Food Planet: Philippine foods (cuisine)

• published: 19 Aug 2015
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Philippine cuisine consists of the food, preparation methods and eating customs found in the Philippines. The style of cooking and the food associated with it have evolved over many centuries from its Austronesian origins to a mixed cuisine of Malay, Spanish, Chinese, and American, as well as other Asian and Latin influences adapted to indigenous ingredients and the local palate. Dishes range from the very simple, like a meal of fried salted fish and rice, to the elaborate paellas and cocidos created for fiestas of Spanish origin, and spaghetti and lasagna of Italian origin. Popular dishes include: lechón (whole roasted pig), longganisa (Philippine sausage), tapa (cured beef), torta (omelette), adobo (chicken and/or pork braised in garlic, vinegar, oil and soy sauce, or cooked until dry), kaldereta (meat in tomato sauce stew), mechado (larded beef in soy and tomato sauce), puchero (beef in bananas and tomato sauce), afritada (chicken and/or pork simmered in a tomato sauce with vegetables), kare-kare (oxtail and vegetables cooked in peanut sauce), pinakbet (kabocha squash, eggplant, beans, okra, and tomato stew flavored with shrimp paste), crispy pata (deep-fried pig's leg), hamonado (pork sweetened in pineapple sauce), sinigang (meat or seafood in sour broth), pancit (noodles), and lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls). During the pre-Hispanic era in the Philippines, the preferred Austronesian methods for food preparation were boiling, steaming and roasting. The ingredients for common dishes were obtained from locally raised livestock. These ranged from kalabaw (water buffaloes/carabaos), baka (cows), manok (chickens) and baboy (pigs) to various kinds of fish and seafood. In 3200 BCE, Austronesians from the southern China Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and Taiwan settled in the region that is now called the Philippines. They brought with them knowledge of rice cultivation and other farming practices which increased the number and variety of edible dish ingredients available for cooking. Direct trade and cultural exchange with Hokkien China in the Philippines in the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD) with porcelain, ceramics, and silk being traded for spices and trepang in Luzon.[3] This early cultural contact with China introduced a number of staple food into Philippine cuisine, most notably toyo (soy sauce; Chinese: 豆油; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tāu-yu), tokwa; (tofu; Chinese: 豆干; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tāu-koaⁿ), toge (bean sprout; Chinese: 豆芽; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tāu-koaⁿ), and patis (fish sauce), as well as the method of stir frying and making savory soup bases. Many of these food items and dishes retained their original Hokkien names, such as pancit (Chinese: 便ê食; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: piān-ê-si̍t)(Chinese: 扁食; pinyin: biǎn shí), and lumpia (Chinese: 潤餅; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jūn-piáⁿ, lūn-piáⁿ).[3] The Chinese food introduced during this period were food of the workers and traders, which became a staple of the noodle shops (panciterias), and can be seen in dishes like arroz caldo (congee), sinangag (fried rice), chopsuey. Trade with the various neighboring kingdoms of Malacca and Srivijaya in Malaya and Java brought with it foods and cooking methods which are still commonly used in the Philippines today, such as Bagoong (Malay: Belacan), Patis, Puso (Malay: Ketupat), Rendang, Kare-kare and the infusion of coconut milk in condiments, such as laing and Ginataang Manok (chicken stewed in coconut milk). Through the trade with the Malay-Indonesian kingdoms, cuisine from as far away as India and Arabia enriched the palettes of the local Austronesians (particularly in the areas of southern Luzon, Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan, the Visayas and Bicol, where trade was strongest). These foods include various dishes eaten in areas of the southern part of the archipelago today, such as puto derived from Indian cuisine puttu, kurmah, satti and biryani. Spanish colonizers and friars in the 16th century brought with them produce from the Americas like chili peppers, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and the method of sautéing with garlic and onions. Chili leaves are frequently used as a cooking green. Spanish (and Mexican) dishes were eventually incorporated into Philippine cuisine with the more complex dishes usually being prepared for special occasions. Some dishes such as arroz a la valenciana remain largely the same in the Philippine context. Some have been adapted or have come to take on a slightly or significantly different meaning. Arroz a la cubana served in the Philippines usually includes ground beef picadillo. Philippine longganisa despite its name is more akin to chorizo than Spanish longaniza (in Visayan regions, it is still known as chorizo). Morcon is likely to refer to a beef roulade dish not the bulbous specialty Spanish sausage.