5 Genuine Filipino Dining Experiences

Despite the effects of modernization to our usual norms and ways of living, Filipinos still make it a point that their culture remains preserved and intact. Start reading this article and start experiencing these 5 genuine Filipino dining experiences.

1. Boodle Fight – Fine dining experience using silver and china wares they say is a noble way of eating but I believe that Filipinos have their own righteous way of dining through boodle fight. Such way of eating is done without spoons and plates. The food is simply placed on top of a banana leaf and the diners use their bare hands to eat. This manner of serving food is originally done by military men to indicate equal treatment and brotherhood towards everyone.

2. Saw-Saw – This is another eating habit which depicts a real Filipino. If it is your first time to visit the country and you happen to have breakfast with someone, you might think it odd to see him dip a piece of bread into his morning drink but trying this would make you realize that the bread is tastier when dipped into your morning drink.

3. Kamayan – Is fish apart of your menu? If you answered yes, the kamayan technique of eating is the answer to make you enjoy the feeling of eating your fish dish. “Kamayan” is a manner in which you use your five fingers to pick a lump of your food and when you are about to eat it, you have to push the food using the thumb so it enters your mouth. This used to be a rural way of eating but since “kamayan” has already been a trade mark of Filipino culture some Filipino restaurants opt to provide dining experience through this manner.

4. Kam-mel – If at any rate you were invited to visit a fish pond in the village and they ask you to go fishing, you may not need to bring fishing rod with you anymore. This is because native Filipinos have their own way of catching fish through their hands. This is what they call “kammel”. This Ilocano way of fishing is done not in the sea but in shallow rivers or fish ponds found in farms.  When fishing with this manner, you have to make it a point that the water on the fish pond is drained or if you are in the river it has to be shallow. All you have to do is to slowly go to the “rama” (fish trap) and slowly use both hands to grab them. You can only grab one fish at a time and catching with bare hands requires a strategy. Once you caught the fish with your bare hands, voila!!!! You just had yourself a freshly caught fish that’s ready to be grilled and served.

5. Binalot – When Tupperware and lock and lock food storage products were not yet known in the Philippines, local folks already have their unique way of carrying food with them by means of the banana leaf. Most farmers still practice this food packing technique because they believe that the food becomes tasty when wrapped with banana leaves. I guess these townsmen are right because Banana leaf is all natural and it could not cause any health hazard towards people. This traditional food packing style is also adopted as a trademark of local restaurants promoting Filipino culture.

Binalot: local rice meal in the Philippines

Image By Jerick Parrone via Flickr

These are but parcels of the various dining experiences which you can enjoy when eating Filipino foods.  Remember that eating genuine food is not enough when you don’t try eating them in a genuine Filipino way. So what are you waiting for, go and eat good Filipino foods and start eating like a genuine Pinoy!

Philippine Picnic Foods: Picnic Recipes

Bored on a sunny weather on weekends or on your spare time? Escape the stress brought by work and unwind outdoor. Picnic is one of the best things to do when you want to have a good time with your friends or families. Aside from having a good time, food is always the ultimate highlight of this getaway. It never went excluded on the plan especially when you want the experience to be pleasant as possible. Foods can make or break your venture. Mostly people would spend a huge time in preparing the foods. Finger foods, sandwiches, barbecues and salads are the usual picnic recipes. Nevertheless, choosing picnic recipes must be given the full concentration and must be dealt with care.

There are foods that are usually set for picnics and these foods are considered as the traditional picnic foods. But that doesn’t keep anybody in preparing their own choice of foods. Though there are some points that must be considered. First is food safety. Since it would take time before you eat the packed foods, you have to make sure that the food will not get spoiled easily. Weather also plays an important part in keeping your picnic foods safety. Bacteria love to expand their population in a moist place. The best picnic recipes are those that don’t get spoiled easily, effortless to store and to prepare, and most especially, luscious.
Here are some of the best picnic recipes in the Philippines.

