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WHAT YOU EAT IS WHO YOU ARE

Tell me what you eat, and Ill tell you who you are. -Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.
Ones culture can e mirrored y the !ind o" "ood the #eo#le consume. $ere in the
%hili##ines, we have di""erent culture, yet in a roader sense, everythin& is still com#lementary.
So many "lavours ut still, li"e tastes &reat. Same &oes "or the "ood we eat. 'i""erent reci#es "or
only one dish. I thin! thats what ma!es (ili#ino culture and delicacy distinct "rom others. Also,
(ili#inos are used to create somethin& to new, to rea! the chains o" mediocrity, and "ind new
ways. Just li!e the "ood we eat, we try to discover and im#rove every dish. )e do not settle "or
less.
Best e*am#le o" "ood and cultural variations is the di""erences amon& the reci#es o" the
same dishes on di""erent #rovinces. (or +ust one dish, (ili#inos have so many di""erent ways to
#re#are it. Just ta!e Adoo as an e*am#le. A sim#le reci#e o" Adoo under&oes a lot o" chan&es
as it travels "rom one #rovince to another. The reci#e is transmitted, and it under&oes chan&es.
Also, we dont +ust order dishes "rom restaurants ut instead, we coo! it ourselves. These home-
coo!ed meals also symoli,e how the (ili#inos #ut e""ort on everythin& they do. -ven the time
s#ent in #re#arin& the "ood shows this characteristic o" (ili#inos.
In addition, (ili#inos are !nown to e creative #eo#le and it is also re"lected y the "ood
sold in the usy streets o" .anila. The street "ood vendors &ot the hottest to the coldest ty#e o"
"ood on the &o. %er"ect "or those in a hurry or +ust wanted to en+oy "ood outside their homes.
/we!-!we!, "ish alls, !i!iams, &ulaman, #eanuts, corns, "ruits, anana cues, kamote cues, taho,
dirty ice cream, name it. 0ot only do vendors wander around carryin& their &oods, ut they #ut
twists to the conventional !ind o" "ood. (or e*am#le, hard-oiled e&& is not served +ust li!e that
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ut instead, the vendors di# it into an oran&e utter. (ili#inos also have a uni1ue way in namin&
these street "oods. $ard-oiled chic!en e&& in oran&e utter is called !we!-!we!, ut "or 1uail
e&&s, it would e to!nenen&. )e call the &rilled chic!en "eet, Adidas, a #o#ular rand o" shoes.
Another "unny thin& is how we call the &rilled #i& ears, )al!man as ada#ted "rom a rand o" a
music #layer, I &uess.
Addin& to the uni1ue taste o" (ili#inos are the e*otic "oods which is o"ten #atroni,ed y
#eo#le in the rural communities. (irst in that list is the in"amous un"ertili,ed duc! emryo hidin&
in the name 2alut. I o"ten watch e#isodes o" (ear (actor darin& the contestants to devour the
duc! "etus inside the alut. %ersonally, I dont eat alut, ut I am #roud o" this (ili#ino e*otic
delicacy. But "or many (ili#inos, its not that e*otic. As they o"ten say, i" it moves, it must e
&ood. A &ood e*am#le is the tamilo! or the woodworm. These #in!, lon& worms were washed
and then dro##ed onto the ton&ue, alive3 Just two easy ste#s, +ust wash, then eat. This shows that
(ili#inos are true thrill-see!ers.
(ili#inos, althou&h Im not &enerali,in&, are *enocentric #eo#le. .any o" us have the
"ascination "or other nations culture and are so thrilled in im#orted &oods. So, we are "anatics o"
"ast-"ood chains. 'urin& celerations, we are o"ten "ound #artyin& inside these commercial
estalishments. There are also times that our moms were so usy that we need to eat or order
"rom "ast "ood chains "or an instant rea!"ast4lunch4dinner. 5ets say "or e*am#le, a wor!in&
mom with hun&ry mouths to "eed when she comes home. Shell have time to #re#are the "ood
+ust y callin& 6-788, 7-9:;9, <-<<-<< or many others "or 1uic! and "ast delicious "ood.
(ood is mans necessity and #ersonally, "ood &ives me ha##iness. I eat not merely to e
"ull or to have ener&y ut I eat ecause I +ust want to. I eat ecause I love to. In every situation,
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"ood is there "or me. -ven when Im sad, eatin& ma!es me "eel o!ay. I !now Im luc!y ecause
whenever I want to, I have the money to uy "ood, or I can sim#ly reach "or it in the "rid&e. But
in many other #laces, #eo#le can hardly com#lete a meal in a day.
S#ea!in& o" this, there is this #articular #lace, the slums in Tondo, .anila where the
residents are collectin& thrown-away, le"t-over ruish "rom di""erent "ast "ood chains. The "ood
is called #a&#a&, which literally means to sha!e o"". The #eo#le sha!e the dirt o"" the still
edile #art o" the le"tovers. A"ter this #rocess, they #ut everythin& in a hu&e #lastic a& and rin&
it home. They wash the le"t-overs so that they will e 2sure that its clean. In the ho#es that the
"ood will last lon&er, they recoo! it. The "ood they rou&ht home will &o strai&ht to their
tummies and rin& aout satis"action to the residents. In addition, its also a way o" earnin&
ecause thy sell the scaven&ed "ood to other im#overished #oor #eo#le in the metro. Althou&h at
a lar&er sco#e, it is ne&ative and shows how undevelo#ed our country is, it still has a #ositive
earin& "or me. Just ima&ine how (ili#inos "ind ways to survive their everyday li"e. They loo! at
their children and ho#ed to sustain their everyday needs. There is no limit on what they would do
+ust to !ee# their li"e &oin&.
Just li!e what Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said, "ood is indeed a way to determine
what !ind o" #erson you are. Just li!e what I enumerated, the (ili#ino culture is evident +ust y
!nowin& what !ind o" "ood we eat. Same &oes "or any other culture around the &loe. Truly, "ood
is a window to mans culture.