ABOUT FILIPINO FOOD

Photo by Mayette Garcia.

Boy Bawang mixed nuts, Nagaraya cracker nuts, peanuts, San Mig Super Dry…

Guess what flavor of ice candy this is… 🙂

Photo by Mildred Cruz of corn from the province of Pangasinan.

The Tagalog word for ‘corn’ is mais, from the Spanish maiz.

Otap is a crisp, flaky, even crunchy, oval-shaped “puff” pastry that’s a popular snack in the Philippines.

Photo of Crispy Crablets by Jeric Travis.

Chicharon Bulaklak by Angie Pastor. For orders in Manila, 09369815475.

Also known as chilak.

Sagimis is the native Tagalog word in Batangas and surrounding areas for the Filipino snack more widely known in the Philippines as turón.

Turón is banana wrapped like a spring roll and deep fried with brown sugar. The banana often used is the fat saba variety.

Photos by Papus Bueno. Tupig is a kakanin (rice delicacy) of the Ilocos region of Northern Luzon in the Philippines!

Chichaworms, a delicacy from Bohol in the Philippines.

Passionfruit? Grape? Honey Lavender? Nope!  Purple Ice Cream has to be none other than the UBE flavor of the Philippines!

UBE (oo-beh) is Purple Yam… a root crop you dig from under the ground.

Pinagong is a type of Filipino bread from Sariaya, a town in Quezon province.

The name supposedly comes from the word pagong, meaning “turtle” — the shape is slightly reminiscent of the reptile. And the bread is crunchy on the outside, soft in the inside.

Bihon refers to a type of pancit (Chinese-influenced Filipino noodles). These are thin noodles made from rice flour. Bought dry, they look like very thin white sticks, so they are also known to English speakers as rice sticks.

Nilupak na Kamoteng Kahoy by Angie Pastor.

For orders in Manila, call 09369815475.

It’s mashed cassava… See how it’s made!

Brown Sugar Nata Cubes & Sago Balls in Bowl with Alaska Evaporated Milk. Photo by Toyang Noresa.

In English, sago (pronounced “say-goh”) refers to a palm from which starch is extracted. In the Philippines, when you say sagó (“sah-go”) the first thing that springs to mind is something that looks like the tapioca pearls used in boba drinks in the United States.

Stik-O is a popular brand of chocolate-flavored wafer sticks in the Philippines. Recently, there have been newer flavors like ube, strawberry and coconut pandan.

Photo by Mildred Cruz of Biscocho from the Panaderia Pantoja branch in the province of Batangas.

What is Biscocho? A hard pastry strongly associated with Iloilo province, biscocho is essentially bread that is baked to a toast, and then topped or coated with butter and sugar, sometimes garlic.

Palitao are rice patties cooked in boiling water, drained, then served topped with grated coconut, toasted sesame seeds, and white sugar.

In the Tagalog language, palitaw means “to surface” and this refers to the flat oval-shaped pieces of rice dough floating to the top of boiling water once they are cooked.

Nilagang Kamote, Asukal at Dari Creme by Mayette M. Garcia.

Boiled Sweet Potatoes, White Sugar, and Dari Creme.