The Philippine cuisine has food, method of preparation and the customs of feeding present among the Philippine people. It is vital to note that the style of as well as the food associated with it have greatly evolved over time. They have changed from their Austronesian to the mixed cuisine of the Malay-Indonesian, Indian, Spanish, American, Japanese and the Chinese origins ( Elegado, Colegio, Lim, Gervasio, Perez, Balolong & Mendoza, 2016) . This evolution occurs in context with the big influential waves, which had enriched the cultures belonging to the archipelago. Notably, others were able to adapt to the indigenous ingredients as well as the local palate. It is also vital to mention the fact that dishes of the Philippines cuisine usually range from the simplest ones such as a meal of fried and salted fish to rice to the complex cocidos and paellas that are made for the fiestas of the Spanish origin. The most popular dishes in this Philippines cuisine include the whole roasted pig, sausage, cured beef, omelette, chicken braised in garlic, meat in the tomato sauce stew and noodles among others. Philippines cuisine is very interesting and everyone of interest to the culture of the Filipino people must enjoy studying about it.
Background information
Boiling, steaming, and roasting were the commonly applied Austronesian methods for preparing food in the course of the pre-Hispanic era in the Philippines. In this era, the ingredients for common dishes made were got from livestock, which was locally raised. Examples of the livestock used include buffalos, chickens, cows, fish and pigs. It is noteworthy that in the ancient times, the Austronesians from places like southern China and Taiwan came to settle in the region currently called Philippines. They are the ones who came with knowledge regarding the cultivation of rice as well as other practices of farming that greatly added to the number and variety of the edible dish ingredients present for purposes of cooking.
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The impact of direct trade and cultural exchanges with the Hokkien China in the Philippines on this region’s cuisine must be understood. The contact with China in terms of cultural exchanges was able to introduce a number of staple foods into the Philippines cuisine. These foods included the soy sauce, bean sprout and fish sauce. It also brought about the method of stir frying as well as the making of savory soup bases. Most of the foods introduced as a result of the contact with China retained their original Hokkien names ( Fernandez, 2004) . The Chinese foods introduced were for the workers and the workers as well as the traders. They became a staple of the noodle shops. It is possible to see these foods in the dishes like congee and fried rice.
In the Philippines, there was trade with the neighboring people in Kingdoms like Malacca. This interaction through trade also brought with it foods and cooking methods, which are still used in the Philippines today. One such cooking method is the Bagoong and Puso. Moreover, further interaction with the Kingdoms of Malay-Indonesia, there was cuisine brought in from very far places like India and Arabia. This cuisine enriched the palettes of the local Austronesians. Some of these foods include various dishes eaten within the areas of the southern section of the archipelago currently. Specific examples of these foods include puto that drawn from the Indian cuisine puttu and biryani.
The American foods were also introduced in the Philippines by the Spanish colonizers. Some of the American foods introduced into the Philippines include the chili peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, corn and onions. Moreover, the method of sautéing with garlic and onions was also introduced by the colonizers. In the Philippines cuisine, the chili leaves are normally used as a cooking green. Later on, the Spanish and Mexican dishes were integrated into the Philippine cuisine with the introduction of highly complex foods that were mostly made during special occasions.
Currently, the Philippines cuisine is still going on with its evolution as very new techniques, styles of cooking and ingredients get introduced into this country. In Philippines, the traditional dishes, whether simple or complex, are all viewed as popular and modern international viands as well as fast food fare. But it must be noted that the Filipino diet is normally higher in terms of the total, saturated fats and cholesterol relative to the other Asian diets.
Today, for example, Pansit Malabon has oysters and squid, since Malabon is a fishing center; and Pansit Marilao is sprinkled with rice crisps, because the town is within the Luzon rice bowl. When restaurants were established in the 19 th century, Chinese food became a staple of the pansiterias, with the food given Spanish names for the ease of the clientele. When the Spaniards came, the food influences they brought were from both Spain and Mexico, as it was through the vice-royalty of Mexico that the Philippines were governed. This meant the production of food for an elite, nonfood-producing class, and a food for which many ingredients were not locally available. Fil-Hispanic food had new flavors and ingredients such as olive oil, paprika, saffron, ham, cheese, cured’ sausages and new names. Paella, the dish cooked in the fields by Spanish workers, came to be a’ festive dish combining pork, chicken, seafood, ham, sausages and vegetables, a luxurious mix of the local and the foreign. Relleno, the process of stuffing festive capons and turkeys for Christmas, was applied to chickens, and even to bangus, the silvery milkfish.
Christmas, a new feast for Filipinos that coincided with the rice harvest, came to feature not only the myriad native rice cakes, but also ensaymadas, brioche-like cakes buttered, sugared and cheese-sprinkled, to dip in hot thick chocolate, and the apples, oranges, chestnuts and walnuts of European Christmases. Even the Mexican corn tamal turned Filipino, becoming rice-based tamales wrapped in banana leaves. The Americans introduced to the Philippine cuisine the ways of convenience: pressure-cooking, freezing, pre-cooking, sandwiches and salads; hamburgers, fried chicken and steaks. Add to the above other cuisines found in the country along with other global influences: French, Italian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese.
