HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine

1st Semester, AY 2022-2023

August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

Module 1: History, Influences, Characteristics of

Philippine Cuisine

Overview
This module will provide you an insight into the complexity of
Philippine Cuisine. It will help you to recognize its history and influences as it
continues to evolve as new techniques and styles of cooking and ingredients
find their way into the country. A fusion of different dishes from earlier
traders, Asian immigrants, and former colonizers and the Filipino’s love for
cooking resulted in a unique Philippine cuisine- a melting pot of eastern and
western cuisine and a gastronomic delight that has been savored for
centuries.

Learning Outcomes

After studying this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Trace the Origins and Influences of Philippine Cuisine;
2. Explain the Characteristics of Philippine Cuisine;
3. Identify the unique ingredients use in Filipino Cooking; and
4. Analyze the Philippines Food Culture and its History.

Let Us Explore

LET US KNOW THE ORIGINS AND WHO INFLUENCES THE PHILIPPINE

CUISINE.

The style of cooking and the food associated with it have evolved over
many centuries from their Austronesian origins to a mixed cuisine of Malay-
Indonesian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and American. In line with
the major waves of influence that had enriched the cultures of the
archipelago and others adapted to indigenous ingredients and the local
palate.

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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

Let us first recognize the Austronesian

It refers to a population group in Southeast Asia or Oceania who spoke
or had ancestors who spoke one of the Austronesian languages. Apart from
the Polynesian people of Oceania, the Austronesian people include
Taiwanese Aborigines, the majority ethnic groups of East Timor, Indonesia,
and Malaysia.
During the pre-Hispanic era in the Philippines, the preferred Austronesian
methods for food preparation were boiling, steaming, and roasting. The
ingredients for common dishes were obtained from locally raised livestock.

These ranged from:

o Kalabaw(water
buffaloes/carabaos)
o Baka (cows)
o Manok (chickens)
o Baboy (pig)
o Various kinds of fish and seafood

In 3200 BCE, Austronesians from Southern China (Yunnan-Guizhou

Plateau) and Taiwan settled in the region that is now called the Philippines.
They brought knowledge of rice cultivation and other farming practices,
which increased the number and variety of edible dish ingredients available
for cooking.

Do you want to know the contribution of the Chinese?

Another contributors to Philippine Cuisine are the Chinese. Chinese
influence on Philippine Cuisine is found in Noodle dishes such as bihon, miki,
mami, lomi, sotanghon and miswa. These are generally called pansit.
Direct trade and cultural exchange with Hokkien China in the Philippines in
the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) with porcelain, ceramics, and silk being
traded for spices and trepang (sea cucumber) in Luzon. China introduced
several staple food into Philippine Cuisine, most notably:
o Toyo (soy sauce)
o Tokwa (tofu)
o Toge (bean sprout)
o Patis (fish sauce)
For many years that Chinese People interacted with the Filipinos. Many
of them even decided to stay and live with the Filipinos. Chinese contributed
to Philippine Cuisine are rice cake made from Philippine Ingredients called
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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

“hopia”. The making of hopia was inspired and influenced by the Chinese
rise bean cake. The Chinese usually use rice-bean cakes during special
occasions.

How about the Spanish Colonizers?

When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, they introduced the
Spanish Culture. The many Spanish colonies often influenced the Philippines
in many different ways.
Historians say that 80% of Philippine cuisine originated from Spanish
dishes. Example “Adobo,” a well-known Filipino dish, is a Spanish word for
sauce. Adobo means marinated sauce for Pork.
Spanish colonizers and friars in the 16th century brought with them produce
from America.
o Chili peppers
o Tomatoes
o Corn
o Potatoes
o The method of sauteing with garlic and
onions
Spanish (and Mexican) dishes were eventually
incorporated into Philippine cuisine, with the
more complex dishes usually being prepared for
special occasions.
o Arroz a la valenciana
o Chorizo (Spanish Longaniza)
o Morcon (Spanish Sausage)

Let us go on with Americans.

From 1898 to 1946, American influences added yet another dimension
to the Filipino food culture-speed and convenience. Americans did not make
that much of an influence in Philippine Cuisine; they certainly changed the
way Filipinos dine. The Americans introduced fast food to the Philippines.
Fast-food chains are now found almost everywhere in the Philippines and
favorites among Filipino children.

Here is a list of some of the food that Americans introduced to the Philippines
that have been widely adopted into their lifestyle:
o Hamburgers
o Sandwiches
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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

o Oatmeal
o Ketchup
o Chewing Gum
o Apple Pie
o Mayonnaise
o Hotdogs
o Steak
o Ice Cream
o Corn Flakes
o and more….

