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Four days ago, National Geographic’s online extension, The Plate, published a story on Filipino cuisine becoming the next big thing. Written by senior blogger April Fulton, the article discusses the challenges our food needs to overcome for it to finally be recognized worldwide.
The scene in one of Gilbuena’s Filipino feasts. (Photo: errantdiner.com)
1. It’s hard to describe. We’ve got our flavors down pat, Fulton writes, so it’s really just a matter of describing the core of the cuisine.
Thankfully, there are the likes of Yana Gilbuena, who has been introducing Filipino food from one US state to another via her SALO Series. People are now getting an idea of what kare-kare and ginataan are.
2. It’s hard to categorize. Not that it’s a bad thing, but with each province having its own versions of adobo and sinigang, confusion is easy to arise among those who aren’t familiar with Filipino food. “There are 100 million people in the Philippines now, and guaranteed, they each have their own receipe for adobo,” the article quotes food writer-turned-Filipino food advocate Joanne Boston as saying.
3. We need to stop saying the best comes from home. If FIlipinos want to build a dynamic restaurant culture, we’ll need to change our attitudes. Always, always we say the best adobo or sinigang can be had at home. “Why should I go out for Filipino food when I can get it at home and it’s probably better,” argues Boston.
With the growing interest over our food, we need to get our act together and address these to finally get our proper seat in the global table.
In the meantime, here 12 Pinoy dishes to seduce a first-timer.
(Header photo: en.wikipedia.org)
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