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
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
It's you!! This is Pmel! Ha ha ha! Found ya!Nice profile! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Pmel. :-) Thanks for the blog visit. :-)
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