National cuisine of Philippines for gourmets

The uniqueness and exoticism of the cuisine of the Philippines is due to the mix of cultures of the peoples living in the country. The culinary traditions of Spaniards, Koreans, and Indians formed the basis of the local cuisine. Some dishes are obviously influenced by Chinese, Arabic, and French cuisines. The basis of the diet is rice, as in many Asian countries. It is cooked as a separate dish, used as a side dish or instead of bread. Rice is fried, boiled, and added to appetizers and salads. Boiled rice is often used as a side dish for fish, seafood, and vegetables.

Rice with cocoa is one of the most unusual side dishes. Cocoa is added to boiled brown rice along with starch. This rice is usually served with fish. Locals love fried rice "morisqueta tostada". It is served with seafood. The dough for local dumplings is made from rice flour. Lontong is rice sausages cooked in banana leaves. This is the traditional food of the peasants. It is convenient to carry the dish in this form for them. In addition, this rice is stored for a long time.

It is believed that noodles are introduced to the culinary traditions of the Philippines from Chinese cuisine. It is made from various ingredients: rice, wheat or buckwheat flour. Pancit is noodles made from rice flour. It is cooked with the addition of various ingredients: meat, fish, and seafood. There are about 16 types of pancit, including the recent invention of pancit bihon. This dish is not familiar to the Chinese. It's a typical Filipino dish. Pancit bihon is made from noodles. It is fried with meat, chicken liver or fish meatballs, carrots, beans, and cabbage. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The most popular meat is pork and poultry. Many dishes are cooked on their basis. Lechon baboy is an entire suckling pig roasted on a spit. This dish is considered festive. Lechon manok is a chicken cooked in the same way. It is pre-marinated. Lechon Kawali is pieces of pork fried on coals and then deep-fried. It is served with a special spicy sauce. Pancit Molo is a casserole of pork and/or chicken meat with the addition of mushrooms and broth. Tsitsarong is fried pig skin. Adobo is made from finely chopped marinated pork and chicken, adding rice and vegetables.

The popular tinola soup is made from chicken. Papaya and Moringa leaves are also included. A large amount of ginger is a feature of the dish. Monggo is another soup loved by Filipinos. It is made from green lentils, onions, garlic, meat, and Moringa leaves. Filipino housewives but not only chefs in restaurants love to cook this dish.

Filipino cuisine is quite spicy like most Asian national cuisines. The Spanish influence softened it only a little. Spices, seasonings, herbs, and sauces are used actively and variously. Vinegar of various types is used for making sauces, gravies, and marinades. Soy sauce, coconut milk, curry, and lime juice are very popular. Many dishes are abundantly flavored with onions, garlic, and ginger.

Some of the dishes include unusual components. For example, the leaves of the Moringa tree are part of many dishes. They contain huge amounts of calcium, vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, iron, and magnesium. Sweet potato leaves are used to make a dish called Laing. They are stewed in coconut milk with spices and chili. In addition to meat and vegetables, an unusual component – plantain (vegetable banana) is added to Pochero.

The locals eat a lot of fish and seafood. Bangus is made from milkfish. It is extremely simple to cook this dish. Cleaned and marinated fish is fried in oil. Garlic rice, fried egg, and papaya are served with it. Kinilaw is reminiscent of Spanish and Peruvian ceviche. This is a popular snack of raw fish (less often – lightly fried meat) with a sauce of vinegar, ginger, onion, and coconut milk.

Most desserts are made from numerous local fruits. Halo-halo, an unusual local cooling dish is made on their basis. It is a mixture of ice, fruit, and local condensed milk. It is considered local ice cream. Dulce de Leche (sweet milk) came to the local cuisine from Spain. It is extremely similar to condensed milk. It is eaten separately or added to other dishes. Ginataan is made from coconut milk. There are many varieties of this dish. For example, this is a sweet soup or rice balls. An unusual sweetness is made from glutinous rice with coconut milk, cream, and banana leaves.

Filipinos drink a lot of lemonades from local fruits, iced tea, and ginger tea (salabat). Coffee is also popular here. Its Filipino variety is called barako. It's pretty strong. Beer, rum, palm wine, and fermented coconut milk are popular alcoholic beverages in the Philippines. Many Filipino dishes are eaten with hands or with a spoon and fork at the same time.