The Food Edition - Philippines
There's so much that I love about the Philippines. I love the infectious optimism of it's people. I love the language. I love that I could hear Tagalog, Ilonggo and English spoken in the same sentence. I love beautiful Caribbean like accents. I love that immediately after stating the punchline of a joke, the person will laugh and loudly exclaim "Joke!" to whoever is listening. There's so much to love. And while far from perfect, the Philippines has so many gifts to offer the world. One of those is a culinary tradition that is as delicious as it is varied. That Filipino food is not more popular around the world is a curiosity that I don't fully understand.
Admittedly, I hadn't had much exposure to Filipino food prior to this trip. Occasionally a Filipino student would bring me food from home, or we'd have a party at school and someone would show up with some lumpia. Beyond that, many had told me to try certain foods, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect. In Manila we ate mostly buffets, each more extravagant than the last. The food was excellent, albeit reflective of the Filipino taste for Chinese, Japanese and Korean food, or their catering to tourists from those countries (I'm not really sure). I did have some exposure to the elusive Filipino delicacies that I now love. The first was Tocino - cured sweet chicken served with garlic rice, then lechon - the quintessential Filipino delicacy of fried pork belly.
On the sweeter side, I was also introduced to all things ube: Bread, cake, ice cream, etc. Ube is a versatile purple yam that is found in many desserts in the region. I also tried halo-halo which roughly translates into "mixed together". Shaved ice, topped with any number of sweets and candies, condensed milk and sweet syrup are all mixed together and eaten. It is so refreshing, especially after a long day in the heat and humidity.
Although delicious, it wasn't really what I was looking for, although I ate...a lot. Rather than picking off of a buffet, I wanted to sit with a group of people around a table and eat like a normal Filipino. I found what I was looking for when I got to Iloilo (although I'm not so naive to think that normal Filipinos get the spread that I got at every meal).
Every meal I had in Iloilo was impressive spread which combined old favorites with one or two new dishes. My hosts made it their mission to have me try everything. Prior leaving the US, my host teacher emailed to ask if I had any dietary restrictions. I thought about it and decided that as of that moment I didn't. I wanted to try it all and I think that the Filipinos that I ate with really appreciated that I was willing to try it all, even dinuguan, pork blood stew (it was delicious!). I was ready for the culinary adventure that was awaiting me. And while conventional wisdom might say not to eat the unidentifiable meat on a stick, unrefrigerated and waiting to be deep fried on a humid street corner, I dared intestinal parasites to try to ruin my good time.
In the spirit of full disclosure I should mention that the intestinal parasites staged a respectable counter-offensive against my digestive tract, but are systematically being flushed out (for lack of a better term) and I expect to reclaim any lost territory and return to a normal life soon.
The typical meal that I had in Iloilo consisted of rice. A lot of rice. How is everyone not 700 pounds? Another staple is the Ilonggo grilled catfish on a stick called pantat and filet of milkfish. Both are light and mild in flavor. My first meal exposed me to kinilaw, the Filipino take on ceviche. The area is also very rich in oysters which are served by the bucket full. Served with soy sauce, vinegar and chili peppers, they are exquisite, especially the baked oysters (talaba) which were my favorite of everything that I tried while there. As you would expect from an archipelago nation, the seafood here is amazing.
The people here are far from dependent on the sea for their sustenance. Pork is king in the Philippines and is served in more ways than one would imagine. In addition to the melt-in-your-mouth lechon, the adobo (the national dish of the Philippines) is to die for, as is the sisig, a dish of the lesser known parts of the pig, seasoned and spicy.
It was a point of contention where I would try batchoy - a beefy broth with noodles and assorted pig parts. Restaurants, food stalls and corner stores all claim to serve the best batchoy and the only time I heard my hosts have what can remotely considered an arguments was over where they would take me to try the dish. They finally settled on a place and we settled in for the experience. It was very good, although starting into the bowl, I chose to try not to identify some of things floating in the broth.
In Iloilo I discovered a whole new series of sweet treats. Mostly rice and cassava based (puto, suman and pichi-pichi just to name a few) as well as fresh coconut lumpia adorned the table at most meals. Also plentiful were local bananas and mangoes, among the sweetest in the world.
I could write a book on all of the foods that I encountered in the Philippines. I have to say, that even the most adventurous foods that I tried were all good, even if I had to not think about what they were. I suspect that a good portion of my summer will be spent searching the DMV for Filipino food that will remind me of those good times with good friends spent on the other side of the world.
(Mom, don't read this part) I know what you're thinking. You ate all of this food, but didn't try belut? Do you really think that I'd go all the way to the Philippines and not have authentic belut? You don't know me. I mentioned during my first night in Iloilo that I wanted to try belut (For those who might not know, belut is a 14 day old fertilized, boiled duck egg).
Excitedly, my hosts spotted a man selling belut on the street corner (they're on most corners at night) and we all partook. I actually think that it helped seal our bond as I was ready to dive in head first to a delicacy that turns most westerner's stomachs. It was delicious. Enjoy.
