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Philippine cuisine has evolved over several centuries, influenced by Chinese, Malay, Spanish, Mexican, American, and Indian cooking.

Filipinos usually eat three main meals a day: breakfast ("almusal"), lunch ("tanghalian"), and dinner ("hapunan"), plus a light snack ("merienda") in the afternoon and occasionally a similar snack in the morning as well.

Dishes range from a simple meal of fish and rice to rich paellas and cocidos. Popular dishes include lechon (whole roasted pig), Longanisa (native sausage); Torta (omelette), Pan de sal (bread rolls), Adobo (chicken and/or pork braised in garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar), Kalderetang Kambing (rich goat stew), Kare-kare (ox tail, beef chunks and/or tripe cooked in peanut sauce), Sinigang (tom yam-like dish), Pancit (stir-fried noodles), Lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls) and Halo-halo (a cold mixed fruit dessert).

Contents 1 History and influences 2 Staples 3 Cooking methods 4 Breakfast 5 Merienda 6 Pulutan 7 A typical meal 7.1 Fiestas 8 Regional specialties 9 Popular Filipino dishes 10 "Unusual" dishes 11 Filipino drinks and cocktails 12 Other food 13 See also 14 References 15 External links

[edit] History and influences

Early Filipinos prepared food by boiling, steaming, or roasting. A host of animals provided meat for the early Filipino diet: pork, fowl, bayawak (water monitor lizard), dog, fish, clams and molluscs to name a few. The Filipinos have been cultivating rice, a Monsoon Asia staple, since 3200 B.C.<ref>Knuuttila, Kyle. Rice in the Philippines. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.</ref>

Pre-colonial trade with China, India, Middle-East and South-East Asia introduced a number of Filipino cuisine staples, most notably toyo (soy sauce) and patis (fish sauce), as well as the method of stir-frying and making savory soup bases. The arrival of the Castillans brought chili peppers and corn, and the method of sauteeing with garlic and onions ("guisado") from the vice-royalty of Mexico and the Iberian peninsula. Local adaptations of Spanish dishes like paella, escabeche and adobo remain popular to this day.

When restaurants were established in the nineteenth century, Chinese food became a staple of the pansiterias or noodle shops, although they were marketed with Spanish names. The "comida China" (Chinese food) includes arroz caldo (rice and chicken gruel), morisqueta tostada (an obsolete term for sinangag or fried rice).

In the past two centuries, Filipino food has also been influenced by American, French, Italian, and Japanese cuisines and culinary procedures. <ref>Picture of some Filipino foods</ref>

See also: Filipino Chinese cuisine

[edit] Staples

As it is with most Asian countries, the staple of the Filipino food is rice. When served with a main dish, rice is usually boiled (called "kanin" in Tagalog, the national language). Leftover rice (called "bahaw") is often fried with garlic (called "sinangag"), which is then often served as a breakfast staple together with fried eggs and tocino (sweetened cured meat) or longganisa (sausages). Rice is often mixed ("labay") with sauces or soup from the main dishes; in some regions, rice is mixed with salt, condensed milk, cocoa, or coffee. Rice and rice flour are also used in cakes, sweets, and other savory snacks.

Food is often served with dipping sauce (called "sawsawan"). Fried food is often dipped in native vinegar, or in a dipping sauce made by combing soy sauce, juice squeezed from a calamansi, and native vinegar. Fish sauce ("patis"), fish/shrimp paste ("bagoong"), and crushed ginger root ("luya") are condiments that are also often added to dishes during the cooking process or when served.

Native fruits are often used in cooking as well. Coconuts, coconut milk, and coconut meat are added to many local dishes. Bananas are also often used.

Abundant harvest of root crops occurs all year round. Potatoes, carrots, taro ("gabi"), cassava ("kamoteng kahoy"), purple yam ("ube"), and sweet yam ("kamote") are examples. Kamote can be chopped, dusted with brown sugar, fried and skewered, yielding "kamote-cue"-- a popular caramelized snack.

Seafood is also popular. Tilapia, Milkfish (bangus); Grouper (lapu-lapu); Shrimp (hipon); Mackerel (galunggong); Mussels (tahong); Clams (tulya); large and small Crabs- (alimango) or (alimasag}; game fish, Blue Marlin and Squid (pusit) are a popular catch. Others include: Sea Cucumber, Sea Urchin, Abalone, Eel, and Seaweeds.

