Welcome to Nutrition Around the World! I am your host, Dianna, and today we will be taking a deep dive into Filipino cuisine. April is Filipino Food Month, so what better way to celebrate than to chat about the delicious food?
Filipino cuisine has a rich history that many other countries and ancient cities have influenced over the years. Influences include China, India, Spain, U.S., and Arabia, due to migration and agricultural trading. This blend of cultures introduced Filipino cuisine to flavors, ingredients, and cooking methods such as soy sauce, vinegar, stir-frying, slow cooking, paella, stews, and banana leaves. The evolution of this cuisine's cooking techniques and flavors has made it an absolute fan favorite!
One fun aspect of many traditional Filipino dishes is they pack a punch of flavor! This cuisine's dishes often blend salty, sour, sweet, and spicy. Marinating meats in vinegar or soy sauce gives these meals a unique flavor profile. Typical spices you may taste or smell in these flavor-packed meals include bay leaf, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, tamarind, pandan, black pepper, paprika, and sofrito. You may be asking yourself, what is sofrito? I've never seen that in my spice cabinet?! It is a sauce that adds flavor to meats, poultry, and stews made with herbs, spices, and vegetables such as tomatoes, onion, peppers, and garlic. Not only will these flavors have you doing the happy food dance, but they're also loaded with nutritional benefits. Below are just a few!
But aside from the flavor, what are some common Filipino dishes, and can they be healthy for you?
Traditional dishes you may come across when enjoying Filipino cuisine are chicken adobo – slow-cooked chicken with spices, Kare-Kare – stew with vegetables, oxtail, and decadent peanut sauce, Sinigang – stew with onions, tomato, eggplant, ginger, spinach, and fish sauce, and cassava cake – made with cassava flour and coconut milk.
While all of these traditional dishes have their place at the table, adobo has made its way to the center as it is named the unofficial "national dish" of the Philippines! Although many versions exist, the use of vinegar is what sets Filipino adobo apart from Mexican, Spanish, and Puerto Rican-style adobo. Many variations exist across the Philippines, but all typically use the same base ingredients – vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, black pepper, bay leaves, and some form of marinated meat or vegetable.
Why is it the unofficial "national dish," you may ask? Well, one of the reasons is that the ingredients are widely accessible among various regions of the Philippines.
All this talk about the national dish probably makes you hungry, right? Or maybe you're wondering if this Filipino dish and others are healthy. – Well, the answer is yes! These foods are loaded with nutrients!
As you can see, these meals are not only packed with rich flavor and culture but can also fuel our bodies in amazing ways! As we make our way through Filipino Food Month, I encourage you to try this incredible cuisine. You never know; it may easily find its way to your heart. As they say, the best way to a person's heart is through their stomach!
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