Eating in the Philippines

So I was talking to my crazy sister the other day and was discussing my dietary preferences and eating utensils. Found what I had to say rather interesting and said I should write about it in my blog so here goes nothing….

Lets start with meals. The main staple here is plain white rice; they eat it at breakfast lunch and dinner. A meal without rice is not a meal at all and just a snack or what we call here: merienda. There are three meals a day and at least 2 merienda’s (morning and afternoon) with a possible third between dinner and bed. That is right out here we eat 6 times a day and I am quite okay with that. Now rice is our main carbohydrate and out in the good old U.S we thrive on spuds or bread so I’m really not all that surprised the only major difference is we change up the carb and here it is always just white rice. Okay back to the meals part… since we are eating so often and it is so hot I’m honestly full most of the time. I can’t believe how my portion size has reduced and actually it bothers whoever I eat with cause I’m never eating enough rice. I just remind my wonderful friends and family that I’m sticking to the three spoons of rice rule I have given myself cause I’m really not a big rice eater; I’m more of a potatoes girl.

Utensils: here the use of a knife is almost unheard of. I’m sure they are used more in the cities and various people but in my community we do just fine with a regular spoon and fork. I have become quite an expert at cutting anything I need to with my spoon and tearing food with my fork. Actually in my community it is also just fine to eat with your hands but something I’m not quite used to. It is a rather liberating action because in American culture the only time you eat with your hands is to handle a burger and fries. I occasionally participate in but for some reason I hate my fingers and hands being sticky. I’m warming up to it. I don’t really know why knives are not used but a spoon and fork are fine enough. So when using your spoon and fork you hold the spoon with your dominant hand and then push the food onto your spoon with your fork so in essence the fork has replaced the knife. I like the spoon taking the place of the fork cause you can fit more on it.

Food is really good here and they do have some exotic foods that I’m too much of a baby to eat. For example: balot is a chicken egg with embryo and can be at different developmental stages. One of my host cousins likes ballot when it is still not quite formed. The other doesn’t mind if it may have a beak or a feather or two developing. I am too much of a baby to try but I enjoy watching others eat it. Then there is bull frog. I haven’t tried it yet but I hear it tastes just like chicken. I said that if they took out the meat and then cooked it I would eat it then. Some of my fellow volunteers eat the intestines of chickens and I guess the chicken head and feet are a delicacy. I’m very boring and won’t do any kind of internal organ.

Main dishes usually have chicken, pork, beef, fish or seafoods as basic ingredients. They come boiled, broiled, fried, or sautéed, usually prepared in concoctions and mixtures rather than as basic one -element fares (as in steak). The combinations are varied and while a total taste and effect is sought, each particular ingredient is also supposed to be distinct. My favorite is Adobo Sitaw or sautéed string beans in toyo (soy sauce). Masarap (Yummy)!!!! The sauces are not thick here as they are in the U.S but are more of a broth consistency. I’m really enjoying it. Salads here are very different. We enjoy lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, peppers and cucumbers as the stable of our salads with maybe a few extras like avocado or feta cheese. Anyway, that is not the case here. My friend ordered a salad at a restaurant and what came out was 1/3 of the plate chopped purple onions, 1/3 of the plate chopped mango and a 1/3 plate tomatoes with a side of shrimp paste. That was one of the biggest learning experiences and has not been forgotten. At that point we realized not to assume anything and that what we order may not be what we get and needed to clarify. Those who ordered the salad were happy with it but noted it was very different to what they are used to.

Bananas are readily available here so there are so many ways to make them: fried, sauted, in the main dinner meal (always interesting to have a slight sweet banana flavor while you munch on that piece of pork), in a creamy coconut sauce, or they dip them in this syrupy sugar and makes it crispy and soooo good. Anyway the Filipino’s love deserts and my sweet tooth loves it even more.

Back to rice… when a child takes rice they take almost a heaping plateful. Me on my three spoons looks pretty measly. I just don’t understand where they put it all. If I ate that much rice I would blow up bigger than a balloon!!! I just keep reminding myself that different cultures have different body types. However I’m still shocked occasionally at dinner with my host family and my host cousin who is as thin as a rail can pack in a plate full of rice, meat with veggies and still have room for merienda in less than 2 hours. For some reason since I’ve arrived I’ve established some self control and do not eat through all the good things they offer.
Later I will discuss more on the variety of my favorite meals.