Fish is simply salted, deep-fried ("pinirito"), and eaten as a simple meal with rice and vegetables. Larger fish can be cut up and cooked in a sour broth (known as sinigang na isda), simmered in vinegar and peppers ("paksiw") or roasted over hot charcoal (inihaw) . Others may prefer to cook their fish escabeche (sweet and sour) or relleno (de-boned and stuffed). Fish is also smoked ("tinapa") and sun-dried ("daing"), which enables it to be served all day.

Other native staples include maize (mais) and bread.

[edit] Cooking methods

The Tagalog words for popular cooking methods are listed below:

• "Nilaga" -- boiled, sometimes with onions and black peppers
• "Pinirito" -- fried or deep fried
• "Guisado" -- sauteed with garlic, onions and tomatoes
• "Ginataan" -- cooked with coconut milk
• "Inihaw" -- grilled over coals
• "Inadobo" -- cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic
• "Sinigang" -- boiled with a tamarind base
• "Pinaksiw" -- cooked in vinegar and ginger
• "Kinilaw" -- a method of preparing fish wherein raw fish is marinated in vinegar until the fish naturally cooks

[edit] Breakfast

A traditional breakfast is served in a variety of ways:

• Tapsilog - /tap-sĭ-log/ is a portmanteau of tapa (thinly sliced and cured meat, similar to jerky), sinangag (Filipino garlic fried rice) and itlog (egg, usually fried sunny side up). Tapsilog is usually served with sliced tomatoes or vinegar.

• Tosilog - /tô-sĭ-lôg/ is a portmanteau of Tocino (sweetened cured pork or chicken breast), sinangag and itlog. Tosilog is also served with either sliced tomatoes, vinegar or atchara (sweet pickled papaya).

• Longsilog - /long-sĭ-lôg/ is a portmanteau of Longganisa (sweet and spicy sausages from either Lucban, Pampanga, or Vigan province), sinangag and itlog. Longsilog is also served with either sliced tomatoes, vinegar or achara (sweet pickled grated papaya).

• Champorado - /Champ-ô-rə-dô/ is a type of rice porridge flavored with chocoloate. Not to be confused with Mexican Champurrado which is a hot chocolate drink.

• Pan de Sal - Derived from Spanish for "bread of salt". Contrary to its name, it contains relatively little salt is a sweet bread roll which can be spread with butter, jam, peanut butter, marmalade and other types of filling.

• Kesong puti - A soft fresh cheese made from Carabao's milk.

• Daing na Bangus - / də-ĭN-nə-bə-Ngus / Meaning salted and dried milkfish. Often served with sinangag and fried eggs. as well as sliced tomatoes, vinegar or achara (sweet pickled papaya).

[edit] Merienda

Merienda, is considered the "in-between-meals" snack. It is usually taken in the afternoons, but morning merienda is not unheard of. It is similar in concept to morning and afternoon tea, school recess or tapas. Filipinos have a number of traditional options to take with their chaa/tsaa (tea), cafe/kape (coffee) or mainit na tsokolate (hot chocolate).

Breads like pan de sal (bread rolls) and ensaymada (buttery sweet rolls with cheese), and various kinds of rice cakes (kakanin) such as Kutsinta, Pichi-pichi, Palitaw, Biko, and Suman are served. Other sweets such as, Hopia (pastries similar to moon cakes filled with sweet bean paste, sometimes flavored) and Bibingka (sweet hot rice cakes with salted eggs and cheese on top) are also favorites. Savory dishes such as pancit canton (stir-fried noodles), empanada/empanaditas (meat pies filled with minced pork, peas and raisins), or puto (sweet steamed rice flour cakes) and dinuguan (a spicy stew made with pork blood) can also be served during merienda.

[edit] Pulutan

Pulutan is a word which means "finger food". Though at times eaten with a fork, Pulutan is served as an appetizer or as a snack usually accompanied with liquor but sometimes with non-alcoholic beverages.

• Adidas - grilled or sautéed chicken feet

• Chicharon - salted, dried and fried pork rinds.

• Chicharong Bituka - crispy, deep fried pig's intestines

• Chicharong Bulaklak - similar to Chicharong Bituka. Bulaklak to flower which aptly describes the appearance of the dish, made from the deep fried mesenteries (the blood vessel-rich membranes that attach numerous organs to the body cavity) of pig intestines.

• Isaw - grilled or sautéed chicken intestines

• Mani - salted and/or spicy fried peanuts, sometimes flavored with garlic

• Pork Barbecue - Filipino Satays marinated in a special blend

• Sisig - minced pig's cheeks, ears and snout cooked with onions, chillies and spices and is usually served sizzling on a hot plate.

