Coming from Notthern Mindanao had to think twice if the sour was only reflected in the Tagalog's sinigang but then you mentioned paksiw and then the sawsawan which is like staple to everything I had growing up. What good reflection!
Hi Luisa! Fabi here - I'm an Indonesian writer. This post brings me back to the first time I ate Filipino food. It was in one of the stands inside Paddy's Market in Sydney. I had their Chicken Adobo, and my first thought was that it tasted so much like an Indonesian dish, Semur Ayam, but with a very pronounced sour taste. Reading this reaffirms my first impression and I think it's a sign for me to eat more Filipino food 😋
You spied right! We are making it happen chef! he he he I love you Tine. Thank you for always making me feel seen he he he. You know the ways of the universe. He he he.
Ahahah LOVE you and when the universe calls to eat, I always answer hahaha <3 xxxx Loving all your updates and posts! Keep up the good writing work !!!
I love this take — I just started a substack about how migration, colonization and trade influence how food has become what it is today in different places. But it’s often a thin needle to thread because it butts up against reconciling the food’s representation by its own people and not by the influence of others. Thank you for sharing this here ❣️ I’ll save it to come back to it.
Ohhhhhh Minsoo! Wow thank you so much. I just subscribed to your Substack. I FREAKING LOVE IT ALREADY! I want to read it all. I get you but colonisation and trade influence happened and by this it just meant that Filipinos didn't just accepted it because they didn't have control but they showed their control through food. It's like saying "I will make your food but I will make it my own." I guess the same thing would have happened with Vietnamese Bánh Mi. French influenced but Vietnamese through and through. Layered contrast of flavour from pate, fresh herbs, crunchy lettuce, crunchy pickle of carrots and radish. There's contrast but refined. So yes absolutely exploring the effects of colonisation and influences are fascinating. Especially how the cuisine adapted it but you can still see the undercurrent of rebellion.
EXACTLY - these external oppressive forces didn't just "happen" to the Filipinos, just as it didn't happen to countless other places --- we fucking SURVIVED it when they were trying to eradicate us. And that is how great food is born, from resilience, pride and dignity -- even in the face of the most cruel subjugations.
There is something to be said about cuisine that went through survival vs control/convenience. eg. The Philippines vs Australia. That in itself you can unpack in so many ways ha ha ha.
Coming from Notthern Mindanao had to think twice if the sour was only reflected in the Tagalog's sinigang but then you mentioned paksiw and then the sawsawan which is like staple to everything I had growing up. What good reflection!
Hi Luisa! Fabi here - I'm an Indonesian writer. This post brings me back to the first time I ate Filipino food. It was in one of the stands inside Paddy's Market in Sydney. I had their Chicken Adobo, and my first thought was that it tasted so much like an Indonesian dish, Semur Ayam, but with a very pronounced sour taste. Reading this reaffirms my first impression and I think it's a sign for me to eat more Filipino food 😋
Love this piece, and the poetry by Eunice too!!!
ALSO DID I SPY DINNER AT TAKAM WITH ME HAHAHAHA yes PLEASE mwahahahaha
You spied right! We are making it happen chef! he he he I love you Tine. Thank you for always making me feel seen he he he. You know the ways of the universe. He he he.
Ahahah LOVE you and when the universe calls to eat, I always answer hahaha <3 xxxx Loving all your updates and posts! Keep up the good writing work !!!
I love this take — I just started a substack about how migration, colonization and trade influence how food has become what it is today in different places. But it’s often a thin needle to thread because it butts up against reconciling the food’s representation by its own people and not by the influence of others. Thank you for sharing this here ❣️ I’ll save it to come back to it.
Ohhhhhh Minsoo! Wow thank you so much. I just subscribed to your Substack. I FREAKING LOVE IT ALREADY! I want to read it all. I get you but colonisation and trade influence happened and by this it just meant that Filipinos didn't just accepted it because they didn't have control but they showed their control through food. It's like saying "I will make your food but I will make it my own." I guess the same thing would have happened with Vietnamese Bánh Mi. French influenced but Vietnamese through and through. Layered contrast of flavour from pate, fresh herbs, crunchy lettuce, crunchy pickle of carrots and radish. There's contrast but refined. So yes absolutely exploring the effects of colonisation and influences are fascinating. Especially how the cuisine adapted it but you can still see the undercurrent of rebellion.
EXACTLY - these external oppressive forces didn't just "happen" to the Filipinos, just as it didn't happen to countless other places --- we fucking SURVIVED it when they were trying to eradicate us. And that is how great food is born, from resilience, pride and dignity -- even in the face of the most cruel subjugations.
There is something to be said about cuisine that went through survival vs control/convenience. eg. The Philippines vs Australia. That in itself you can unpack in so many ways ha ha ha.
wow yes -- i love the axis of control vs convenience, what a great framework to understand values that are inherent in food culture