Puto cheese

This recipe is the same with the regular puto or rice cake. Puto cheese only uses flour instead of ground rice, and so the texture is smoother. The name Puto Cheese is taken from the cheese that is added as a topping. Filipinos usually paired puto cheese with a hot chocolate or coffee during breakfast.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cake-flour
1/2 cup all purpose-flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup white sugar (divided)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup water
2 pcs egg yolks
2 pcs egg whites
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
cheese (sliced into small strips)

Directions:
Sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Do this thrice then set aside for a while. Beat the egg yolks until its color would turn lemon yellow. Then slowly add ½ cup of sugar while beating constantly.

Fold in the flour mixture, alternately with milk and water, to the beaten egg yolks. Add vanilla to the mixture and mix thoroughly. Continue beating the yolks until soft peaks are formed. Add the remaining ¼ cup sugar and go on beating the mixture until stiff. Fold in the egg batter. Mix well and pour mixture into a puto molder about ¾ full.

Put the slices of cheese on the top then cover with clean cheese cloth. Steam for 25-30 minutes. You will determine if the puto cheese is already cooked when you insert a tester at the center and comes out clean. Let it cool for a few minutes before removing from the puto molds to retain its shape.

Chicken Adobo 

This recipe is just one of the many varieties of adobo. This is a good choice for those who love chicken. Chicken adobo can be served both on ordinary days and on occasions such as picnics.


Ingredients:
1 kilo dressed chicken (cut into serving slices)
3 medium-sized potatoes, quartered (optional)
1 onion (diced)
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 head of garlic (peeled and crushed)
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
1/8 cup vinegar

Instructions:
Slice the chicken and place it on a large pan. Pour vinegar on it and add peppercorns, garlic and bay leaf. Cook until it boils. Then slowly turn the pieces of chicken over. Leave it uncovered until all the vinegar has been absorbed. Stir the chicken slowly until its fat comes out. Fry the chicken until it turns golden brown. Take out the excess oil and add potatoes and soy sauce.

Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Every once in a while, check the liquid. If you noticed that the chicken seems dried up before fully cooked, add about ¼ cup of water. At the end, the chicken adobo should be quite dry.

These two picnic recipes are just a couple of many recipes you could choose from. There are no limitations on the number of recipes you could bring on your picnic. Some ingredients of the two recipes can be modified with regards to your preference. You can skip some ingredients or better find an alternative. The most important thing is to always take into consideration the number of servings you would make and surely it will satisfy you.

Enjoy these simple yet luscious meals on your picnic.

What's Special With Filipino Dish?

Filipino dishes are one of the many most sought after foods and recipes in the world. This blog will serve as an online journal detailing each and every Filipino recipe that you will simply love or you love the most.

The foods are simply one of its kind because of its authenticity, good taste and uniqueness. Many foreigners who came in the Philippines and those who just visited or spend some time on some of the finest Filipino restaurants simply love the Filipino style of cooking.

Pinoy recipes are truly timeless and priceless as how Filipino defines it. Filipinos do have the world famous foods like the Chicken Adobo, Sinigang, Tinola and many more.!

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Top 5 Filipino Recipes Of 2010

Its December 2010 and new year or 2011 is almost here. But before this year ends, I want to let you know what are the top 5 Filipino recipes viewed and visited (top 5 contents) from January 1, 2010 to December 15, 2010. I gathered this data from Google Analytics.

1). Chicken Adobo Recipe

There is no doubt this recipe is the most popular of them all. Because of distinctive and unforgettable taste, chicken adobo becomes an international cuisine.

2). Menudo Recipe

Menudo is definitely and will always be on the top 5 Pinoy foods. Its a very popular dish and mostly seen at every Filipino occasions and gatherings.

3). Lumpia Recipe

Who can resist lumpia? May it be lumpiang sariwa or lumpiang hubad; lumpia will always be close to Filipino hearts and stomach as well.

4). Filipino Empanada Recipe

Filipno Empanada is one of the most favorite snack of all time. This food is always seen, eaten and serve at several Filipino parties and occasion as well. Empanadas can be serve hot or cold.

