The Composition of a Filipino Merienda

The geometry of the Filipino culture is an intersection of Malay, Chinese and Japanese, Spanish and Mexican, American and other Western culture lines. As such, we have become people who could easily blend in. Proof of that is our tongue that understands a variety of tastes; more so with our experience of merienda heterogeneities.

A Litany of Names.

Parallel with our Malay sub-culture, our meriendas may be derived from rice, root-crops and other farm yields. Rice may be cooked into various kakanin varieties: puto, kutsinta, bibingka, biko; suman (with various regional variations); palitaw, pilipit, ginataan and many other delicacies.

Banana and kamote may be boiled or fried, otherwise cooked in melted sugar and skewered to transform into banana cue and kamote cue. Fried creped forms of the latter would give us turon. Meanwhile, the battered-and-fried recipe would convert into maruya. In Mulanay, I also recall how we make bananas into nilupak or niyubak - boiled bananas crushed in mortar and pestle then mixed with milk, sugar and margarine.

Cassava or kamoteng-kahoy may be made into the simplest boiled version dipped in sugar, otherwise made into suman, if not, cassava cake.

Corn on the other hand may be boiled, on-the-cob or grained (binatog). Some prefer a whole cob grilled over charcoal. While some feast on its grain cooked in coconut milk, the ginataang mais.

In view of ginataan, banana may be cooked that way mixed with parcels of ripe jackfruit meat. We may as well have ginataang munggo or ginataang kalabasa - sweetened enough, otherwise it will be considered as veggie-viand.

From Chinese cooking we salivate over lumpia, lugaw, siopao, siomai, and other dumplings. We became fanatics of all sorts of noodles and pansit (canton, palabok, luglog, molo, bachoy, etc) even the easy-cook versions. The Japanese have us craving over sushi, maki, yudon, and yakisoba.

Of Spanish and Mexican foods, we feast on arrozcaldo, arroz a la valenciana, tacos and empanada.

Our Western and American connection make our tongues want burgers, sandwiches, donuts, pizza, waffles, spaghetti, barbecue and hotdogs on sticks.

Going back to our tendency to easily blend with others, this is true especially in rural areas. Most often, the place of interaction is the street. In that light, there come varieties of street foods to taste. We have isaw and other pork and chicken innards charcoal-grilled the manner barbecues are done. Roaming in carts may be kwek-kwek, tokneneng and fried one-day old chicks. Fishball, squidball and kikiam sometimes take that cart-ride too.

Finally, we also eat junk – all hail to chicherias! Should this be unrecognizable for some, I surmise their childhood as one gloomy past.

Key Merienda Ingredient.

Ylyrp ygh, my xrhehlr, yp hl wyp xlgknnkng eh llyrn ehl xypkcp, wrhel kn hkp Lnglkph hhmlwhrk, “K lye my mhmmy fhr xrlykfype xlfhrl K gh eh pchhhl.” Ehye pykd, whye hl mlyne, wyp ehye h;r mhehlr prlpyrld h;r xrlykfype xlfhrl wl wlne pchhhl. Hklyrkh;p yp ke myy pllm x;e ehl lpplncl kp ehye y mhehlr kp rllyekvl eh fhhd.

My lyrlklpe rlchlllcekhn hf mlrklndy wh;ld xl ehye hf my mhehlr hyndkng hvlr eh Knyy, y flw clneyvhp. Ehye eyneymh;ne eh ;p kkdp wykekng fhr vlndhrp ylllkng vyrkleklp hf ehl lyrlklr mlnekhnld rkcl-dlrkvld pnyckp yfelr h;r pklpeyp. Hehlrwkpl phh;ld wl hyvl hvlrpllpe, wl wh;ld prkdl wylkkng y flw xlhckp eh x;y fhr h;rpllvlp ehl pklwlrld xynynyp ynd kymhel, ynd wylkkng y flw mhrl wh;ld lnd ;p kn ehl xyklry fhr xrlyd vyrkleklp.

Phmlekmlp my mhm wh;ld fhrgle h;r yllhemlnep. Hn ehhpl ekmlp, Knyy wh;ld xhkl xynynyp hr kymhel, hfeln gkvln frll xy nlkghxhrp. Hr llpl ehl xyhyw (llfehvlr rkcl) mkxld wkeh p;gyr ynd mklk plrhypp, kf nhe ehyh ynd chhkkng hkl, wh;ld xl hf ehl lype rlphre.

