Although I'm Australian grown, I was born in Hong Kong to a Filipino mother and an Australian father. Since my humble beginnings in 1987, I have since been exposed to quite a bit of Filipino culture (whilst visiting the Philippines quite a bit over the years with my mother). To my ultimate shame, I don't speak Filipino. I'm also not one of those people who can't speak the language but can write or understand it. I fail. I only get a few words and my cousins laugh at my failed attempts to communicate with them. Fortunately some of them speak English.
Anyway. This post is about Filipino food. I love Filipino food. It is the best stuff on earth. I grew up with quite a bit of it, although since my mother didn't spend a lot of time with her parents and siblings in the village, she didn't really learn how to cook much traditional Filipino food. But she has made a few things. Otherwise I have to wait until I go back to Pampanga to experience the real stuff from my aunts.
Over the years, I've resolved to teach myself to make some of the basics, but it's quite difficult - a lot of the super important ingredients aren't available in Sydney Australia. What's more, a lot of Filipino food contains some form of pork. Since I'm a Seventh Day Adventist, i tend to avoid pork and other pig meats. And unfortunately, some Filipino foods just can't be substituted with another meat. Fortunately there are a few foods that I can nom to my heart's content..
Here is a list of some of my Fillo faves ;
Pancit canton (Chicken and vegetable noodles with a delicious sauce based on the Filipino lemon - calamansi. Can also include seafood and pork, which I omit).
Chicken adobo (can also be made with pork or beef. chicken broiled in a tasty sweet/sour sauce based on soy, garlic and vinegar. can also include potatoes and onions. delicious with rice)
Pancit palabok (tasty thin rice noodles topped with an orange sauce (which i've prevs only used a packet to make.. seriously not sure what is in it, i do mean orange as in colour, not the fruit) and then topped with other tasty ingredients such as boiled egg, shallots, and then shrimp, dried fish flakes, various other seafood iteams and then sprinkled with pork chicharon (deep fried pork crackling, ground up).
Sinigang na baboy (literally means sour pork soup. fortunately, this is easily subbed with fish. sinigang is a sour paste that is made of tamarind. filled with tasty vegetables, actually quite healthy).
Pancit bihon (noodles with chicken and vegetables, similar to pancit canton but different noodles and different sauce base)
Marinated bangus (milkfish).
Caldereta (a beef dish made tomato paste.)
Lugao (filipino version of Chinese congee.. yum).
Filipino desserts:
Leche flan (Filipino version of Creme Caramel, made of many, many egg yolks, condensed milk and evaporated milk, poured into an alfoil tin with caramel/toffee crusted on the base, then baked or steamed.)
Halo halo (combination of icecream, filipino canned fruits, leche flan, jackfruit, sweet beans, crushed ice and coconut, milk. seriously delicious. Chowking make.. possibly the best halo halo.)
Bilo bilo (small dumplings made of rice flour and cooked in a sweetened coconut soup. can also include banana turon or sweet potato such as taro or just a red sweet potato.)
can also be called / other alternative : Ginataan (with more ingredients.. e.g. sago, jackfruit
Maja Blanca or Maja Blanca Mais (coconut pudding with or without corn. basically coconut milk, thickened with corn flour and sugar, with creamed corn if you like.. deliciousss).
Halayang Ube (purple ube jam). Grated / pureed ube with condensed milk.
Bibingka Cassava (delicious cassava baked cake).
Palitaw (small rice cakes dipped in a mixture of coconut / sugar &/or sesame / sugar)>
Cassava cake.
Turon (small sweet bananas with brown sugar and jackfruit wrapped like a spring roll in pastry and deep fried).
I don't recall ever seeing / these in the Philippines, but i seriously love ube. So these sound great..
It is one my goals to one day perfect each and every one of these.. wish me luck !
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