FILIPINO FOODS

The Filipinos have a lot of the same type of foods as we do in the States, so, I am able to find familiar items here.  But, they have a lot of food items that we don't.  And, they certainly cook their food quite differently than we do.  Some of these foods I already have eaten in the States at dinner parties of friends who are Filipino and when my husband gets a craving for some and cooks it. Of course, living here it's all we eat and I love most of it!  The following are examples of foods that are...interesting.

Milkfish soup

Fish. One main difference of how they eat it is they eat the entire fish.  For example, it doesn't matter what fish it is they will cook it whole. I first encountered this practice in the states when I went to visit my in laws for the first time before my husband and I were married.  I thought, wow, that smells so good!  I love eating fish!  When I was called to dinner, the fish was brought out and placed onto the table.  I was horrified...the fish was staring at me with those blank eyes and with a gaping mouth that looked like it was screaming!  Wholly smokes, I wanted to scream right with it.  I am not used to that.  The fish Momma always cooked while I was growing up was already filleted.  I knew one could buy fish like that, but I never knew people actually cooked and served fish in its entirety. This was definitely a new experience and one I had to accept because that's just the way they eat it here.  In fact, the head of a fish is a delicacy.  Hmmm, no, thanks.   Perhaps one day, when I get over my food snobbishness, I'll give it a try.  I'll continue to eat bits and pieces of the body even though I'm picking out the bones.

Balut

Another item of food is Balut.  Balut is a developing duck embryo, basically a fertilized duck egg. Did you catch that? Balut is not your ordinary hard boiled egg.  There is a baby duck inside!   Yes, you read this right...a duckling.  My husband loves them as most Filipinos do.  This I won't try even after I get over my food snobbishness.  I was told to try it with my eyes closed so I won't look at it.  I...just...can't.  I can't get over the fact that what's in there is a baby duck.  It's amazing I'm not a vegetarian with the hangups I have with some foods!  Good grief!

Dinuguan with Puto

Dinuguan (blood soup) is a delicacy that Filipinos love to eat anytime.  They eat it poured over rice or with Puto (rice cake).  To look at it it looks like chocolate pudding but the smells quite different, I assure you!  I tried it and it's not for me.  My sister-in-law makes it home-made and it's a hit with everyone.  I grew up eating blood sausage that I didn't like it no matter how many times I ate it, so a blood food item isn't new to me.

Malunggay

Vegetables are mostly grown here by the locals and are staple ingredients in a lot of recipes.  Bitter melon is a vegetable they cook with eggs and meat (usually ground pork) in sabaw (the broth is called sabaw which they like to pour over their rice).  It is bitter but the mixture with the other items in the dish tone down the bitterness.  It takes getting used to and if it is scraped just right while it's being prepared then it can be quite tasty.  I like it.  Malunggay (Moringa oleifera) is a small leaf from the horseradish tree of the same name.  This leaf is added to a lot of ulam and breads.  Malunggay is used just like we use parsley in recipes.  It has a light flavor that enhances whatever it's cooked with.  I like this also.  Most vegetable dishes are never just vegetables; they always add some type of meat with it.

Durian

Jackfruit

Turon

Fruits are quite interesting.  You know about Mangoes; the Mangoes here are even more flavorful than the ones in the States.  In fact, I think the ones in the states are imported from Mexico.  I'm not saying their Mangoes aren't good, just that Filipino mangoes taste better to me.  Here are a few tropical fruits that you may not know of: Santol, Durian, Jackfruit: Duran has a very strong rotting smell to it and if you ask the locals, they either love it or hate it.  I have not tried this yet but, I am curious.  Jackfruit has a light fruity flavor but it's not distinctive and goes well with bananas.  Or, fried with plantains in a wrap they call Turon...which is the most yummiest dessert here, ever and, I LOVE IT!!!  Santol is a fruit that has a cotton like flesh wrapped around huge oblong seeds.  You don't really eat it but section it apart and just suck on the cotton like flesh that surrounds the seeds.  I was trying to chew off the flesh from the seeds and mentioned to my husband that it sure was stringy...he laughed and said you don't eat the flesh, just suck on it.  Now he tells me after getting the strings of flesh stuck in my teeth!  When you do that it gets really slimy and you have to be careful not to accidentally swallow the seed.  I think that this fruit is a waste because all you get is a taste and nothing more.

To end my blog, here are some basic words I learned that have to do with food:  Ulam means entree.  They refer to this word a lot when they are cooking, serving or buying a main dish.  Sabaw means broth.  As I mentioned above, it's the broth in any dish that is soupy.  Patis is fish sauce. This smells bad but I tell you it is great stuff!  It adds so much flavor to most any dish. If you use this sauce you definitely don't want to add any seasoning to your food due to the high content of sodium in it because it is so concentrated.  Toyo is soy sauce and I don't need to tell you how to use this, hehehe.

Before ending I do want to mention something about common etiquette.  If you are discovering foods that are completely foreign to you and it looks gross or smells to high heaven DO NOT MAKE A FACE.  Apparently, I make faces I am not even aware of! Oooppsss! Accept the serving with a smile, try the food then make the decision if you like it or not.  To not accept the serving will offend your host...not a good impression, especially if you are in a different country (big note to self)!