• Siomai - chinese dumplings (steamed meatballs sealed in wonton wrappers) dipped in soy sauce with squeezed kalamansi (Philippine lemon)

• Lumpiang Shanghai - tiny fried spring rolls filled with minced meat.

• Tokwa't Baboy - fried tofu with boiled pork by-products (usually either pork ears and other innards) and dipped in a garlic-flavored soy sauce/vinegar dip.

[edit] A typical meal

Filipino food is a bold combination of sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Whereas some Asian cuisines (e.g. Cantonese) may be known for a more subtle delivery and presentation of food, Filipino palates prefer a sudden influx of flavor. However, that is not to say that Filipino cuisine is in any way inferior; instead, it can be said that it is more flamboyant, as Filipino food is often delivered in a single presentation, giving the participant a simultaneous visual feast, an aromatic bouquet, and a gustatory appetizer. Dinner, while still the main meal, is usually eaten in smaller quantities compared to other countries. Snacking is normal, and it is possible that a person could have eaten five meals in a day.

Dinner may consist of soup soured with tamarinds and cooked with pork and mixed vegetables, called sinigang na baboy, which may be drizzled atop the servings of steamed rice on a diner's plate. Vegetables boiled with ginger resound with fresh flavors and can be highlighted with a dash of patis (fish sauce) or bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) for salt. Condiments that vary from sweet atchara (sweet pickled papaya shreds which look similar to sauerkraut and kimchi) to the sour suka at bawang (vinegar and garlic) is at hand. Fish in most kind, often inihaw (roasted) should be on the table. Desserts made with coconut milk and glutinous rice can also be sighted.

Some dishes will rely on vinegar for flavoring. Adobo is popular not solely for its splendid flavor, but also for its ability to remain fresh for days, and even improves its flavor with a day or two of storage. Filipinos also love salted dried fish called tuyo (meaning "dried"). Dried fish is usually eaten for breakfast with fried rice, tomatoes and coffee.

In addition, food is traditionally eaten with the hands sans cutlery. The diner could use broth (sabaw) or another type of sauce to moisten his rice, scoop it from the plate together with a piece of vegetable or meat and slide it into his mouth. The practice, known as kamayan, has seen something of a decline in recent years as the use of cutlery, particularly the fork and spoon, became more widespread. Despite this, eating with one's hands is still considered common practice and many Filipinos use their hands in conjunction with cutlery to eat food.<ref> Philippines - Eating Habits & Hospitality. The Global Gourmet. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.</ref>

[edit] Fiestas

A few Filipino women band together and tirelessly prepare more sophisticated dishes at festive occasions. Tables are often laden with expensive and labor-intensive treats requiring hours of preparation. Lechon, a whole roasted suckling pig, takes centerstage. Ham, basted with pineapple juice and garnished with bright-red cherries titillate the hungry after a long Christmas service. Rellenong Manok, a whole deboned chicken filled with a savory blend of ham, minced pork, raisins, and chorizos-- delights both one's sense of taste and sight. The mingling of egg noodles and chorizos, fruit cocktail with a splash of cream, condensed milk and sugar, and pastel de pollo (chicken pot pie with chorizos) beckon with a heady aroma. A variety of dishes at the party are usually served buffet-style in palayoks (clay pots the shape of small cauldrons).

[edit] Regional specialties

The Philippine islands are home to various ethnic groups resulting in varied regional cuisine.

Ilocanos from the rugged Ilocos region boast of a diet heavy in boiled or steamed vegetables and freshwater fish, but are particularly fond of dishes flavored with bagoong, fermented fish that is often used instead of salt. Ilocanos often season boiled vegetables with bagoong monamon (fermented anchovy paste) to produce pinakbet. Local specialities include the soft white larvae of ants, and "jumping salad" of tiny, live shrimp.

The Igorots, prefer roasted meats, particularly carabao's meat, goat's meat and venison.

Laguna is known for Buko pie (coconut pie) and Panutsa (molasses clustered peanuts)

Cainta in Rizal, province east of Manila, is known for its Filipino rice cakes and puddings.

Pampanga is considered the culinary center. Among the treats produced in Pampanga are longganisa (original sweet and spicy sausages), Kalderetang Kambing (savory goat stew) and tocino (sweetened-cured pork). Kapampangan cuisine makes use of every regional produce available to the native cook, combining pork cheeks and offal to make Sisig.

