HW6: Something to die for :)

It is a common knowledge for the Philippine Culture to be a mixture of a lot of other traditions and beliefs since we are colonized a few times and influenced by many countries through trading or barter.

And one of the most influenced parts of our culture is the Philippine cuisine. According to an article in Global Gourmet, Filipino Flavors are basically Malay in origin with a touch of Spanish, Chinese and American influence.

But being creative in nature, Filipinos kept on finding ways to transform these dishes into something that we can say as our own. We add flavors and use techniques that are uniquely Filipino.

Some examples to this are the dishes that are considered to be national symbols of Filipino food like adobo, lechon or even pancit. These foods came from different places, but we tend to add our own identity by incorporating spices that can be considered as a Mexican influence. Mexican flavor is a bit spicy because of the spices that are also known to be found in the country. Again, if you look at it, these 'National Dishes' are from different places, but if you put it together, with the touch of Filipino hands, it will the a wonderful Filipino delicacy!

Filipinos tend to mix up different tastes from different places to make a unique taste while having the same ingredients. According to another article by Aradmin, entitled “Philippine Culture and History”, all of those dishes that were from our colonizers where “…indigenized—Filipinized by the ingredients and by local tastes.” Meaning dishes are usually based on the place where they are made. For example, pancit has many versions; we have pancit malabon, which is made with oyster since the place is famous for fishing pancit Marilao has rice crisps since the place is in Luzon, famous for the rice industry.

                Overall, though the flavor of Filipino food can’t be considered as an original, the fact that we can make delicious dishes from unusual variety of food, it alone makes the Filipno flavor, something to die for!

Happy Eating!