Isang Order Pa Nga

(On the Origin of Some Filipino Dishes)
by aLfie vera mella

Maraming Filipino ang madalas ipagmalaki ang kanilang kultura na kesyo wala nang gaganda pa rito. Ang paniniwalang iyan ay isang halimbawa ng pagkamayabang at pagka-ignorante. Dahil kung ating pag-aaralan, karamihan naman ng aspeto ng bawat kultura ay hango rin o impluwensiyado ng kultura ng ibang bansa. Isang halimbawa ay ang marami sa mga masasarap na putaheng Filipino na gaya ng mga sumusunod.

Adobo

The word adobo originated from the Spanish word adobar, which literally means “marinade” or “to marinate.”

Marination is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned liquid before cooking to enhance their flavor and/or to tenderize the meat. The liquid, called the marinade, is often made with ingredients such as vinegar, lemon or lime juice, pineapple, or wine. It may also contain oils, herbs, and spices to further enhance the flavor. 

As the Filipino dish, adobo is meat (usually pork or chicken) stewed in a marinade of vinegar, soy sauce, and herbs like laurel or bay leaves and spices such as pepper. It is native to Spanish and Portuguese cuisines and was adopted in Latin America and other regions colonialized by Spain and Portuguese in the previous centuries that included certain provinces of the Philippines.

Many Filipinos regard adobo as a Philippine national dish.

Adobo, kare-kare, and bistek are among the most common dishes in the Philippine cuisine.

Kare-kare

“Kare” is most likely derived from the word curry, a generic English term primarily employed in Western culture to denote a wide variety of dishes that originated from Southern and Southeastern Asian cuisines. The common feature of curry dishes is the incorporation of a combination of spices and herbs especially curry powder. The Philippines' kare-kare, however, does not contain curry powder. Its name may have been derived only because of its yellowish color that is comparable to a curry dish.

Kare-kare is meat (typically beef and oxtail plus some innards like tripe and intestines) and some vegetables (eggplant, Chinese cabbage, string beans) cooked in a variety of spices, herbs, and other ingredients that include ground roasted peanuts or peanut butter, ground glutinous rice, garlic, onions, and annatto-seed (atsuwete) extract. It is served almost always with a side of sauteed shrimp paste (bagoong) as a complimentary condiment.

Bistek

A Filipinization or linguistic corruption of the phrase beef steak, bistek is simply a Filipino version of beef steak. Basically though, bistek is strips of sirloin beef slowly cooked in a marinade of soy sauce and calamansi or lemon juice with rings of onions or even fried potato slices or cubes on the side.

Sa Madaling Salita

Marami sa mga ipinagmamalaki at tinatangkilik na putaheng Filipino ay nanggaling sa kultura ng ilang bansang nakipagkalakalan o umokupa sa Pilipinas noong mga siglong nakaraan, at wala namang masama riyan. Kung iyong lalawakan ang iyong pananaw, mapagtatanto mo na ang bawat kultura ay impluwensiyado rin lang naman ng samu’t saring kultura ng iba’t ibang bansa.  

Or, in Simple Words

Many of the revered and patronized Filipino dishes originated from the cultures of people who, in the previous centuries, had traveled to the Philippines either to colonialize regions of the country or simply do business and trades. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just a proof that no culture is pure or hundred-percent original and that cultures inevitably influence each other. So, while it’s okay to be proud of one’s culture, one should be also openminded, humble, and be ready to acknowledge the inevitable and significant contributions of other cultures.