Sailing under the Spanish flag of King Charles V, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set foot on the Pacific island of Samar in 1521. But it wasn’t until a subsequent expedition in 1542 that Ruy Lopez de Villalobos gave a name to the islands calling them “Filipinas” after the crown prince of Spain, Philip II. The first Spanish colony, established in 1565, began 334 years of colonizing and Catholicizing the Philippines, erasing much of their native culture and religion. However, the conquistadores were not completely without merit, having funneled to the islands important economic crops and livestock from New Spain (their Mexican territories), such as avocado, cacao, tomatoes, maize, and cattle.
The era of Spanish rule came to a halt with the Treaty of Paris in 1898, which ended the Spanish-American war and ceded the Philippines, along with Cuba, Guam, and Puerto Rico, to the United States. U.S. President William McKinley wasted no time developing the Philippines’ social and economic infrastructure in the American exemplar, spreading English and ideals of democracy all over the islands. Having spent forty-seven years grooming the Philippines for its freedom, the United States granted the Philippines independence in 1946.
The Original Fusion Cuisine
It is hard to resist the vibrant flavors of ginger and lemongrass, the glorious triumvirate we lovingly call sofrito (sautéed onion, garlic, and tomato), or the crispy crunch of egg rolls in various incarnations. On the surface, Filipino food is entirely familiar. Noodles, rice, stews, and stir-fries are neither new nor Filipino inventions. But the interplay of exotic flavors, balanced and harmonious, is uniquely Filipino and anything but ordinary.
Filipino history explains the motley of influences on the Philippines’ simple food. Modern Filipino cuisine is a collage of ethnicities starting with a native Malay base flavored with layers of Chinese, Spanish, and American accents. Rice is a longtime staple in the Philippines, having been cultivated since 3200 B.C.E., and today is still unequivocally the primary food. Dishes heavily laden with coconut (guinataan, for example) or vinegar (stewed paksiw, raw kinilaw, and pickled achara) are attributed to the Malay natives. Fermented fish and shrimp pastes are used to season raw and cooked foods from green mangoes and sliced bitter melon to kare-kare, oxtail in peanut sauce, and pinakbet, vegetable stew. Dishes such as inasal, grilled or roasted meats, sinigang, sour soups, bachoy and bopiz, stewed organ meats, tinutungan, chicken with palm hearts, tapa, marinated dried beef, and dinuguan, pig’s blood stew, exemplify the simple, varied, and original style and flavor of the Islands.
Chinese traders who established themselves in the Philippines early in the ninth century contributed significantly to Filipino cuisine with a large variety of noodles (pancit), steamed buns and dumplings (siopao and shumai), and egg rolls (lumpia). Arroz caldo, pospas, and lugaw are Filipino adaptations of Chinese congee. Soy sauce, ginger, tofu, fermented black beans, and dried mushrooms are all Chinese flavors commonly found in Filipino food.
The Spanish, who conquered the Islands in 1542 left the deepest impressions on Filipino cuisine by integrating their homeland foods, renaming native dishes in Spanish, and importing New World flavors from Mexico, their North American territory through which the islands were governed. Spanish colonists taught their Filipino cooks how to prepare such favorite homeland dishes as caldereta beef stew, meat-filled empanadas, meat and chickpea cocido, chicken pastel, savory egg-based tortillas, and paellas—all cooked and flavored so differently than the steamed, white rice of the Islands. Quickly cooking a sofrito of tomato, garlic, and onion in olive oil is the flavor base that preludes many Filipino sautéed dishes (guidsdos). Other dishes that bear Spanish ancestry are almondigas (meatballs), sopa de ajo (garlic soup), morcon (stuffed beef roll), and croquettes (savory fritters). Desserts are overwhelmingly European in style, replete with rich custards and buttery cakes. Flan (egg custard), natillas (soft cream custard), brazo de mercedes (meringue jelly roll), budin (bread pudding), mazapan (marzipan), turron (nut nougat), capuchinos (brandy-soaked cakes), and buñuelos and churros (fried dough fritters) were indulgent endings to Spanish meals served with coffee or hot chocolate, a practice still relished today.
The Mexican influence on Filipino cuisine may not be apparent on the surface because it was indirectly introduced secondhand through the Spanish. But today, crops from Mexico are an integral component of a modern Philippines. From a culinary standpoint, Mexico’s food is not so obvious; tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and fajitas never made the journey across the Atlantic Ocean nor did the New World’s abundant supply of chiles. More subtle dishes such as tamales, menudo, and pipían were brought to the islands along with native ingredients such as tomato, chayote, avocado, squash, annatto seeds, and cacao. Among the most consequential commodities introduced to the islands was maize, which now ranks as the second most important crop in the Philippines behind rice. Corn is vital not only as a human food staple but as livestock feed and processed commercial products.
When the United States was ceded the Philippines following the Treaty of Paris, thus began nearly fifty years of American military occupation that integrated quintessential American foods like SPAM, macaroni salad, hot dogs, and hamburgers into everyday Filipino fare. Filipinos were quick to embrace these new foods and equally eager to adapt them to their palates. Fried chicken is first marinated in soy, garlic, and bay leaves; spaghetti sauce is made sweet with just a touch of sugar; canned corned beef is sautéed with garlic, onion, and tomato; meat loaf is made with ground pork and studded with chorizo, olives, and raisins; hamburgers and fries are spread with banana ketchup. Though the Spanish reigned longer over the Philippines than other conquerors, American President William McKinley integrated a program of Americanism that remains strong today.
In an independent Philippines, what does nearly half a millennium of western colonialism combined with Asian geography amount to today? A fiesta buffet that is the truest of cultural crossroads, a fantastic spread filled with dishes from Malaysia, Spain, China, Mexico, and the United States, yet all made Filipino style.
Enjoying a Filipino Meal
Different from the Western custom of serving meals in courses, Filipinos place equal importance on each dish, bringing them all—from soup to salad to entrées and desserts—to the table at the same time. The focus of every meal—breakfast, lunch, or dinner—is rice. Everything else, from the soup to the viand to the vegetable is a rice “topping.” Other toppings include an assortment of condiments and dipping sauces such as vinegar with soy and garlic, chile peppers with calamansi, or fish sauce with ginger placed on the table for the diner to individually season his food to his own liking. Eating is done with a spoon and fork in which the back of the fork is used to push a combination of rice, meat, vegetable, and sauce onto the spoon creating the perfect bite.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are the main meals throughout the day. Meriendas are also traditionally enjoyed, though busy schedules are quickly making this practice extinct. Merienda is the repose of a midmorning or midafternoon refreshment, which can be a snack of bread and coffee or a more substantial taking of ukoy shrimp fritters or tamales. Offerings are light, which means that steamed white rice is usually not on the menu. Yet, the importance of rice in Filipino cuisine could not preclude it from being included in various forms: sweet rice cakes (bibinka, puto), wrapped rice snacks (suman), and hearty rice porridge (champorado and arroz caldo) are among the many choices for merienda fare.
With the emphasis on food in Tropical Island Cooking, it’s easy to neglect Filipino beverages. Native drinks are plentiful. Natural fruit juices are ubiquitous throughout the Islands. Mango, guava, pineapple, young coconut water, and calamansi are among the endless variety of fruits transformed into pure, refreshing nectars. Despite the long relationship with China, the art of tea drinking was not a widespread tradition