They enjoy sour, bitter, salty, fishy & sweet all in one sitting. 6. Eating family style. This applies to their homes, but it's most noticed when eating out. Filipinos will order multiple items from a menu & then place it in the center of the table for all to share. In contrast, we foreigners, order one entree for each person. We had to adjust to this at first when served in a restaurant, because all our meals were set in the center of the table, and we were given "appetizer" plates to share the meal. :) Some useful definitions/terms & methods used in Filipino recipes: adobo -- cooked in vinegar, soy sauce & garlic. arroz -- Spanish word for rice. bagoong -- shrimp paste. buko -- young coconut. calamansi -- a small lime-like citrus fruit. Lemon or lime are good substitutes. chicharon -- crisp fried pork rind or skin. dilis -- long-jawed anchovy, often sauteed. gata -- Filipino word for coconut milk. ginataan -- cooked in coconut milk. guisado -- Filipino word for sauteed. kangkong -- green, leafy vegetable similar to spinach. lechon -- roast suckling pig. longaniza -- native sausage. lumpia -- Philippine egg roll. manok -- Filipino word for chicken. merienda -- afternoon snack. pancit or pansit -- Filipino noodle dish. patis -- salty, thin liquid extracted from salted & fermented seafood. relleno -- Spanish word for stuffed. salabat -- ginger tea. sili -- long green cooking pepper; spicy. sinigang -- boiled with a sour fruit or vegetable. siomai -- dumplings. sitao -- string beans. You should be able to find many of the items listed in these Filipino recipes in your local super market. If not, certainly at an Asian store, but I tried to select those recipes with readily available ingredients. Please stay tuned for more stories of the Philippines to be added to this page :) Bookmark this page or add it to your RSS Feed. I hope you've enjoyed hearing about the culture we've grown to love & that you will enjoy these Filipino Recipes. To the journey, Julie Banana Lumpia Beef Tapa Bicol Express Chicken Adobo Chicken and Rice Soup (Arroz Caldo) Empanada Recipe Filipino Spaghetti Lumpia Shanghai Pancit Recipe Sinigang Siomai -- Dumplings Tilapia Recipe Return to Home Page from Filipino Recipes   |