There’s more about the Japanese Colonizers

Initial research shows the items are sparse compared with other
outside influences. Mongo con hielo or red bean preserves on top of finely
shaved ice, is said to be a Japanese influence. So it is the practice of
preserving two other beans in syrup: garbanzos and kidney beans. The Halo-
halo is, therefore, basically inspired by the Japanese shaved ice dessert
called kakigori.

And don’t forget the Indian contributions

In India, fresh chilies and the holy trinity of garlic, ginger, and onions
are the base of most curries- a multitude of masalas (ground spices) defines
each dish. The birth of Filipino Curry is traced to the 18th century. When
their madras curry powder ran out, they improvised and used readily
available ingredients found in the local markets as substitutes for the Indian
spices. Annatto replaced turmeric, while coconut milk became a substitute
for yogurt. They celebrated the Philippine dish kare-kare- a yellow orange,
peanut based stew is inspired by the Madrasi curry.

LET US NOW ENUMERATE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PHILIPPINE

CUISINE
Counterpoint
It is a feast a culture
in Philippine cuisine
which usually comes
in a pairing of
something.
Philippine cuisine is
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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

distinguished by its bold combination of sweet (tamis), sour (asim), and salty
(alat) flavors. Filipino Cuisine is often delivered all at once in a single
presentation.
Examples include: Sweet and Salty
o Champorado (a sweet cocoa rice porridge), being paired with tuyo
(salted, sun-dried fish)
o Dinuguan ( a savory stew made of pigs blood and innards), paired with
puto (sweet, steamed rice cakes)
o Unriped fruits such as mangoes (which are only slightly sweet but very
sour), are eaten dipped in salt or bagoong.
o The use of cheese (which is salty) in sweet cakes (such as bibingka
or puto) as well as an ice cream flavoring.
Sour
Vinegar is a common ingredient. Adobo is popular not solely for its
simplicity and ease of preparation, but also for its availability to be stored for
days without spoiling, and even improved in flavor with a day or two of
storage. Tinapa is a smoke-cured fish, while tuyo, daing, and dangit are
corned, sun-dried fish popular because they can last for weeks without
spoiling, even without refrigeration.
Filipinos traditionally eat three main meal a day
o Agahan or almusal (breakfast)
o Tanghalian (lunch)
o Hapunan Dinner plus an afternoon snack called merienda

Breakfast
A traditional Filipino breakfast might include pandesal (small bread
rolls), kesong puti (white cheese), champorado (chocolate rice porridge),
sinangag (garlic fried rice), and meat such as tapa, longganisa, tocino, karne
norte (corned beef), or fish such as daing na bangus (salted and dried milk
fish)- or itlog na pula (salted duck eggs). Coffee is also commonly served.

Merienda
Filipinos have several options to take with their traditional kape
(coffee): bread and pastries like pandesal, ensaymada (buttery sweet rolls
covered with cheese), hopia (pastries similar to mooncakes filled with sweet
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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

bean paste), and empanada (savory pastries stuffed with meat). There’s also
the option of cakes made with sticky rice (kakanin) like kutsinta, sapin-sapin,
palitaw, biko, suman, bibingka and pitsi-pitsi.

Bread and Pastries

Examples include:
o Pandesal
o Monay
o Ensaymada
o Pan de coco
o Putok
o Kababayan (small, sweet gong-shaped muffin)
o Spanish bread
o Pianono
o Brazo de Mercedes
o Egg Pie
o And more

Communal
Fiesta Food
In Filipino celebrations lechon (also spelled litson)
serves at he centerpiece of the dinner
table. Other dishes include hamonado
(honey-cured beef, pork or chicken),
relleno (stuffed chicken or milk fish),
mechado, afritada, caldereta, puchero,
paella, menudo, morcon, embutido,
suman and pancit canton.

Pulutan
Pulutan (from the Filipino word pulutin which
literally means “something that is picked
up”). Originally, it was a snack
accompanied with liquor or beer but has
found its way into Philippine Cuisine as

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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

appetizers or, in some cases, main dishes, as in the case of

sisig.
Examples include:
o Chicharon
o Grilled Food (Pork barbeque, betamax, adidas, etc)
o Sisig
o Kropeck (fish crackers)

Native Ingredients
Philippine cuisine has a variety of native ingredients used. The biota that
developed yielded a particular landscape and in turn gave the place local
ingredients that enhanced flavors to the dishes. Kalamansi is the more
known of those ingredients, it is a fruit that belongs to the genus citrus. It is
mostly used due to the sourness it give to a dish.
Condiment
Sawsawan (Dipping Sauce)
Food is
often deep in vinegar, soy sauce, juice squeezed from
calamansi or a combination of two or all. Patis or fish sauce
maybe mix with calamansi as dipping sauce for most
seafood. Fish sauce, fish paste (bagoong), shrimp paste
(bagoong alamang) and crushed ginger root or luya are
condiments that are often added to dishes during the
cooking process or when served.