Batangas is home to Taal Lake, a body of water that surrounds Taal Volcano. The lake is home to 75 species of freshwater fish. And of these, the Maliputo and Tawilis are two of the world's rarest. Maliputos and Tawilises are delicious native delicacies. Batangas is also known for its special coffee, Kapeng Barako.

Cebu is popular for Lechon; and sweets like dried mangoes; mango and caramel tarts

Iloilo is popular for La Paz Batchoy, Pancit Molo, Dinuguan and Puto, and Biscocho.

Bulacan is popular for Chicharon (pork rinds) and pastries like puto, kutsinta and many more...

Further south, dishes are filled with the scents of Southeast Asia: coconut milk, turmeric, coriander, lemon grass, ginger, and chilies-- an ingredient not present in other regional cuisine (except in Bicol Region whose use of chilies is more liberal compared to others). Since southern regions are predominantly Islamic, pork dishes are hardly present. Popular crops cassava root, sweet potatoes (kamote) and yams are grown.

[edit] Popular Filipino dishes

• Adobo - a favourite dish consisting of pork and/or chicken stewed in a broth of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and peppercorns.
• Arroz caldo - A Spanish-inspired rice porridge cooked with chicken and ginger, garnished with spring onions. (also called "lugaw")
• Balut - essentially ducklings boiled before they hatch. Duck eggs that have been fertilized are allowed to develop until the embryo reaches a pre-determined size, then boiled.
• La Paz Batchoy - A noodle soup garnished with pork innards, crushed pork cracklings, chopped vegetables, and topped with a raw egg.
• Bibingka - A hot rice cake topped with a spread of butter, slices of kesong puti (white cheese) and itlog na maalat (salted duck eggs), and sometimes grated coconut. Wiktionary entry on Bibingka with a photo
• Biko - glutinous rice sweets creamed with sugar, butter, and coconut milk.
• Binakol - warm chicken soup with coconut meat.
• Binatog - corn kernels with shredded coconut.
• Bistek - thinly sliced beef marinated in soya sauce and kalamansi.
• Crispy Pata - Pork knuckles (pata), marinated then deep fried until crispy golden brown. However, the knuckles are a small portion, thus it is the whole leg of pork that is usually served.
• Dinuguan - also called "blood porridge", a dish made from pig blood, entrails, and meat.
• Fishballs / Squidballs - commonly sold frozen in stores, and typically peddled by hawkers, they are skewered in bamboo sticks and sauces are dripped over.
• Goto - Rice porridge with ox tripe.
• Halo-halo - A dessert composed of shaved ice, milk, coconut sport, purple yam pudding and caramel custard, sweetened plantains, jackfruit. Wiktionary entry on Halo-halo with pictures
• Itlog na maalat/Itlog na Pula - Duck eggs that are hard boiled, then cured in warm brine. Their shells are often dyed with red food coloring to distinguish them from chicken eggs.
• Isaw - Seasoned hog and/or chicken intestines. A popular street food.
• Kare-kare - Also known as "Peanut Stew", boiled oxtail and/or ox tripe in a peanut-based stew of mixed vegetables, served with alamang (fermented shrimp paste).
• Kesong puti - is a soft white cheese made from carabao's milk.
• Kinilaw - raw fish cooked only by steeping in local vinegar, sometimes with coconut milk, onions, spices and other local ingriedients. It is comparable to ceviche.
• Kutsinta - brown rice cake.
• Leche flan - caramel custard made with eggs and milk
• Lechon - whole roasted suckling pig, piglet (lechonillo) or cattle calf (lechong baka). Wiktionary entry on Lechon with a photo
• Longanisa - sweet or spicy homemade sausages.
• Lumpiang sariwa - fresh spring rolls, served with a sweet sauce.
• Lumpia - fried spring rolls filled with cooked ground beef and vegetables.
• Lumpiang shanghai - tiny fried spring rolls filled with minced pork and shrimp and served with sweet and sour sauce.
• Mamon - a buttery sweet sponge cake that is softer than butter cake.
• Nata de coco - is a chewy, translucent, jelly-like food product produced by the bacterial fermentation of coconut water.
• Palitaw - Rice patties with sesame seeds, sugar, and coconut.
• Penoy - Hard boiled duck eggs.
• Pichi-pichi - cassava patties with coconut.
• Pinakbet - Vegetables stewed with bagoong.
• Puto - sweet steamed rice muffins
• Puto Bumbong - purpled-colored sweets cooked in tubes that are placed on a special steamer. When cooked, they are removed from the tubes, topped with butter, and sprinkled with sugar and niyog (grated coconut). They are then wrapped in banana leaves until they are ready to be eaten. Wiktionary entry on Puto Bumbong with photos
• Kwek-kwek - boiled quail eggs dipped in batter then deep fried. Another popular street delicacy.
• Sinigang - a tamarind-soured soup typically made with pork, beef, or seafood.
• Sapin-sapin - are three-layered tricoloured sweets made with rice flour, purple yam and coconut milk.
• Sorbetes - is basically the same as regular ice cream, but is made primarily with coconut milk. Considered by many as "dirty ice cream."
• Suman - sticky rice sticks wrapped in banana or palm leaves. They are dipped in sugar and sometimes eaten with ripe mangoes.
• Taho - a warm snack made of soft beancurd (the taho itself), a dark syrup, and tapioca balls. Cold(cold dark syrup) flavoured (chocolate, strawberry etc.) taho is now available.
• Tinola - Traditional chicken ginger soup cooked with whole chicken pieces, green papaya, and spinach or malunggay leaves.
• Tocino - sweetened cured meat. The meat either chicken or pork is marinated and aged for a number of days and is then grilled.
• Ukoy - shrimp and squash fritters
• Betamax - common street food, roasted dried chicken blood, served in little cubes, the origin of the name is quite funny because of its squared shape and black color, identical to a minitiurized Electronic Betamax tape.
• Tokneneng - bigger version of the kwek-kwek; boiled chicken eggs dipped in batter which usually has food coloring, also a common street food.

