Philippines tourist information

Philippine cuisine has evolved over several centuries from its Malay roots to a cuisine of predominantly Spanish base, due to the many Mexican and Spanish dishes brought to the islands during the colonial period. It has also received influence from Arab, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and American

Dishes range from a simple meal of fried fish and rice to rich paellas and cocidos. Popular dishes include lechon (whole roasted pig), longgonisa (native sausage), tapa (beef jerky), torta (omelette), adobo (chicken and/or pork braised in garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar or cooked until dry), kaldereta (goat in tomato stew), mechado (beef or pork cooked in tomato sauce), pochero (beef in bananas and tomato sauce), afritada (pork or beef simmered in a tomato sauce with vegetables), kare-kare (oxtail and vegetables cooked in peanut sauce), crispy pata (deep-fried pig's leg), hamonado (pork sweetened in pineapple sauce), sinigang (pork, fish, or shrimp in tamarind stew), pancit (stir-fried noodles), and lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls).

Filipino cuisine is distinguished by its bold combination of sweet, sour, salty and spicy taste, though most dishes are not typically spicy. While other Asian cuisines (e.g. Cantonese) may be known for a more subtle delivery and presentation of food, Filipino palates prefer a sudden influx of flavor. It can be said that it is more flamboyant, as Filipino cuisine is often delivered in a single presentation, giving the participant a simultaneous visual feast, an aromatic bouquet, and a gustatory appetizer.

Snacking is normal, and it is possible that a Filipino could have eaten five meals in a day. Dinner, while still the main meal, is usually eaten in smaller quantities compared to other countries. Usually, either breakfast or lunch is the heftiest of all meals.

Main dishes include sinigang (pork, fish, or shrimp in tamarind soup and vegetables), bulalo (beef soup - commonly with marrow still in the beef bone - with vegetables), kare-kare (oxtail and vegetables cooked in peanut sauce), crispy pata (deep fried hog hoofs with hock sometimes included), mechado (pork cooked in tomato sauce), pochero (beef or pork cooked in tomato sauce with bananas and vegetables), kaldereta (beef or goat cooked in tomato sauce), fried or grilled chicken/porkchops/fish/squid/cuttlefish.

Dinner may be accompanied by stir-fried vegetables, atchara (shredded and pickled papaya), bagoong or alamang. Everyday meals are not commonly served with desserts as desserts are made only for special occassions. However, the most popular desserts include leche flan, buko pandan (slivers of young coconut with cream and pandan flavor) or gulaman (jello).

Some dishes will rely on vinegar for flavoring. Adobo is popular not solely for its splendid flavor, but also for its ability to remain fresh for days, and even improves its flavor with a day or two of storage. Tinapa is a smoke-cured fish while tuyo, daing, and dangit are corned sun-dried fishes popular for its ability not to spoil for weeks even without refrigeration.

Due to western influence, food is often eaten using utensil, e.g., forks, knives, spoons. Filipinos use their spoons to cut through meat instead of knives used in other western cultures. The traditional way of eating is with the hands especially when meals consist mostly of dry dishes like inihaw or prito.

The diner takes a bite at the dish and simultaneously stuff his mouth with rice pressed skillfully into a ball with his fingers. Some are able to form balls of rice even if it is soaking in broth. This practice, known as kamayan, is rarely seen in urbanized areas. However, Filipinos tend to feel the spirit of kamayan when eating amidst nature during out of town trips, beach vacations, and town fiestas.

Breakfast
Traditional breakfast usually includes pan de sal (bread), kesong puti (cheese), champorado (rice porridge), sinangag (fried garlic rice). For meats, one could consume tapa, longganisa, tocino, karne norte; or fish particularly daing na bangus meaning salted and dried milkfish; or eggs of itlog na pula (salted duck eggs). One could consume a coffee in particular kapeng barako, a variety of coffee produced in the mountains of Batangas noted for having a strong flavor.

Combinations exist for example kankamtuy which is a combination of kamatis (tomatoes), kanin (rice) and tuyo (dried fish); or silogs that is a portmanteau used to refer to meat dishes that are most often served with sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg) to be consumed. The three most commonly seen silogs are tapsilog (having tapa as the meat portion), tocilog (having tocino as the meat portion), and longsilog (having longganisa as a meat portion).

Other silogs exist including hotsilog (with a hot dog), bangsilog (with bangus/milkfish), dangsilog (with danggit/rabbitfish), spamsilog (with spam), adosilog (with adobo), chosilog (with chorizo), chiksilog (with chicken), cornsilog (with canned corned beef), litsilog (with lechon/litson), pakaplog (with pan de sal and kape).

Afternoon Snack
Merienda is a snack taken in the afternoons, similar to the concept of afternoon tea. Filipinos have a number of options to take with their traditional kape (coffee). Additionally, if the meal is taken close to dinner, it is called merienda cena, which may qualify as dinner itself.

