Clare Santos- Gacad

GCU 114- Nice

April 23, 2015
Philippines and its Food

Just like in every culture, food is a pretty significant

aspect of everyday life. In the Philippines, there are a lot of
family and cultural gatherings that involve numerous
amounts of dishes. As shown in the above photographs,
there are a lot of vegetables, foods, meats, and seafood. The
Philippines is home to many islands, which make gathering
seafood an easy job. The Philippines is also home to many
rice fields as well. Filipino cuisine has evolved over time due
to the many Latin American and Spanish influences. There
are several staples in Filipino cuisine such as: rice, soy sauce
and fish sauce. Many Filipino dishes are filled with different
spices from chili peppers, tomato sauces, corn, and
potatoes. Dishes of the Philippines can be sauted with
garlic and onions, boiling, steaming, frying, and roasting.
The ingredients from most Filipino dishes come from
livestock such as: water buffalos, cow, chickens and pigs.
Seafood selections include: fish, shrimps, crustaceans, and

shellfishes. As far as staple items go, Filipinos have been

cultivating rice and corn for a long time. The recipe I decided
to insert is called Chicken Adobo. In my family, chicken
adobo is seen pretty regularly. The term adobo refers to a
method of marinating and stewing any type of meat or fish
in vinegar, soy sauce, and spice mixture. Chicken is a
common livestock used for chicken adobo, and different
spices and ingredients appear in the Philippines numerous
archipelago. Thetopfourcropscultivatedinthecountryarecoconut,
corn,maize,andsugarcane.ThePhilippinesisthelargestimporterofrice.
ThePhilippinesalsogatheringredientsthroughtradewithinotherAsian
countriesnearby.
TherearerelationstoFilipinocuisineandreligion.AftertheSpanish
exploration,thePhilippineswereintroducedtoChristianity(Roman
Catholic).ThereareseveraltraditionsandcelebrationsthatSpainpassed
downtothePhilippinesinvolvingfoodandreligion.FiestaDeMayoisa
traditionwherefamiliesvisitneighborsandrelativesandsharehomecooked
mealsanddelicacies.ThePhilippinesalsocelebrateAllSaintsDaywhichis
acatholicholidaycelebratedinNovember.Duringthisholiday,thedeadare

honoredandrememberedasfamilymemberslayoutflowersaswellashave
apicnicandprayeroverthegravesofthedeceased.TheSpanishheavily
influencedthePhilippineswiththeconceptoftraditionsandcelebrations.
Almosteverycelebrationandtraditioninvolves,food,singing,anddancing.
AsaFilipino,Ilovebeingapartofaculturethatappreciatesfoodand
howfoodallowsfamiliestocometogetheraswell.Themajorityofdishesin
thePhilippinesarespecifictotheirregionaswellthenumerousresources
withintheIslands.

Resources:

Moncel, B. (n.d.). Filipino Adobo - Description, History, and

Varieties. Retrieved April 24, 2015, from
http://foodreference.about.com/od/traditional_foods/a/Filipino
-Adobo.htm