The flourishing of Filipino cuisine

The distinction between an American party and a Filipino party, according to friends and relatives who have been at both types of parties, is that in Filipino celebrations, the center is the food offerings. Guests are encouraged to eat more and are even offered to take home some of the food that is served. According to the doyenne of Philippine cuisine, the late Doreen Gamboa Fernandez, in Metro Manila and large urban centers, parties serve traditional Filipino offerings and other cuisine like Chinese style noodles, Spanish paella, American burgers and steaks, Japanese sushi and sashimi, Korean barbecue, British fish and chips and other cuisines native to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Italy, Middle East, Mexico and other nationalities.

The food selections in the upper class Metro Manila household may be considered as eclectic. But Fernandez has observed that even decades ago, away from major urban centers, it is still mostly native cuisine in all its regional variations that are the daily fare. However, in the last decade or so, it has been observed that Filipino cuisine has increased in stature and has even begun to be internationally recognized.

Several decades ago, Filipino cuisine was considered as food for daily consumption. Today, we have television shows that focus on Filipino cuisine with its different variations.

My favorite show is “Chasing Flavors” hosted by Claude Tayag, the well-known Filipino and Kapampangan food gourmet. His show centers on his travels to various regions where he goes out of his way to look for distinctive regional variations. There are now more authors that have written about our native cuisine. There are even authors that have explained and written narratives on Philippine culture as defined by the food that is indigenous to the culture. Some of these authors are Felice P. Sta. Maria and Fernando N. Zialcita.

However, the pioneer in Filipino culinary history is Doreen Gamboa Fernandez. Among her books are Tikim (Taste), a collection of essays on Filipino book and culture written before her death on June 24, 2002. This was revised and updated in 2020.  It is amazing that the essays in the book have remained relevant to the Filipino culinary scene as of this date.

Alfred Yuson wrote in the introduction to the book:  “Throughout this collection of food essays, features and formal papers culled from a quarter century of authoritative writing, the author repeatedly stresses that what we eat has history behind it, is premised on setting and has a meaning beyond its taste and flavor.”

Fernandez, in her book, also quoted from cultural icons like E. Aguilar Cruz and Martin Tinio. Among her most quotable quotes are from her co-author for several books, cultural researcher and food expert, the late Edilberto Alegre, who said, “… that if Ilocanos favor the bitter (as in pinakbet and the famous pinapaitan, a goat dish with the bile sauce), the Tagalogs the sour (katamtamang asim in sinigang) and many Bicolanos the hot (Bicol express is a dish of sautéed chili peppers), the Ilonggos have their own predilection. For them, no large dominant flavor but layers and nuances prized over predominance of flavor.”

In this collection of essays, Fernandez dedicates it to her parents, Dr. Alicia Lucero Gamboa of Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija and Aguinaldo S. Gamboa of Silay, Negros Occidental. The essays are divided into four categories, namely Food and Flavors; People and Places; Books and other Feasts and Food in Philippine History.

The first essay is seemingly timeless and one of the most interesting. The title is “Balut to Barbecue: Philippine Street Food.” She writes:  “Street food in the Philippines is not only a convenience for those without time to cook or an economic phenomenon that flourishes during hard times.  It is a convenience.”

She categorizes Philippine street food from the points of view from place and manner of vending. The first category is the Walking Street Food.  Among the examples she gives are the peanut vendors selling in street corners, the taho vendors who sell in residential areas and the vendor on a bicycle moving from place to place.

The second category includes the Sitting Vendors offering baskets or trays of products like rice cakes, syrup-coated bananas or banana cues, pork barbecue and quail eggs.

Next are the Market and Church Yard Food whose food wares depend on the time of the day. It begins with breakfast, then are replaced by snacks and then lunchtime fare, primarily noodles, fish and meat dishes. It ends with snack foods.

The next are School Street Food, which are found outside every elementary, high school and college. Their offerings range from boiled corn, “dirty” ice cream, fish balls and cheap lunches with plenty of rice.

The next category is Food at Office and Factory sites.  These are jeepneys or small vans from the back of which one can buy a variety of fare, ranging from sandwiches to lunch dishes.

Today, office workers refer to these as Jollijeeps.

Among the other interesting essays are the Flavors of Negros, the Filipino Kitchen, the Restaurant of Yesteryears and Mother Cuisine.

From a historical point of view, Fernandez also wrote a lengthy essay on Philippine foodways answering the question, what is Filipino food? Among the most typical and widespread examples of Filipino cuisine, she cites two. The first is the sinigang, which is meat, fish or seafood stewed in sour broth with vegetables. The second is kinilaw which has uncooked fish marinated in vinegar or lime juice.

At the end, Fernandez states that Filipino cuisine persists despite efforts by colonization and neo-colonization, unchanged in its traditional ways or slightly changed with its contact with other cultures. She says: “Its vigor augurs well and offers much hope for the folklore, the folkways, the folk art and the folk culture which many have feared are too fragile to survive modernity and global tides.”

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