Breads like pan de sal, ensaymada, (buttery sweet rolls with cheese), and empanada (savory pastries stuffed with meat) are served. Also, rice cakes (kakanin) like kutsinta, sapin-sapin, palitaw, biko, suman, bibingka, and pitsi-pitsi are served. Other sweets such as hopia (pastries similar to mooncakes filled with sweet bean paste) and bibingka (rich rice cakes desserts) are also favorites. Savory dishes such as pancit canton (stir-fried noodles), palabok (rice noodles with a shrimp-based sauce), tokwa't baboy (fried tofu with boiled pork ears in a garlic-flavored soy sauce and vinegar sauce), puto (steamed rice flour cakes), and dinuguan (a spicy stew made with pork blood) can also be served during merienda.

Also, dim sum and dumplings brought over by the Fujianese people have been given Filipino touch and been made everyday Filipino merienda, including siopao, siomai, etc. Also famous are the different street foods sold mostly skewered on bamboo sticks: squid balls, fish balls and others. In recent years, snack served in between breakfast and lunch has been common during special occasions such as day long symposia and workshops. However, this does not qualify as traditional merienda as the term officially applies to afternoon snacks as traditionally practiced by Filipinos.

Pulutan
Pulutan (literally "something that is picked") is a term roughly analogous to the English term "finger food". It originally served to indicate a snack accompanied with liquor or beer. It has found their way into Philippine cuisine as appetizers or, in some cases, main dishes, as in the case of sisig.

Deep fried dishes include chicharon that are pork rinds that have been salted, dried, then fried; chicharong bituka or chibab pig intestines that have been deep fried to a crisp; chicharong bulaklak or chilak similar to chicharong bituka has a bulaklak or flower appearance of the dish made from mesenteries of pig intestines; chicken skin or chink that has been deep fried until crispy.

Some grilled foods include Barbecue Isaw that is chicken or pig intestines marinated and skewered; barbecue tenga pig ears are marinated and skewered; pork barbecue which is a satay marinated in a special blend; Betamax that is salted solidified pork blood which is skewered; Adidas which is grilled or sauteed chicken feet. And there is Sisig a popular pulutan made from the pork's cheek skin, ears and liver that is initially boiled, then grilled over charcoal, then minced and cooked with chopped onions, chillies, and spices.

Smaller snacks such as mani (or peanuts) often sold in the Philippines by street vendors boiled in the shell available salted or spiced or flavored with garlic. Another snack is Kropeck which is just fish crackers.

The foundation of Filipino culture is based on a combination of the closely related native traditions of the various regional indigenous groups of the Philippines, with the Hispanic culture, present in the islands for over three centuries. Such native groups include the Tagalogs, Ilokanos, Cebuanos, Illonggos, Bikolanos, and others. Philippine culture, however, has also been influenced by Chinese, American, Indonesian and Indian cultures.

The Hispanic influences in Filipino culture are largely derived from the culture of Spain as a result of over three centuries of Spanish colonial rule. These Hispanic influences are most visible in the form of customs and practices related to the Catholic church, especially in religious festivals. Every year, Filipinos from around the country hold major festivities known as barrio fiestas, which commemorate the patron saints of the towns, villages and regional districts. The festival season is celebrated with church ceremonies, street parades in honor of the patron saints, fireworks, beauty and dance contests, and cockfighting tournaments.

The most obvious Hispanic legacy, however, is the prevalence of Spanish surnames among Filipinos. This peculiarity, unique among the people of Asia, came as a result of a colonial decree for the systematic distribution of family names and implementation of the Spanish naming system on the inhabitants of the Philippines.

The Chinese influences in Filipino culture are most evident in Filipino cuisine, which it has totally penetrated. The prevalence of noodles, known locally as mami, as well as other foods like seafood dishes are a testament of the Chinese. Other Chinese influences include linguistic borrowings and the occasional Chinese derived surnames.

American cultural influence in the Philippines is relatively recent, dating from the beginning of the twentieth century. The use of English within the Philippines is America's most obvious legacy. The most commonly played and arguably the national sport in the Philippines is basketball; the country came third in the 1954 World Championship, a feat which places them joint-ninth in the post-war world rankings.

Indeed, there is a wide emulation of other American cultural trends, such as the love of fast-food; many street corners boast fast-food outlets. Aside from the American giants such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Burger King, KFC, Domino's, Shakey's and Popeye's, local fast-food chains have also sprung up, including Jollibee, Greenwich Pizza, Tropical Hut, Ihawan, and Chowking. Filipinos listen to the latest American music, dance to American steps, watch American movies, and idolize American actors and actresses.

In spite of this, native moral codes, respect of family, veneration of elders, and friendliness, all remain intact. Filipinos honor national heroes whose works and deeds contributed to the shaping of Filipino nationalism. José Rizal is the most celebrated ilustrado, a Spanish-speaking reformist visionary whose writings contributed greatly in nurturing a sense of national identity and awareness.

His novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo originally written in Spanish, are required readings for Filipino students, and provide vignettes of colonial life under the Spanish rule. They give a sense of Filipino identity and historical continuity. Andrés Bonifacio founded the pro-independence Katipunan movement, which sparked the revolution that helped end Spanish rule. Disputes exist about whether Bonifacio, not Rizal, should be the national hero. Ninoy Aquino, the charimatic leader against the Marcos dictatorship, is a highly revered martyr of the People Power revolution.