Features of the Philippines cuisine
The contemporary Filipino cuisine is based on the combination of sweet, sour as well as salty foods. It is also important to note that spicy is the base of cooking flavor in the Philippines cuisine. The other outstanding characteristic of the Philippine cuisine is the Counterpoint. It is usually served with a pairing something that is sweet and another one, which is salt. The combination that results from this mixing is very interesting and amazing. Specific examples in this case include sweet cocoa rice porridge paired with salted, sun-dried fish. Another instance is a savory stew made of pig's blood and innards paired with sweet, steamed rice cakes. Fruits that are not yet ripe like mangoes, which are sour, are usually dipped in salt or bagoong before being eaten. Another key characteristic of the Philippines cuisine is the use of salty cheese in sweet-cakes like the bibingka and puto coupled with ice-cream flavoring.
When it comes to ingredients, it is vital to note that vinegar is a very common one in the Philippines cuisine. Adobo is also popular because of its simplicity coupled with the ease of preparing it. Moreover, the ability of storing this particular food for very long days without it getting spoilt makes it the choice of many people. Interestingly, this food usually improves in its flavor and taste after a period of 2 days of storage. Foods like the smoke-cured fish called Tinapa and the sun-dried ones known as dangit are part of the Philippines cuisine and are common foods because of their ability to stay for long duration without even refrigeration.
It is vital to note the fact that cooking and eating among the Philippines has for a very long time been an informal as well as communal affair that is done within the kitchen. Importantly, the Filipino people have three main meals in a day. These meals are breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is a snack in the afternoon, which is normally referred to as minandál. Although it is the main meal, dinner is normally smaller in the Philippines than in other countries. Breakfast and lunch make up the very largest meals within the Philippines cuisine. It is common practice among the Filipino people to have food served all at once, but not in courses. The Filipino people do not use the chop-sticks for eating, unlike the case in the other Asian nations. Instead, food is eaten using the flatware, which is a practice that resulted from the influence by the Western culture. Examples of flatware used include spoons, forks and knives. Dry dishes like prito are used for holding the served food (Kalalo, Cablao, Cabatay, Mantal, Manalo & Felicen, 2014). The diner will take a bite of the main dish, and then eat rice pressed together with his fingers. This practice, known as kamayan , is rarely seen in urbanized areas. However, Filipinos tend to feel the spirit of kamayan when eating amidst nature during out-of-town trips, beach vacations, and town fiestas.
A list of staple food items
There are a number of staple foods used in the Philippines cuisine. These main foods include Adobo, which is among the most popular Filipino dishes. This food is unofficially regarded as the national meal of the Philippines. Adobo is normally comprised of pork or chicken braised in a sauce made from vinegar, cooking oil, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns and soy sauce. It can also be prepared "dry" by cooking out the liquid and concentrating the flavor.
Another main food item in the Philippine cuisine is Bistek made up of thinly sliced beef, which is marinated in soy sauce as well as calamansi . It is then fried in skillet that is typically served with onions.
Another common food item is the kare-kare, which also referred to as the peanut-stew. This food item uses ox tripe as the main ingredient. It is normally cooked together with vegetables in a peanut-based preparation. It is vital to note that this food item is normally served with bagoong that is fermented with the shrimp paste.
The other major food item is Paksiw, whichj refers to the different vinegar-based stews, which highly differ from one another depending on the type of meat used. This food item normally uses fish and includes the incorporation of ginger, fish sauce, siling mahaba and vegetables. Pork hogs may also be used. Other notable dishes are the noodle foods.
Conclusion
The Philippines cuisine is about the methods of food preparation, diets, techniques and styles of cooking and the eating habits of the Filipino people. This Philippines cuisine has undergone huge evolution, but still remains quite interesting and amazing as part of the culture of the Filipino people. The practices held within this Philippines cuisine are worthy studying and writing about.
References
Elegado, F. B., Colegio, S. M. T., Lim, V. M. T., Gervasio, A. T. R., Perez, M. T. M., Balolong, M. P., ... & Mendoza, B. C. (2016). Ethnic Fermented Foods of the Philippines with Reference to Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeasts. In Ethnic Fermented Foods and Alcoholic Beverages of Asia (pp. 323-340). Springer India.
Fernandez, D. G. (2004). Chinese Food in the Philippines. The globalization of Chinese food , 183.
Kalalo, R. S. B., Cablao, A. L. A., Cabatay, M. P., Mantal, C. P., Manalo, R. T., & Felicen, S. S. (2014). Cuisine Preference of Local Tourists in San Juan, Batangas, Philippines. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research| Vol , 2 (4).
