Philippine Food Doreen G

Pahiyas: A Philippine Harvest

Philippine Food Doreen G. Fernandez hat is the most typical Philippine food? Is it sini­ Wgang, a cold, sour stew that equally accommodates fish, meat, fowl, or prawns- so refreshing in hot weath­ er? Is it adobo, meat, shellfish, or vegetables cooked in vinegar, which keeps without refrigeration? Is it pan cit, the many kinds of noodles found at all celebrations? Could it be rellenong manok, the capon stuffed for Christmas? Or might it be pritong manok, chicken fried after a vinegar and garlic marinade?

Even Filipinos cannot frame a simple Their dishes entered the local diet at a answer to the question, so varied is their popular level, and are now found in mar­ cuisine. Sinigang is obviously indige­ kets, sidewalk carts, restaurants called Ameal served on banana leaves in Paete, Laguna nous, with all its ingredients found in the panciterias, school cafeterias, and homes Province. The foods in this meal were prepared mostly countryside, and with its analogs in of all social levels. So indigenized has from local products and include bagoong (shrimp Southeast Asia. Adobo, too, is indigenous comida china become that some dishes paste) and sticky rice, representing an indigenous but bears a Spanish/Mexican name, per­ bear Spanish names - probably because cuisine. Photo by Richard Kennedy haps because of its similarity to the panciterias were among the first places Mexican adobado. Pancit is obviously a for public eating during the Spanish colo­ instant foods - were introduced with Chinese contribution, but it has been nial period. Most of the dishes have been American colonization, education, stan­ indigenized by native ingredients and so well integrated into eating patterns dards of hygiene, and technology. The tastes. The capon and its stuffing are that many Filipinos consider them not multitude of advertisements for ham­ Spanish in origin and the fried chicken is foreign but native born. burgers, fried chicken, fast food, junk American, but both have been adapted to Spanish dishes and cooking techniques food, and soft drinks might make one the local palate. came with the colonizers and instantly think that this is the most typical The variety is explained by history and assumed positions of prestige. For one Philippine food. social adaptation. First, there was food thing, many of their principal ingredients But typical Philippine food is all of the drawn only from natural surroundings: - olive oil, saffron, hams, and sausages above. The indigenous cuisine is alive marine, river, and other creatures from - were imported and expensive. For and well in the provinces, where the the waters on and around the archipel­ another, the food of officials, friars, and ingredients are always available, inexpen­ ago's 7,000 islands; other animals: fowl, other foreigners seemed superior and sive, and sometimes even free. The flavor­ birds, and other creatures from field and desirable because these people comprised ing sauces and dips - patis or fish forest; and vegetation for edible leaves, an elite social class. Thus, fiesta food is sauce, bagoong or shrimp paste, and pods, seeds, roots, flowers, tendrils, as often Spanish: paella, stuffed turkeys and calamansi (native lime) - are used well as spices, condiments, and fruits. chickens, morcon, mechado, and rich alone or in combinations to fine-tune Indigenous cuisine is found everywhere desserts of the Spanish tradition. even foreign food to local palates. The with regional differences depending on Christmas, too, features Spanish dishes, indigenous, peasant diet of rice, fish, and the ecosystem: lowland or highland, inte­ since Christianity arrived with the vegetables has been rated by nutritionists rior or shoreline. Spaniards:jamon en dulce, ensaimadas, among the healthiest in the world with Chinese traders, who have been visiting queso de bola, apples, oranges, and its high carbohydrate/low protein level since the 9th century or earlier, brought chestnuts. and minimal fat. noodles, soybean products, and pork. American dishes and preparation styles - pressure-cooked, precooked, fast, and

1998 SMimSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL 51 Pahiyas: A Philippine Harvest

Ameal served on china in Malolos, Bulacan Province. The recipes for several of these dishes are inspired by Spanish cuisine, and include the use of vinegar, saf­ fron, and olive oil. Photo by Richard Kennedy

ties served with meat and vegetables, its noodles fat or thin, transparent or opaque with egg, shaken in broth or water (luglog), sauteed or fried, sauced or plain. Try dishes that retain their native names: laing, taro leaves with coconut milk and chile; pinais, shrimp and young coconut wrapped in banana leaves and steamed in coconut water. Taste Chinese dishes with Chinese names -lomi, mami, kekiam - and those with Spanish names - arroz caldo, Indigenized cuisines originally from indigenous cuisine does not seem likely camaron rebozado. Venture to taste the China, Mexico, and the United States are to disappear under the onslaught of fast work of young chefs who prepare mango, fairly ubiquitous, although more readily food, for it remains a deep cultural and coconut, and venison in nouvelle ways. found in towns and cities, in restaurants personal preference. Try local fried chicken; let your tongue large and small, and on the tables of the Indigenized cuisine is found on urban tell you how it differs from American middle and upper classes. and upscale tables and in public eating style and illuminate for you some princi­ Imported or foreign cuisine that has places. The Philippines has the best ples of Filipino flavor. not been indigenized is eaten and under­ Spanish restaurants in Asia because they Food is not only for the eating, but also stood as foreign: Japanese, Italian, are not foreign here, but part of a 300- for the contemplation of history, society, French, and Middle Eastern. Globalization year history. Imported food is generally and taste. has made these cuisines known, avail­ expensive and exclusive, although stalls able, and attractive through the media selling shawarma (Middle Eastern skew­ Suggested Reading and through the experience of travelers, ers of meat) established by returning Fernandez, Doreen G. Tikim: Essays on Philippine Food the educated, and those who have worked overseas contract workers are creeping and Culture. Manila: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 1994. and lived abroad. into villages and subdivisions. Indigenous, indigenized, and imported Tasting the local variations in foods meet and mix on the Philippine Philippine food is savoring the many fla­ Doreen Fernandez is professor of literature landscape. They speak of a history of vors of the Philippine culture and envi­ and communication at the Ateneo de trade, colonization, foreign influence, and ronment. Try kinilaw, for example, on an Manila University. She writes books and social transformation. They also illumine island like Bohol. Fish from clean waters articles on cultural, theater, literary, and the social structure. is dressed fresh with palm vinegar and culinary history. Her weekly column, '1n At home among peasants and workers, condiments to create one of the islands' Good Taste," appears in the Philippine Daily indigenous cuisine can also be found on oldest dishes. Sample the lechon at a bar­ Inquirer. the elite's tables, where it is the food of rio fiesta. Unlike the Spanish cochinillo memory - childhood and provincial asado, this could be a full-grown pig beginnings and ancestral holiday tables. stuffed with tamarind or lemongrass Methods of preparation may have leaves and spit-roasted over coals. changed from long, slow boiling over Compare the many varieties of pancit: wood fires to microwave cooking, but from seaside towns served with oysters, squid, or shrimp, from inland communi-

52 SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL 1998