5). Siopao Recipe And Siopao Making

Filipino siopao, although once a target of controversies and issues (remember the cat meat?), made it to the top 5 recipes. Why? simply because siopao is connected and will always be included in each and every Filipino favorite foods.

To add more at this insights,the top 5 visitor locations of this Filipino recipes blog are United States (the top location), Philippines, Canada, Australia and United Arab Emirates in correct order.

Top 3 Most Viewed Filipino Recipe

Filipino recipes are one of the most favorite cuisines all over the world today. In fact, there are a lot of people who take advantage of the Internet to search for their favorite Filipino recipes. Not to mention, the inclusion of our famous Chicken Adobo at some popular and widely played online cooking games around the world.

I am really pleased to tell you that this site particularly manages to present you some unique Pinoy recipes that are truly luscious and mouth-watering. People go over here from different places such as Facebook, Google or Yahoo search and other resources to check and simply try some of our very own Philippine recipes.

I checked some data and analytics (ranging from May 25, 2009 to May 25, 2010) for this blog to show you which recipes or what Pinoy dishes are mostly viewed by visitors and readers all over the globe. And here are the top 3 mostly viewed Pinoy recipes.

Top 1 - Chicken Adobo

No doubt about this one. Filipino chicken adobo gained popularity and respect worldwide. This is considered as the top favorite dish of Filipinos.

Top 2 - Lumpia

Filipino lumpia or spring rolls do have many variations and style. Nonetheless, lumpia can always be seen at Filipino parties, gatherings and occasions. It's like this dish shouldn't be missed in any kind of "Pinoy salo salo".

Top 3- Menudo

Who can resist the taste of Pinoy style Menudo? Like lumpia, this is a traditional or mostly seen dish at any parties or gathering of Filipinos. A perfect match for rice or bread alone. Truly a mouth watering and tummy filling dish.

Those are the top 3 pinoy recipes of this blog based on the data I manage to gathered from analytics. Also, you may check out this Top 5 Favorite Pinoy Recipes by Social Media Princess for further reading.

How about you? any top Pinoy recipe choices?

Atchara Pickled Papaya

Atchara is a famous Filipino recipe dish or cuisine. Atchara is made or cooked from pickled papaya. This dish is often served as a side dish for fried or grilled foods such as dinaing na bangus, litson manok as well as pork barbecue. The primary ingredient is shredded green unripe papaya.

Atchara Image Owned By pinoytechnologies.com

Atchara - Pickled Papaya Recipe Ingredients:

* 2 cups grated green papaya
* 1 inch ginger, sliced thinly
* 1 green pepper, sliced thinly
* 3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
* 1/2 carrot, cut into circles or flower shapes
* 1/2 cup sectioned cauliflower
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup vinegar
* 100 grams raisins
* salt to taste

How To Make Atchara - Pickled Papaya:

1). Soak papaya in a mixture of salt and water for 5 minutes. Rinse and squeeze dry.

2). Mix vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic, onion, and other ingredients well.

3). Let stand for a few minutes. Transfer into jars and seal tightly. Chill if desired.

Note: Above image may vary with the end result of this recipe.

Suman Recipe And Varieties

Suman is a rice cake made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, and often steamed in banana leaves. It is served wrapped in buli or buri palm (Corypha) leaves and usually eaten sprinkled with sugar.

Suman is a major part of Filipino foods and delicacies. It is commonly being shared or given as a gift and/or pasalubong.

There are so many variations of suman. The most common suman varieties are listed and described below.

Suman sa Binuo - The glutinous rice is soaked, milled, mixed with coconut milk and sugar, wrapped in the leaves of the Tagbak plant, and steamed. The leaves give this variety of suman a uniquely balmy, minty flavor, and the suman itself is chewier than the whole-rice varieties.

Suman sa Ibus - The glutinous rice is washed, and is then mixed with salt and coconut milk. The mixture is poured over pre-made coil containers of young palm leaves called Ibus, and fixed with the leaf's central shaft.

