The Food of the Philippines

Article by: Robyn Eckhardt, February 2008

When it comes to the cuisines of southeast Asia, the Philippines is better known for balut (half-hatched duck eggs) and the local fast-food franchise Jollibee than any major gourmet experience. But spend a Saturday morning at Salcedo Community Market in Manila's business district and you'll be wondering why the cuisine of this archipelago nation has been overlooked for so long.

Whether you're in search of rare seasonal produce or pre-prepared specialties from the provinces, a leisurely approach is recommended.

Close to 140 stalls set up each week in a shaded carpark, ready to take its customers - bejewelled socialites, shopping list-toting housewives, families, ex-pats and nearby call-centre workers just off the night shift - on a gastronomic tour of the Philippines. Whether you're in search of rare seasonal produce or pre-prepared specialties from the provinces, a leisurely approach is recommended. Devote a few hours to grazing the market's aisles, people-watching, and sharing sit-down fare at the market's undercover communal tables.

'The original concept of the market was to showcase regional delicacies,' says Salcedo's manager, Marc Medina, noting that the number of cooked food vendors has grown from 11, when the market first opened in June of 2004, to 136. Among the most popular stalls are those in what Medina refers to as 'the Filipino corner'. Here, undeterred by billowing smoke emanating from the grills, patrons queue for skewers of marinated pork, whole catfish, bangus (milkfish, a Philippine favourite), thick tuna fillets and hot bibingka (large, fluffy rice-flour 'pancakes' topped with cheese). Stalls selling non-Filipino foods (French baked goods, Malaysian laksas, nasi lemak) mingle with other stalls in the market.

Down the row, vendor Des Torres offers foods from her native Pampanga, an area just north of Manila that is referred to by Filipinos as the 'gourmet province'. Pampangans excel at dessert- and candy-making, and Torres offers several fine examples, such as a rich leche flan and mamon taisan, a moist yellow sponge topped with a layer of butter and sugar. If you want something savoury, try the panara - delicate, deep-fried rice flour 'turnovers' stuffed with shredded green papaya and blue crab - that she sources from a maker in the Pampanga town of Bacolor.

For a taste of the culinary legacies of the Spanish colonial period, keep an eye out for the blackened paella pans set front and centre at a stall called Margarita's.

The coconut-rich, chilli-hot fare of the Bicol region is served up at a nearby stall owned by Tita Cely, who claims to have invented a dish called Bicol Express - a fiery concoction of pork and long green chillies cooked in coconut milk. Those wanting a milder gastronomic thrill should try her alimango sa gata, a stew of meaty crabs cooked in coconut milk with green beans, water spinach and pumpkin.

Pork is 'an obsession with Filipinos,' says Medina, so perhaps it's no surprise that the market boasts two regional versions of lechon (spit-roasted pig): southern style, which is fragrant with the herbs stuffed into the belly before cooking; and Luzon (or Tagalog) style, served with a sweet-and-tart sauce made from grilled pig's liver and spiced up with black pepper. Both versions come with the shards of crispy golden skin prized by lechon connoisseurs.

One of the things the market is most famous for is its regional longanizas (pork sausages) and the garlicky Vigan longanizas are one of the most popular. They're named for a town in the northern province of Ilocos Sur, and the Ilocos-native vendor and his wife serve them up in huge deep-fried empanadas: sausage, tender grated green papaya and an egg encased in an orange rice- flour wrapper. Ilocos vinegar, served on the side, simultaneously cuts the richness of the pork and complements its garlic flavour.

For a taste of the culinary legacies of the Spanish colonial period, keep an eye out for the blackened paella pans set front and centre at a stall called Margarita's. Both the paella vallencia and paella negra (blackened with squid ink) include tender squid and briny fresh shrimp; the latter boasts a lovely smokiness and is served drizzled with a creamy, pungent garlic aioli. Margarita's bacalao (salt cod in tomato sauce, dotted with coins of garlic) would be at home on the most Spanish of tables.

Sweet tooths are well catered for at Salcedo. Try the griddle-cooked piaya (round wheat-flour flat breads filled with smoky muscovado sugar) from the southern island of Negros or nibble on the free samples of budbud kabog (steamed banana-wrapped dumplings made from millet, coconut milk and sugar) from the Visayan islands. Pastillas are delicious truffle-like candies made from rich carabao milk, which are a real treat, especially with a cup of tsokolate - a devilishly thick, hot drinking chocolate made with native cacao and blended with peanuts.

The options at Salcedo are so numerous that even the most enthusiastic eater will be forced to leave some culinary stones unturned - proving that there's a lot more to Philippine food than meets the stomach.