[edit] "Unusual" dishes

• Balut - Partially-developed duck embryo, boiled and served in the shell
• Dog meat - Especially popular in the Cordillera region
• Pinikpikan chicken - Chicken which is beaten while alive to tenderize the meat and infuse it with blood, then killed, burned in a fire to remove feathers, and boiled with salt pork. [1][2][3] The beating of the chicken which is done in preparing this dish apparently violates the Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998. <ref>

The Animal Welfare Act 1998. Retrieved on 2006-12-04. “In all the above mentioned cases, including those of cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles the killing of the animals shall be done through humane procedures at all times.”</ref>

Also see: Igorot Food Exotica

[edit] Filipino drinks and cocktails

The climate of the Philippines is characterized by having relatively high temperature, high humidity and abundant rainfall. This is a reason why chilled drinks are popular.

• Salabat - A hot drink brewed from ginger root and sometimes called ginger tea.
• Gulaman at Sago - A flavoured iced-drink with agar gelatin and sago balls/pearls
• Fresh Mango Shake - Ripe mangoes blended with milk, ice and sugar
• Pandan Iced Tea - Tea made with Pandan leaves and lemon grass.
• Green Mango Shake - Green mangoes blended with syrup.
• Kalamansi Juice - Philippine limes squeezed and sweetened with honey, syrup or sugar.
• Lambanog - A type of hard liquor made from coconut extract.
• Fresh Buko Juice - The Philippines is a producer of coconut products. The fruit is topped and a straw is pierced into the membrane allowing a person to drink its juice.
• Other Tropical Fruit Drinks - Dalanghita (green mandarin), Suha (Pomelo), Piña (Pineapple), Banana, and Guyabano (Soursop).
• Brandy-Iced Tea Powder - A popular cocktail and a part of several cocktails of liqueurs and juice powders.
• Fruit Shakes - Similar to milkshake but it only contains fruit or flavoring (like chocolate malt drink powder or chocolate cookies), milk (except in some fruits), crushed ice, water and sugar. There are unusual flavors like durian.
• Gin-Pomelo (a certain type of citrus, popular to its pink color) Juice Powder
• Gin-Pineapple Juice Powder
• Gin-Bulag - Literally "gin-blind", it is said that consuming copious amounts will make one blind.
• Brandy-Grape Juice Powder
• Pearl Shakes - Powder-flavored shakes with large tapioca pearls (sago) and syrup; come in a wide assortment of flavors including mango, ube, halo-halo, corn, pandan, buko, etc.

[edit] Other food

The Philippines doesn't only possess its traditional cuisine. Popular worldwide cuisine and restaurant chains are also available around the archipelago. Furthermore, the Chinese populace, (especially in Manila) is famous for establishing Chinese districts, in which predominantly Chinese and Chinese fusion food can be found. These are especially prevalant in urban areas where large influxes of expatriates are located.

[edit] See also

• Culture of the Philippines

[edit] References