Fun and festive food of the Philippines a mix of flavors

Fun and festive food of the Philippines a mix of flavors

Maria Endah Hulupi, Contributor, Jakarta

It's still time to gather up the family and dish up those special
dishes, at least if you are Filipino. For May through August is a
period of merriment as Filipinos celebrate regional and national
fiestas.

In the country of 7,001 islands, Independence Day on June 12
is commemorated by holding various activities, including games
and parades in villages. Apart from the nationwide major
celebration, every town in the Philippines has its own lively
fiesta or festivals, held to honor the town's patron saint or
commemorate the town's anniversary or other events. The latter
include the nationwide month-long celebration of Flores de Mayo
or Santacruzan in May.

It's no fiesta without specially prepared dishes. There is a
tradition in the Philippines that families, including those who
do not have much mone, try their best to make the celebration
special, especially through the array of dishes they serve up.

"During fiesta, we make sure that we serve nice meals on the
table to be shared with families and invited friends. It's part
of the tradition. It (the feast) is more like an intimate family
gathering," said Gene Sanchez del Prado, executive sous chef from
the Makati Shangri-La, Manila.

"Filipinos staying abroad usually return to their hometown
during this period of the year because they can meet all their
friends in the fiesta," he added.

The chef and fellow pastry sous chef Rene Del Sol were invited
as guest chefs for Shangri-La Jakarta's Fiesta Filipina recently.
The fiesta, held to commemorate the country's 106th anniversary
of Independence Day, was spiced up with a Philippine food
festival, featuring some of the country's traditional festive
dishes.

Although perhaps not as famous as other Southeast Asian
cuisines, such as Thai, Indonesian or even Vietnamese, the
Philippines has its own unique, proud culinary tradition.

Popular dishes served in every household during fiestas are
adobo (meat or fish simmered in vinegar, soy sauce marinated with
garlic and cracked peppercorns), inihawna baboy (grilled pork
belly), kare-kare (oxtail with peanut sauce), adobong baboy (pork
simmered in vinegar, soy sauce & garlic) bicol express (squid
cooked in coconut milk and chilies), tinolang manok (chicken
broth with green papaya), itcison kawali (deep fried pork belly)
and lechon na may salsang atay (roasted pig with liver sauce).

Unlike popular meats like chicken, fish and pork, beef is
relatively expensive and beef dishes, like beef steak Tagalog,
are mostly featured on the menues of wealthy families.

Filipino cuisine received influences from various countries,
but especially Spain, Mexico, China, the United States and, of
course, the Malay cuisine of its southern neighbors.

"Foreign influences have enriched our cooking methods, as have
foreign ingredients, resulting in what is known today as Filipino
cuisine. Most of the dishes are mildly sweet and sour," said
Genaro.

Malay influences include the use of peanut and shrimp pastes,
while from Spain there are lechon (roasted pork) dishes and
adobo. The use of noodles, oyster sauce and cornstarch to thicken
the sauce and black bean were adopted from Chinese cuisine, while
steak is from the U.S. The southern region has palpable Malay and
Indian influences, as curries are among the most popular dishes.

As for desserts, ube ice cream, made from purple yams,
Spanish-influenced leche flan (cream caramel), brazo de merces
(egg white roulade with vanilla custard) and some treats that are
similar to Malay sweet snacks; banana fritters, sticky putau cake
andhalo-halo (a dessert made of coconut milk and assorted
diced fruits and nuts, with shaved ice).

Some of the country's distinctive flavors are derived from the
particular produce, like calamansi, mango, mung beans, ube and
bananas. Their flavors, textures and color give unique character
to the dishes and sweet treats, representing a taste from home
which Filipinos staying abroad yearn for.

And since the Philippine fiesta is a warm, intimate
gathering of family and close friends, the feast is "officially"
kicked off after all dishes, from soup to main dishes (and
sometimes desserts), are served together on the dining table,
where members of the family and invited guests are already
impatiently awaiting their first taste.