Authentic Recipes from the Philippines

115 Pages·2012·6.719 MB·English

by  Tettoni, Luca, Alejandro, Reynaldo

Authentic Recipes from the
P
HILIPPINES
Recipes by Reynaldo G. Alejandro
Introductory essays by Doreen G. Fernandez, Corazon S. Alvina
and Millie Reyes
Photographs by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni
Published by Periplus Editions, with editorial offices at
61TaiSengAvenue#2-12,Singapore534167.
Tel: [phone]; fax: [phone].
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.periplus.com
Copyright © 2005 Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
All rights reserved.
ISBN:978-1-4629-0533-1(ebook)
Printed in Singapore
Distributed by
North America, Latin America and Europe
Tuttle Publishing, 364 Innovation Drive,
North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436,
Tel: [phone]; fax: [phone].
Email: [email protected]
Japan and Korea
Tuttle Publishing, Yaekari Building 3F,
5-4-12 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032.
Tel: [phone]; fax: [phone].
Email: [email protected]
Asia Pacific
Berkeley Books Pte Ltd
61TaiSengAvenue#2-12,Singapore534167.
Tel: [phone]; fax: [phone].
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.periplus.com
All recipes were tested in the Periplus Test Kitchen
Photo credits: Food photography by Luca Invernizzi
Tettoni. Additional photos on pages 4, 6, 9, 13 from
Photobank Singapore; pages 7, 8, 10–12 and 14 by
Sonny Yabao. Fiesta print on page 5 reproduced
courtesy of the Gallery of Prints in Manila.
Contents
Food in the Philippines 5 Vegetables and Salads Pork Stew with Tahure 89
Regional Dishes and Regional Vegetable Stew with Tofu 54 Grilled Garlic Vinegar Pork 90
Identity 8 Stir-fried Mung Beans 54 Diced Pork and Liver Stew with
Fiesta Feasting 12 Stuffed Eggplants 57 Potatoes and Pimentos 90
Dining and Cooking in the Vegetable Medley with Pork and Chicken Adobo with Turmeric and
Philippines 15 Bagoong 57 Coconut Milk 93
Authentic Filipino Ingredients 18 Fresh Coconut Noodles with Chicken Simmered in Tomatoes and
Vegetables 58 Pimentos 93
Basic Recipes Bitter Melon Salad 61 Chicken and Pork Adobo 94
Sweet and Sour Sauce 25 Green Mango Salad 61 Stuffed Duck with Napa Cabbage 95
Miso Tomato Sauce 25 Simmered Vegetables with Shrimp 62
Liver Sauce 28 Taro Leaves with Coconut Milk 62 Desserts and Drinks
Chicken Stock 28 Fresh Spring Rolls 65 Custard in Meringue 96
Balayan Fish Sauce 28 Sweet Coconut Corn Cake 99
Garlic Soy Vinegar Dip 29 Seafood Crème Caramel 99
Green Mango Relish 29 Fish Poached in Vinegar and Ginger 67 Caramel-coated Egg Nuggets 100
Lime Soy Chili Dip 29 Shrimp Adobo in Coconut Milk 67 Egg Custard with Caramel
Green Papaya Pickles 29 Sweet and Sour Fish 68 Topping 100
Annatto Water 29 Fried Fish with Black Bean Sauce 71 Halo Halo Supreme 102
Eggplant Sauce 29 Shrimp Sinigang 72 Sago Pearls with Coconut Gelatin 105
Annatto Oil 29 Fish Soup with Vegetables 72 Fresh Coconut Delight 105
Yam Pudding with Coconut Cream
Snacks and Appetizers Meat and Poultry Topping 105
Fish Ceviche 30 Rich Beef Stew 75 Rice Patties with Sweet Grated
Shrimp and Tofu Fritters 30 Filipino-style Beef Steak 75 Coconut 106
Pork Cracklings 33 Stuffed Beef Roll 76 Brown Rice Flour Cakes 106
Shanghai-style Eggrolls 33 Oxtail and Vegetable Stew 79 Cassava Patties with Coconut 106
Pork with Bagoong 79 Lemongrass Pandanus Iced Tea 109
Soups and Stews Beef Sinigang 80 Ginger Tea 109
Chicken Rice Soup with Ginger 35 Beef Braised with Garlic and Olives 82 Green Mango Shake 109
Beef and Banana Heart Soup 37 Crispy Roast Pork 83 Fresh Mango Shake 109
Chicken Soup with Green Papaya and Tripe, Pork and Sausage with
Ginger 37 Chickpeas in Gravy 85 Measurements and conversions 110
Chicken Soup with Coconut 38 Hearty Meat Stew with Chickpeas and Index of recipes 111
Ground Beef Stew 39 Plantains 86 Mail-order/online sources 112
Corn and Clam Chowder 40 Stewed Pork Knuckle 89
Hearty Wonton Soup 43
Rice and Noodles
Cuban-style Rice with Meat Sauce and
Plantains 44
One-pot Rice with Chicken, Pork and
Shrimp in Coconut Milk 44
Philippine Fried Rice 47
Philippine Pork Sausages 47
Crispy Fried Fish 47
Paella 48
Canton-style Braised Noodles 51
Chicken Vermicelli 53

Food in the Philippines
Islands with a history of colonization nourished a people with a gift for adaptation
by Doreen G. Fernandez
What is Filipino food? Is it adobo—which has a Spanish dients of Southeast Asia are present here too, in the form
name, yet contains chicken, pork, vegetables or even of chilies, lemongrass and the pungent fish sauce called
seafood stewed in vinegar and garlic, and is thus unlike patis. Recent times have seen foods from other more dis-
any Spanish adobado? Or is it pancit—noodles of many tant lands sometimes occupying a small corner of the
persuasions utilizing local ingredients, yet obviously of Filipino table. To the question therefore, “What is Filipino
Chinese origin? Or would it be sinigang—the sour broth food?” One can simply answer, “All of the above.”