Tropical
Drinks and Cocktails
Chilled drinks and shakes
Due to the tropical climate, chilled drinks are popular. Stands
selling cold fruit drinks and fruit shakes are common. Tropical fruit
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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

drinks one encounters include those based on dalandan (green

mandarin), suha (pomelo), pinya (pineapple), banana and guyabano.
Other chilled drinks include sago’t gulaman a flavored iced-drink with
sago pearls and agar gelatin with banana jextract sometimes added to
the accompanying syrup.
Other drinks
There are some commonly known variations of tea in the country.
Pandan, Salabat, Coffee and Tsokolate.
Alcoholic
There are a wide variety of alcoholic drinks in the Philippines
manufactured by local breweries and distilleries. Tuba (toddy) is a type
of hard liquor made from fresh drippings extracted from a cut young
stem of palm.Tapuy is a traditional Philippine alcoholic drink made
from fermented glutinous rice.

Kamayan or By spoon and fork

Unlike many of their Asian
counterparts Filipinos do not eat with
chopsticks. Due to western
influence, food is often eaten using
flatware- forks, knives, spoons- but
the primary pairing of utensils used
at a Filipino dining table is that of
spoon and fork, not knife and fork.
The traditional way of eating is with the hands, especially dry dishes such as
inihaw or prito. The diner will take a bite of the main dish, then eat rice
pressed together with his fingers. 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.
HERE ARE SOME UNIQUE FILIPINO INGREDIENTS
Tabon-Tabon

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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

This fruit looks like a solid ball of wood at first, but split
it into half and it reveals a structure that almost resembles a
brain. “alone, the pulp and sap are a bit bitter”. It has been
described as an astringent with no flavor but when it is
mixed with other ingredients, the flavor blends well. At the
restaurant, he pairs the fruit with tuna as part of a paste
with coconut milk and kuzu juice for his tiradito dish - a raw
fish inspired by kinilaw.
Nata De Coco
While nata de coco is a fairly common ingredient in
Singapore, few would know it actually originated in the
Philippines. It’s made by fermenting coconut water. Is
commonly used in desserts like Halo - halo (popular Filipino
shaved ice).
Alibangbang
This leaf is one of the hardest ingredients that the
restaurant has to procure. The tribesmen would have to go
all the way to their mountain and pick the leaves from there
because they grow in the wild-not farmed. To cook, it is a
souring agent used in “Bamboo”.

Dried Kamias
The kamias, otherwise known in English as bilimbi or
tree sorrel, is a close relative of the starfruit. It’s a common
tree that grows in many backyards in the Philippines and
bears sour green fruit often eaten with salt.

Pinakurat
Is a special vinegar that originated in Lanao Del Norte,
Mindanao. The base vinegar is fermented coconut sap
known as tuba with labuyo chillies.

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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

Let Us Wrap Up

During the pre-Hispanic era in the Philippines, the preferred

Austronesian methods for food preparation were boiling, steaming, and
roasting. The ingredients for common dishes were obtained from locally
raised livestock. In 3200 BCE, Austronesians from the southern China
Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and Taiwan settled in the region that is now called
the Philippines. They brought knowledge of rice cultivation and other farming
practices, which increased the number and variety of edible dish ingredients
available for cooking.
Direct trade and cultural exchange with Hokkien China in the Philippines in
the Song dynasty (960–1279 BC) with porcelain, ceramics, and silk being
traded for spices and trepang in Luzon. This early cultural contact with China
introduced several staple foods into Philippine cuisine. Spanish settlers in the
16th century brought with them produce from the Americas like chili
peppers, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and the method of sautéing with garlic
and onions.
Today, Philippine cuisine continues to evolve as new techniques, styles of
cooking, and ingredients find their way into the country. Traditional dishes,
both simple and elaborate, indigenous and foreign influenced, are seen as
are more current popular international viands and fast-food fare.

Let Us Assess

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. From your own perspective, from to the lists of colonizers in the history
of the Philippines, who brought the most significant cuisine? Explain.
2. Give at least three unique ingredients not listed above that are used in
traditional Filipino cooking.

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 HMPE 2/L Philippine Regional Cuisine
1st Semester, AY 2022-2023
August 23-30,2022
BSHM 2

3. After you have read your module, give one characteristic of Philippine
cuisine that you think you are also practicing/using today.

References

Young,N.2007. Great Regional Dishes

cdn.anpproject.org
philippineinseder.com
lifey.com
filipinofood.blogspot.com
guidemechelin.com
islandsphilippines.com

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