The Philippines Project

Real Filipinno Street Food

Magic Afternoon in Pampanga

Filipino food is one of the most underrated, unknown cuisines in the world.

They are like many developing countries they have learned to do with what they have.

My grandmother came as an immigrant from Germany as a child. Her family fled the great German Depression in search of a better life in America. I always marveled at how she could take nothing and make it into something. When I was young I just thought she was a great cook, but when I got older I realized that when you are poor as my wife says “you need to improvise”.

Filipino cuisine is of course led by Rice. The very phrase “Let’s Eat” is Kain na” meaning literally “let’s eat rice”. Adobe is the flagship of dishes in the Philippines. It is made many different ways according to the tastes of the region and the individual who cooks it.

Basically it is slow cooked Chicken or Pork. Marinated and cooked in Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Ginger and black peppercorn. For more Filipino Recipes go to Filipino Food Lovers.

This is a very colorful and very well done site and will give you an idea of what is available in Filipino cuisine.

My first real encounter eating real food in the Philippines was in Pampanga.  Pampanga is the region recognized as the cooking capital of the Philippines.  We arrived early morning.  When we got to my wife’s uncle’s house, nap time was in order.  A concrete floor, thin foam mat and a fan was all we needed for a two hour nap.  We woke up, got refreshed and headed to her Lola’s (grandmother) house for lunch.

A little jet lag and a healthy dose of culture shock made this day memorable.  We by the time we had walked down the dirt road that let to her Grandmother’s house the smell of food cooking outdoors was Filipino hospitality at it’s finest!  Mothers and daughters working together in concert completing all phases of the process.  There were you girls peeling and chopping vegetables, their mothers were slicing up the best looking meats I have ever seen!  The men were standing around talking or maybe BBQing in the alley.  Some of the best BBQ cooked right in the ground!

They kept trying to get me to sample everything (and of course who was I to resist?).  There wasn’t an air conditioner in sight, just open air, raw living at it’s best!  I don’t know if it is unique to Pinoy culture to eat as you cook the meal but I was trying to wait till everything was done but the repeated offers of food was more than I could take.

To be honest I don’t remember each and every dish that I tried that magical day.  I do remember the sense of family and community as they all worked together to put on thier best for us as we returned to the place of my wife’s birth.