Southern California's first gourmet Filipino food truck.
Hungry customers line up for Marvin's take on Filipino cuisine.
I want Filipino-American parents to start feeding their toddlers bitter melon so that we can have a new generation of Pinoys craving pinakbet.
I want college kids to have a freezer bag full of frozen lumpia, made by their own hands, so that they can have a mess of crisp spring rolls whenever they please for those late night studying (or drinking) sessions.
I want newlyweds to learn that they must always keep their stash of rice full and at the ready so that they can avoid having to order a pizza when the in-laws pay a surprise visit.
I want Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike to gain a basic understanding of Filipino cuisine so that it can be enjoyed and embraced rather than avoided.
And I want my own children to grow up loving the dishes I cook for them—Filipino food and otherwise.
And that should be a simple enough goal for all of us.
THE NEXT BIG THING?
Today, Filipino food seems to stand at a culinary crossroads. In a world of Twitter, Facebook and food blogs, food-minded people are constantly looking for the next big culinary trend. A hot-button topic within some of these food circles is whether or not Filipino food can be this so-called “next big thing.” Alas, the same questions always arise:
“Why isn’t Filipino food more popular? Why isn’t Filipino food more mainstream?”
Filipino food can be more than simply “trendy”—it is an incredibly diverse and complex cuisine with a multitude of indigenous variations and global influences.
Whether or not Filipino food goes “mainstream” isn’t really a concern of mine. For me, in order for Filipino food to be appreciated a little bit more, it must first be understood a little bit more.
With such a diverse culinary heritage and an abundance of nuanced flavors, it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world comes to appreciate and understand Filipino food.
UNDERSTANDING FILIPINO FOOD
The Philippine Archipelago consists of some 7,000 islands clustered in the warm Pacific waters of Southeast Asia. Across these islands, over 100 distinct languages are spoken amongst a multitude of regional ethnicities. And with native cooking techniques such as adobo (braising food in vinegar), kinilaw (quickly bathing raw food in vinegar or citrus juices), and ginataan (cooking food in coconut milk), it is easy to assume that the cuisine of the Philippines consists of an indigenous panoply of Malay-based dishes. But this assumption is only partly true.
Adobo, pancit, lumpia, and shrimp—just a small sampling from a typical meal at my grandmother’s home in Delano, CA.
Harvested rice from my uncle’s farm in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, Philippines.
A backyard barbecue in progress at my parents’ home in Valencia, CA.
There is much more to the story of Filipino cuisine. With a long history as a trading partner with the Chinese, Arabs, Indians, Portuguese and Japanese, the already diverse Malay menu of the Philippines is further accented with flavors and cooking techniques from other parts of the world.
While culinary influences from India, Portugal, and Japan are understated, in certain Filipino dishes, the Muslim influence from Arab trading partners is very apparent in the Muslim region of Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
CHINESE INFLUENCE
Although the Chinese began trading in the Philippines as early as the ninth or tenth centuries, they did not begin to settle in the Philippines in earnest until the sixteenth century. The Chinese influence on Filipino cuisine is most apparent in our pancit noodles and lumpia spring rolls, but Chinese ingredients such as soy sauce, black beans, tofu, pork and pork lard—just to name a few—have all become mainstays in Filipino cooking.
SPANISH INFLUENCE
The Spanish first arrived in the Philippines in 1521, but would not control the islands until 1565. The Philippines would remain under Spanish rule until 1898. During this 333-year reign, the Spanish would leave an indelible mark on Filipino culture and cuisine.
The Spanish colonists, homesick and hungry, soon began introducing Spanish ingredients, cooking techniques, and dishes to the Philippine natives. Before long, Filipinos began using the Spanish sofrito of tomatoes, onions, and garlic cooked in oil as a base to their own dishes, while also embracing and adapting Spanish dishes such as caldereta, empanada s, embutido and flan, among many others. And because Spanish ingredients were well beyond the means of many Filipinos at the time, Spanish dishes were reserved for special occasions. Even today, Filipino dishes of Spanish origin are usually only served at birthday parties, graduation parties, and the occasional Manny Pacquiao fight party.
MEXICAN INFLUENCE
Mexico and the Philippines may seem like strange dinner companions, but because both nations were under Spanish rule at the same time, their connection becomes clearer. In fact, during much of its time as a Spanish colony, the Philippines were actually governed indirectly via the Spanish viceroyalty in Mexico City—and this was long before the time of conference calls and telecommuting.
Between the years of 1565–1815, Spain transported goods between its two colonies via the Manila-Acapulco Galleons. These huge ships traveled across the Pacific from Manila to Acapulco only once or twice a year, thereby introducing innumerable Mexican influences into Filipino cuisine. The galleons brought New World crops to the Philippines, such as chocolate, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, pineapples, bell peppers, jicama, chayote, avocado, peanuts, and annatto—all of which you will find in one form or another in this cookbook. And because the galleons traveled in both directions, the Mexicans received rice, sugarcane, tamarind, coconuts, and mangoes from Philippine soil.
AMERICAN INFLUENCE
Following the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Spain signed the Philippines over to the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris. The Philippines would then spend the next half-century as a colony of yet another country and living with a new military force in their presence.
The U.S. military legacy in the Philippines, culinarily speaking, left behind a new fondness for all things American, including things like hot dogs, hamburgers, fried chicken, and ice cream. Even processed convenience foods such as Spam, corned beef, evaporated milk, and instant coffee became highly prized pantry items for the Filipino.
FAMILIAL INFLUENCE
Above all else, Filipino food is largely shaped by individual family traditions and customs. The same dish made in one household will greatly differ from that of the household next door. Taking things a step further, the same dish prepared by one family member will greatly differ from that made by another family member.
This is no more evident than with my own grandmother and her sisters. Even under the same roof and in the same kitchen, each sister prepares her own very distinct version of adobo. It is this diversity that makes Filipino cuisine so wonderful.
Speaking of my grandmother and her sisters…
GRANDMA AND “THE AUNTIES,” OR MY THREE GRANDMAS
Much of what I know about Filipino food, I learned through a lifetime of visits to the home of my grandparents; Juan and Estrella Gapultos (AKA “Grandpa Johnny” and “Grandma Esther”). Two of my grandmother’s sisters, Carolina (AKA “Auntie Carling”) and Flora (AKA “Auntie Puyong”), also live in the same household with my grandparents. And although Carling and Puyong are technically my great aunts, I’ve