In defense of Filipino food
This goes to everyone who thinks Filipino food sucks.
A thought occurred to me while cooking rice in the silence of my little abode at 3 a.m. today. There’s one important commandment in Filipino dining and it is this: “Thou shall not eat ulam without rice.”
No wonder many foreigners complain about our food being too sweet or too salty or too spicy. They tend to neglect rice, which is its most important component of our cuisine.
The blandness of that pale, white rice is of the essence to balance the overflowing flavors of the ulam, a Filipino term for “a dish that goes with rice”. The commonly used term ‘viand’ doesn’t give at all justice to the very rich and complex relationship between the ulam and rice.
Rice is so important to Filipinos that every regional language likely has a unique term for it. (For Kapampangans, we call it nasi.) It is an indispensable part of our diet. Kaya nga ang Pinoy, kapag kumain ng tanghalian ng walang kanin, parang hindi ka rin kumain! (A meal without rice is no meal at all for Filipinos!)
Finally, to all those complaining about Filipino food not appealing to look at unlike other Asian cuisine like Thai or Japanese, let me tell you something, doll.
Una sa lahat, putangina, nakatikim ka na ba ng Sinigang na Baboy na maasim!? Alam mo ba’ng Filipino citizen ka kapag paborito mo ‘yun!? (First of all, wait till you taste our Pork Sinigang! Loving it is a prerequisite to Filipino citizenship!)
Secondly, Filipino cuisine is based on two pillars: pragmatism and emotions.
Pragmatism. Kingina hindi kami kumakain para picturan ‘yung ulam at i-post sa Instagram. Kumakain kami kasi gusto naming mabusog at masarapan. Lakamingpake kung mukhang tae ‘yung kare-kare pero kapag kinain mo naman ng may bagoong, lalabasan ka sa sarap! (We eat to stay alive and for pleasure, not to post photogenic dishes on Instagram. We do not give a shit if kare-kare looks like — err — shit. It is enough to give you gastronomic orgasm especially when served with bagoong!)
Aanhin mo ang maganda kung hindi naman masarap!? (Beautiful food is useless if it doesn’t taste good!)
Filipino food lacks sophistication or refinement because our dishes aren’t made for emperors or kings (simply because we do not have those über-elite social classes). Filipino food is food for the working class. There’s nothing fancy in our cuisine, just delicious home-cooked food to eat!
Finally, some Filipino dishes aren’t meant to be appetizing or yummy (they are yummy anyway), but are meant to evoke emotions.
One example is tuyo na may kanin at kamatis. Pretty sure many foreigners wouldn’t dare touch this food but it actually holds a sentimental place in the hearts of Filipinos. Just like how Jollibee reminds overseas Filipinos of home, ‘tuyo at kanin’ reminds us— especially those who went through poverty — of difficult days when all we have on the table is salty dried fish and rice. Even Filipino movies and telenovelas represent poverty with these dishes
If this got you interested about Filipino food, your first destination has to be Pampanga where them best Filipino cooks at!
Basta Kapampangan, manyaman!
