There are certain countries widely recognised for their cuisine.
France, Italy, Japan, and Thailand quickly come to mind. But The Philippines is seldom mentioned in the same breath, and rarely is its food recognised in terms of culinary greatness.
But that possibly says more about
the Filipino’s sense of modesty than the food itself, because make no mistake,
Filipinos are as passionate, as creative, and as artistic in their cooking than
anyone else. In fact, in their way, possibly far more so.
You only have to eat with a Filipino
to realise this.
Conversation ends as the serious business of eating begins.
The spoon (many Westerners are surprised to find that Filipinos do not use
chopsticks, but prefer a spoon and fork, or sometimes even their fingers)
becomes the artist’s palete upon which each mouthful is carefully constructed.
Even a dish as everyday as
longsilog; the egg is chopped into the rice, the sausage is carefully
dissected, and then a measure of each is assembled in the spoon, proportioned
according to its contribution to the overall flavour.
There’s also the “harvesting”
approach - piles of rice assembled neatly on the plate, each then is
adorned with a piece of egg, and topped with a chunk of longanisa. When every
pile is complete, it’s harvesting time, one prefabricated scoop at a time.
Compare that to the average Westerner’s approach
- a piece of sauage on its own, followed by a chunk of egg on its own, chased by a forkful of rice on its own - and you begin to understand why Westerners often simply don’t seem to “get” Filipino cuisine. They like Thai, Chinese, Italian; because the ingredients are pre-combined and the eating is effortless.
But the joy of Filipino food is that
eating becomes part of the creative process. The diner is a participant in the
creation of his or her own culinary experience, and the rewards, as a result
are that much greater.
Look at singiang or tinola.
There are those who dump the contents of the bowl onto the rice and create a porridgy mix on the plate. There are those who transfer the rice into the bowl for a similar result. And there are those who assemble a little soup, a little meat, a little vegetable, and a little rice together on the spoon, one mouthful at a time. Add to the mix patis, or soy and lemon, and the taste can be even more customised.That’s the genius of Filipino cuisine.
Food - and eating it - is a pastime, a passion, even a
form of individuality and self expression. Those from other cultures who,
finally, grasp the idea are inevitably delighted by the world of possibilities,
and the magnificent range of flavours, suddenly available to them.
Humble they may be, but Filipinos
have elevated the simple act of eating … to an art.