related to similar Southeast Asian soups and stews that are The Philippines national culture begins with a tropical
cooling in the hot tropical weather? Could it even be the clime divided into rainy and dry seasons and an archipela-
omnipresent fried chicken—sometimes marinated in vine- go with 7,000 islands. These isles contain the Cordillera
gar and garlic before it is fried? Or arrozcaldo—a chicken mountains, Luzon’s central plains, Palawan’s coral reefs;
congee that is served as comfort food even on airlines? seas touching the longest coastline of any nation of com-
The land and the waters provide the Filipinos with an parable area in the world; and a multitude of lakes, rivers,
abundance of tasty and springs and brooks.
nutritious food ingredi- The population—120
ents. Seven thousand different ethnic groups and
and more islands are the mainstream commu-
surrounded by seas, nities of Tagalog/Ilocano/
watered by rivers and Pampango/ Pangasinan
brooks, bordered by and Visayan lowlanders—
swamps and dotted with developed within a gentle
lakes, canals, ponds and but lush environment.
lagoons, providing a Each group shaped their
multitude of fish and own lifeways: building
other water creatures houses, weaving cloth,
that make up the basic telling and writing stories;
diet of Filipinos. This var- ornamenting and deco-
iegated landscape of rating, and preparing
mountains and plains, food.
shores and forests, fields Foreign influences
and hills is inhabited by land and air creatures that gener- made a deep impression on native island cultures.
ously transform into food. It also brings forth greenery all Chinese traders who had been coming to the islands since
year-round, a garden of edible grains, leaves, roots, fruits, the 11th century brought silks and ceramics, took back
pods, seeds, tendrils and flowers. products from the forest and sea, and left behind them
Thus, the Filipino dietary pattern: rice as the staple, many traditions so deeply embedded in daily life that
steamed white and plain, providing a background to the Filipinos do not realize their provenance. Filipinos of
flavors of fish, meat and vegetables. It is, nutritionists Chinese ancestry comprise an important facet of the
judge, one of the healthiest eating patterns in the world. national profile.
Because the island geography makes food readily In the 16th century, the Spanish colonizers imported
accessible to hunters, fishermen, food gatherers and farm- Christianity and a dominant Iberian elite that lasted three
ers, indigenous dishes are simply prepared: grilled (ini- centuries. Families were “brought within the sound of church
haw), steamed (pinasingawan) or boiled (nilaga). Some bells”; and thus were created villages, towns and cities.
dishes even require no cooking at all, as with kinilaw, fish
briefly marinated in vinegar or lime juice to “cook” it, while
OPPOSITE:Stuffed Crab and Boiled Shrimp. The Filipinos took to the
retaining freshness and translucence. Spanish technique of rellenadoor “stuffing” with relish.
Since food is one of the liveliest areas of popular cultural ABOVE:“Fête à Santa-Cruz de Nano”, (1887) by Marcelle Lancelot (after
exchange, it has of course been subject to foreign influences Andrews). First published in LuCon et Palaouan: Six Années de Voyage
aux Philippinesby Alfred Marché. This engraving depicts Manileno ilustra-
and change. Chinese traders, the Spanish colonizers and
dosenjoying a neighborhood party. Ilustrados, meaning “enlightened
proselytizers, and in the 20th century, the United States—
ones”, comprised an elite urban class with a high level of education and
all left their mark on the local cuisine. The signature ingre- nationalism.