Suman sa Inantala - The ingredients are similar to the Ibus variety, but the Inantala differs in that the mixture itself is cooked, and then poured over a small square mat cut from banana leaves.

Suman sa Lihiya - Soaked glutinous rice mixed with coconut milk is treated with lye, wrapped in banana leaves, and boiled for two hours. It is served especially with either of two varieties of latik.

Suman Sa Lihiya Image Via goonswithspoons.com

Here is a simple and very basic Suman Sa Ibus recipe ingredients and cooking instruction.

Suman Sa Ibus Ingredients:

* 3 cups malagkit rice
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 2 cups thick coconut milk

Suman sa Ibus Cooking Instructions - How To Make Suman:

1). Soak malagkit in water for an hour or ntil grains are swollen. Drain.

2). Add salt nd coconut milk. Mix well.

3). Prepare ibus then fill with rice mixture. Seal tubes and tie with strips of the ibus.

4). Arrange the suman in a big saucepan and cover with water. Cover the pot and
boil for 2 hours or until cooked.

5). Serve with sugar or ripe mango.

How to wrap a Suman Sa Ibus:

* Fold the end of the buri leaf by 1 ½ inches.
* Fold the bottom edge into a triangle.
* Start rolling up the buri leaf in an overlapping manner.
* Roll up the buri to make a tube.
* Attach a small piece of wooden pick to secure the tube.
* Fill the tube with malagkit.
* Seal the ibus tube.
* Tie with strips of buri.

Chop Suey Recipe

Chop Suey - Sautéed Mixed Vegetables

Chopsuey is a very popular vegetable dish. Filipinos have come up with their own individual variation that suits individual taste and the availability of ingredients. There are no exact measurements of ingredients. You could always adjust the ingredients base on what ever available or base on your preference.

ChopSuey Image Via AngSarap.Net

Estimated cooking and preparation time: 45 minutes

Chopsuey Recipe Ingredients:

1/4 kilo pork, sliced into small pieces
1/4 kilo shrimps, shelled, deveined and halved
1/4 kilo chicken liver and gizzard, sliced to small pieces
1/4 kilo cauliflower, broken to bite size
1/4 kilo string beans
1/4 kilo snow peas (sitsaro)
1/4 kilo cabbage, cut into squares
2 stalks of leeks, cut into 2" long pieces
3 stalks celery, cut into 2" long pieces
5 cloves garlic, diced
2 onions, diced
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 piece red bell pepper, cut in strips
1 piece green bell pepper. cut in strips
2 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup of water
2 cups chicken stock (broth)
3 tablespoons of sesame oil
3 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)
4 tablespoons of corn oil or vegetable oil

Chopsuey Cooking Instructions:

1). In a big pan or wok, sauté garlic, onions then add in the pork. chicken liver and gizzard.

2). Add 1 cup of stock, pinch of salt and simmer for 15 minutes or until pork and chicken giblets are cooked.

3). Mix in the shrimp then all the vegetables.

4). Add the remaining 1 cup of stock, patis and the dissolved cornstarch. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are done. Add the sesame oil.

5). Add or sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot with rice. Enjoy!

Note: Image is just for presentation purposes only. It may vary with the end result of this recipe.

Pancit Bihon Filipino Recipe

This recipe is one of the many Pancit recipes of the Filipinos. The Pancit Bihon or Bijon is a very thin rice noodles fried with soy sauce and some citrus (kalamansi) and possibly with patis (fish sauce), and some variation of sliced meat and chopped vegetables. Below is the very basic and easy to follow Pancit recipe pancit bihon ingredients and cooking procedure.

Pancit Bihon Guisado

Some rights reserved by Charmzzy

Filipino Menudo Recipe

Filipino menudo is a stew of pork meat and liver cubes with garbansos (chickpeas), potatoes and tomato sauce. This is one of the many Filipino recipes that will always be a part of Filipino cooking culture.

