The Fat Kid Inside
Erwan Heussaff
Thinking of a traditional Filipino Christmas? Picture this. Your elders wake you up before dawn for church, which you groggily sit through. Never mind that it’s before 5 am and you haven’t had breakfast. What keeps you up is what caps off the usual Simbang Gabi haunt: the bibingka. A local vendor stations himself outside the church…
Filipinos just love rice. We love it so much that we want to eat it for dessert too! So any Filipino knows what suman is. It’s a sticky rice dessert wrapped and cooked in banana leaves. It’s not too sweet, so while eating you top it with muscovado sugar, coco jam, or dip it in…
Now that we got the mains and appetisers out of the way, what’s for dessert? Filipino cuisine is just loaded with amazing dessert recipes. After all, we love our sweets! Many families around the Philippines have their own dessert specialty. Whether it’s puto bumbong, leche flan, or yema, there’s bound to be something sweet at…
The holidays can get very busy. When it comes to cooking for a Christmas dinner or Noche Buena, you’ll want quick but delicious recipes that everyone will love. So far, my Christmas recipes have been full of pork or heavy meat dishes. I decided to add a seafood dish because it adds that special feel,…
A staple at any Christmas dinner or Noche Buena is ham. When paired with toasty pieces of pandesal, a Christmas ham is perfect for either a light snack or as part of a hearty meal. It’s also so festive and celebratory, that every Filipino home should have some sort of ham on their table this…
Nothing puts a Filipino in the mood for Christmas celebration like lechon. But having a whole roasted pig can be a bit excessive. Most of my Filipino Christmas recipes so far have been about preparing for Christmas dinner or Noche Buena. But this time, I’m thinking about the day after. What if you have a…
Filipino food takes a ton of inspiration from other cuisines. Of course, we have restaurants that serve other cuisines here. But we have our own versions of everything, from Yang Chow fried rice to southern fried chicken. Every foreign cuisine that is cooked in the Philippines has already been “Filipin-ized” to suit local tastes. The…
There are hundreds of noodle dishes around the Philippines. As much as we love rice, we also show a lot of love for noodles. Pancit is easily my favorite Filipino noodle dish. It’s the “everything-on-it” meal of the Philippines. It’s got meat toppings, vegetables, and carbs. This complete meal in one is perfect for large…
Menudo is a classic Filipino dish. It’s also one of my favorites. There’s just something about this meaty, saucy stew that is so festive, and so heartwarming. The combination of tomato, liver, and pork may not seem that appetising to non-Filipinos. But give this dish a try before you knock it: it’s a Filipino hug…
One thing I love about Filipino food is that it goes back to the basics. Oftentimes, there aren’t any fuss or frills in Filipino cooking. All you need is fire, meat, some spices, and you’re good to go. Despite the simplicity of this dish, I knew I had to include Chicken Barbecue as one of…