Food in the Philippines 5
Spanish cultural forms replaced or melded with indigenous Malabon has oysters and squid, since Malabon is a fishing
expressions. The folk cultures of the Christianized lowlands are center; and Pancit Marilao is sprinkled with rice crisps,
thus greatly Hispanicized, whereas the highlands were later because Marilao lies within the Luzon rice bowl.
reached by Protestant missionaries and in southern Mindanao When restaurants were established in the 19th century,
Islam flourished and long resisted Spanish colonization. Chinese food became a staple of the pansiterias, with the
After the Revolution of 1889, the Battle of Manila Bay, food given Spanish names for the ease of the clientele:
and the pact of exchange between the US and Spain, the thus comida China(Chinese food) includes arroz caldo
country became an American colony. The US-style govern- (rice and chicken gruel); and morisqueta tostada(fried rice).
ment and educational system imported along with the pop- When the Spaniards arrived, the food influences they
ular culture made Filipinos the most “Americanized Asians”, brought were from both Spain and Mexico, as it was through
and the Philippines became one of the larger English- the vice royalty of Mexico that the Philippines were governed.
speaking countries of the world. This meant the production of food for an elite, including
This storied history and Mother Nature’s largesse com- many dishes for which ingredients were not locally available.
bined and evolved to produce Filipino food. Spanish Filipino food had new flavors and ingredi-
The Chinese who came to trade sometimes stayed on. ents—olive oil, paprika, saffron, ham, cheese, cured
Their foodways accompanied them and also stayed. sausages—and new names. Paella, the dish cooked in the
Perhaps they cooked the noodles of home; certainly they fields by Spanish workers, came to be a festive dish com-
used local condiments; surely they taught their Filipino bining pork, chicken, seafood, ham, sausages and vegeta-
wives their dishes, and thus Filipino-Chinese food came to bles, a luxurious mix of the local and the foreign. Relleno,
be. The names identify them: pancit(Hokkien for some- the process of stuffing festive capons and turkeys for
thing quickly cooked) are noodles; lumpiaare vegetables Christmas, was applied to chickens, and even to bangus,
rolled in edible wrappers; siopaoare steamed, filled buns; the silvery milkfish. Christmas, a new feast for Filipinos that
siomaiare dumplings. coincided with the rice harvest, featured not only the myri-
All, of course, became indigenized—Filipinized by their ad of native rice cakes, but also ensaymadas(brioche-like
ingredients and by local tastes. Today, for example, Pancit cakes buttered, sugared and sprinkled with cheese) to dip
6
in hot thick chocolate, and the apples, oranges, chestnuts and shrimp paste). The dessert table would surely be richly
and walnuts of European Christmases. Even the Mexican Spanish: LecheFlan (page 99), Natilla, Yema(page 100),
corn tamalturned Filipino, becoming rice-based tamales Dulces De Naranja, Membrillo, Torta Del Rey, etc., but also
wrapped in banana leaves. include local fruits in syrup (coconut, santol, guavas) and
The Americans introduced to Philippine cuisine the American cakes and pies. The global village may be reflect-
ways of convenience: pressure-cooking, freezing, pre- ed in shawarmaand pasta. The buffet table and Filipinofood
cooking; sandwiches and salads; hamburgers, fried chick- today is thus a gastronomic telling of Philippine history.
en and steaks. Add to the above other cuisines found in the What really is Philippine food, then? Indigenous food from
countryalong with other global influences: French, Italian, land and sea, field and forest. With added dishes and culi-
Middle Eastern, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese. They nary procedures from China, Spain, Mexico and the United
grow familiar, but remain “imported” and not yet indigenized. States, and more recently from further abroad.
On a buffet table today one might find, for example, Kinilaw What makes them Filipino? The history and society that
NaTanguingue, mackerel dressed with vinegar, ginger, onions, introduced and adapted them; the people who tuned them
hot peppers, perhaps coconut milk; also grilled tiger shrimp, to their tastes and accepted them into their homes and
and maybe Sinigang Na Baboy, pork and vegetables in a restaurants, and especially the harmonizing culture that
broth soured with tamarind, all from the native repertoire. combined them into contemporary Filipino fare.
Alongside there would almost certainly be pancit, noodles
once Chinese, now Filipino, still in a sweet-sour sauce. Spanish
festive fare like Morcon (beef rolls, page 76), Embutido (pork
rolls), Fish Escabeche (page 68) and stuffed chicken or
turkey might be there too. The centerpiece would probably
be Lechon, spit-roasted pig, which may be Chinese or OPPOSITE:Emerald green rice terraces are part of the spectacular scenery
in the Cordillera of Northern Philippines.
Polynesian in influence, but bears a Spanish name, and may
ABOVE:Fresh food market in Tagaytay, a temperate city located high above
therefore be derived from Cochinillo Asado. Vegetable dishes
Taal Lake in Southern Luzon. Tagaytay is well known for its market gardens
could includean American salad and a Pinakbet (vegetables and fruit stalls.
Food in the Philippines 7