Filipino Menudo With Rice

Some rights reserved by Ron Dollete

Beef Steak (Bistek) Filipino Recipe

The Filipino version of  beef steak, "bistek" uses a tender cut of beef (top or bottom round, sirloin or tenderloin), seasoned and has a light sauce so it does not dry up even when it starts to cool.

The ingredients and the process of cooking and preparation is pretty basic and simple. Bistek or Filipino Beef Steak is probably one of the easiest dish that anyone can make.

Bistek Tagalog

Some rights reserved by arnold | inuyaki

Filipino Foods Cooking Style

The Philippines or Filipino cooking style is quite unique and simple as it is. You don't have to study culinary arts or cooking arts a lot to be able to learn how the Philippines dishes is cooked.

Most dishes in the Philippines are stewed, sauteed, broiled, braised, or fried. This is very common on a tropical country or tropical cuisines.

One of the major ingredients or dishes being cooked in Filipino style is called "suka" or simply vinegar. You will find it being used at the popular "adobo" may it be chicken or pork adobo and "pinaksiw". The vinegar do have a preserving effect on this recipes. Those foods cooked with vinegar tends to last longer and taste even better.

"Patis" or fish sauce and sometimes shrimp sauce. Patis have become a part of Filipino cooking and eating lifestyle. When "patis" is not around, salt is used as a substitute.

Coconut milk or "gata" is common in Philippine cooking, quite popular in the Bicol region. It's common cooking used is for the dish Bicol Express that is quite extraordinary.

"Bagoong" fermented shrimp or fish paste) is one of the most popular Filipino cooking ingredients. Foreigners tend to find this one to have an aweful smell, but once they tasted it along with the famouse "kare-kare", they will crave for more.

Cooking the dishes of the Philippines is very basic and easy to start with. Ingredients and its substitutes can be found anywhere even at the nearby store. Philippines cooking style and recipes mostly came from the creativeness and uniqueness of Filipinos. Have a taste of our very own Filipino Foods and Recipes. I am quite sure you will love it.

Chicken Adobo Filipino Recipe

Adobo refers to a common and very popular cooking process indigenous here in the Philippines. The most famous of all here in the Philippines is the chicken adobo.

According to the history, when Spanish colonizers first took over the Philippines in late 1500s and early 1600s, they encountered an indigenous cooking process which involved stewing with vinegar.

Spanish called or identify this as an "adobo," the Spanish word for seasoning or marinade. Thus, giving way to the famous Chicken Adobo.

All dishes prepared in this manner eventually came to be known by this name, with the original term for the dish now lost to history.

The adobo dish and cooking process in Filipino cuisine and the general description of "adobo" in Spanish cuisine share similar characteristics, but they refer to different things with different cultural roots.


Below you will find an easy to follow and step by step recipe that for sure can help you out in cooking a tasteful Filipino Chicken Adobo.

Ingredients:

* 2 lb chicken pieces, cut up or whole
* 1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped
* 4 tbsp soy sauce (or more to taste)
* 1 tsp ground black pepper
* 2 cups water
* 1/2 cup vinegar (rice vinegar or white wine vinegar)
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 Tbsp cooking oil
* 1 cup chicken broth

Cooking Procedure:

1). Put vinegar, bay leaves, pepper, soy sauce, and water in a saucepan. Cover and cook slowly about 15 minutes.

2). Heat the cooking oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan. Peel the garlic, break the cloves into chunks, and brown them over medium-low heat (about 5 minutes).

3). Add the chicken to the pan and brown it over medium-high heat.

4). Add the broth to the pan and simmer, partly covered, until the chicken is done (about 30 minutes). Do not let it come to a boil.

4). You may now remove the bay leaves and serve chicken adobo with hot steamed or plain rice. Enjoy!

Note: You can substitute pork for the chicken, or mix the two. Here in the Philippines, it is a custom to marinade the meat for two days before simmering. To marinate the chicken, mix in the broth and 3 of the garlic cloves after step 1, then put the chicken in a glass dish and pour the marinade over it.

Chicken Adobo Image Credit: Some rights reserved by dbgg1979