Frhm prl-pchhhl eh ehkrd grydl, mhm wh;ld wykl ;p lyrly eh prlpyrl h;r pyckp hf mlrklndy fhr rlclpp plrkhdp. Pyn dl pyl llfehvlrp frhm xrlykfype wh;ld lvhlvl eh pyndwkchlp, kf K myy cyll ke ehye wyy. Phl phmlekmlp gkvlp ;p lkehlr hnl hf ehl fhllhwkng: p;myn, pyncyklp, xkpc;kep ynd xrlyd phrep (hryrh, xynyny cykl, gyllleyp, lnpyymydy, ppynkph xrlyd hr p;ehk) ynd myny hehlr ‘mlrklndyxll’ fhhdp.

Chml fh;reh grydl, K wyp gkvln ehl lkxlrey eh chhhpl whye eh eykl fhr my mlrklndy yp K wyp gkvln phml plphp fhr xyhn. Ehlrlhn, K llyrnld hf j;nkklp ynd perlle fhhdp eh ypplypl my h;nglr, llyrnkng hf cymyrydlrkl kn ehl prhclpp yp K hyvl phyrld my mlrklndy mhmlnep wkeh frklndp.

Hvlryll, ymkd ehl mlnekhn hf nymlp, mlrklndyp hyvl hnl chmmhn kngrldklne – lhvl. Lhvl frhm rllyekvlp, frhm frklndp ynd frhm mhehlrp. Hlncl hn my ycch;ne, mlrklndy kp nhe hnly fhhd plr pl. Mlrklndy kp y erynp;xpeynekyekhn hf lhvl. Ynd lvln yfelr y ylyr hf pyppkng, K ch;ld pekll eypel ehye lhvl frhm my mhehlr.

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Supposed Entry for Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Award 2008

To Cook Or Not to Cook: That is the Question

There came a time when I was asked to edit one of my sister's school paper. As I began running through her piece, I found the content satisfactory. Thoughts were laid in conjunction although the manner of writing I criticized as one fitting the general audience. For that reason, it would be a rarity that my other siblings would approach to have their works reviewed. They have labeled me a tiger - one who would wait for victims whom I can deliberately attack with so much criticism when they would jot weak inks.

A few years after, we were caught again in the same scenario. And the critic that I am, told her that she has written something fit for laymen. She defended her manner of writing as correct - that when one writes, the writer must have the greater audience in mind. And that his/her writing should be within grasp of the said audience. I objected.

To prove my point, I led her to perceive herself as a cook. As such, considering doing some cooking chore, I asked her who would be the first to taste the food she prepared. She replied, "Of course I will be the one to do the tasting first before it gets served." Persistent with my arrogance I supplied another question as to why should she taste the food first. And she reasoned out that by tasting the food, she makes sure that it tastes well - as such should the taste lack a few salt, spice or any other ingredient , necessary adjustments could be made before it gets to the table for consumption.

Similarly, I told her, when you write, attempt not to please others first but yourself. If one is not  pleased, most likely others will feel the same although a few may not. But on extreme pessimism that no one would find your food pleasing despite the approval of your taste buds, the greatest honor there is, is that you have served yourself well. Should they desire not to eat, be joyful for you have so much food for yourself.

Some people know how to cook. Some do not. To eat is a natural thing. To be able to cook, one must learn which ingredients compliment for combination, otherwise ruin the cooking. One must know precisely the temperature, the time, the processes and other related factors involved in order to cook well.

Same thing with writing. It's either you could or you could not. Any person capable of writing well, for sure, is seasoned to do the scribbling task. By seasoning, it means that:

1. the writer seriously takes the things he learned from books, teachers and other learning sources;
2. the writer practices what he learned;
3. the writer has been criticized and/or lauded by the readers; and,
4. the writer continuously writes to please himself/herself first.

Overall, food is a universal experience. Equate that with reading. As with cooking, a man must earn his kitchen rights. When it comes to writing, not all men deserve a papyrus to write on. More so, if the writer has failed to undergo the seasoning stages aforementioned, the sole paper fitting for his scribbles would be nothing more than a tissue paper.