Filipinos are known for their gastronomic appetite. Its adventure for food is like walking in a boulevard that never ends. For its love for food is a passion for perfection and satisfaction. Now, let us begin our walk to our food boulevard.
Have you ever tasted the most famous Filipino food which is adobo? If you haven't, then you're missing one of the most incredible food experiences of your life. It's a fusion of marinade of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt and lots of garlic. It can be used for pork, chicken or even beef. Its taste is a complete balance of saltiness, sweetness, sourness and a tinge of spiciness. Surprisingly, for every region in the Philippines (total of 17), there's an individual take on the recipe of adobo. Some put in bay leaf, coconut milk or potato. But the essence of it all remains the same.
Second popular dish is a sour soup using guava, tamarind or bilimbi fruit (kamias in local dialect). What is tom yum soup for Thais is sinigang for Filipinos. Like adobo, it can be used for any variety of meat but using pork is the best. Eating sinigang boasts of healthy benefits for the body such as infusion of vitamin C, managing your cholesterol levels and your immune system is also strengthened.
For the spicy lovers, Bicol express paired with spicy shrimp paste is the best. It's a pork dish boiled with generous portion of coconut milk and labuyo or Asian bird's eye chili. You would literally sweat while eating but you will never leave the table for sure because it's very flavorful.
Another distinct Filipino food is the oxtail tripe in peanut based sauce. Like Bicol express, it is also paired with spicy shrimp paste. It's a long process of cooking because of softening the oxtail but it's worth the wait. The vegetables are cooked in achuete oil giving it an astonishing flavor and aroma. With one bite, there is an explosion of flavor of ground peanuts and toasted ground rice. Kare kare is a very rich dish and every spoonful is a delicious mouthful.
Lastly, you shouldn't miss the famous balut egg. It is a boiled duck egg but what made it special is there is an embryo in it around 17-20 days. Eating balut is not for the faint hearted but one who tasted it swears the juice is similar to a very tasty chicken broth. It is a very popular aphrodisiac and a cheap one too.
Food is an adventure as Filipinos love adventure. So, when in the Philippines, you'll never get lost in this food boulevard.
Ms. Pinky is a mom of 3 school children. She is a Systems Engineer, a Technology Researcher and an Independent Medical Billing and Coding Consultant. She and her family is well-traveled all over the world!
