Filipino Food: 45 Traditional Dishes to Look For in the Philippines
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- 02 May 2023
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WHAT IS TRADITIONAL FILIPINO FOOD?
Filipino food is characterized by the combination of three flavors – sweet, sour, and salty. Compared to other Southeast Asian countries, spices and heat don’t figure as prominently in traditional Filipino cuisine. Garlic, ginger, bay leaves, and black pepper are most often used while spicy food is common only in two regions – Bicol and Muslim Mindanao.
What makes Filipino food interesting is its mix of different influences. It’s similar to Indonesian and Malaysian food thanks to its Austronesian origins and has been shaped by centuries of migration and colonialism to become the multi-faceted cuisine that it is today.
Because of the Chinese diaspora, Filipino food is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine, mainly by immigrants from the Fujian region of China and the Cantonese.
It was also significantly influenced by the country’s colonizers, like Spain who ruled the Philippines for 333 years and the Americans who controlled the country for nearly half a century.
To a lesser extent, Filipino food was also influenced by Japanese, Indian, and Mexican cuisines. Japan occupied the Philippines from 1942 till 1945 while Indian influences made their way into Filipino cuisine by way of Indian sepoys brought by the British during a 2-year occupation.
This isn’t as well-documented so it was interesting to learn how Mexican cuisine influenced Filipino food. Because of Mexico’s ties to the Spanish empire, different. READ MORE…
