Within the Philippines, pork is the most commonly consumed meat and holds immense social and historical significance, with the country ranking 8th in the world for the highest level of pork consumption.
It is estimated that the average Filipino will eat over 15kg of pork every year, and this strong preference for pork has made it a staple ingredient in Filipino cooking. As a result, dishes such as Adobo and lechon have gained broad popularity. Notably, pig’s blood is utilized in certain recipes as a natural thickening agent.
The article offers an in-depth account of the roots of Filipino cooking, highlighting its popular pork recipes and the importance of pork in Filipino cooking. If you are looking to try out something new, you are in the right place, so keep reading to find out more.
Popular Filipino Pork Recipes
1. Adobo
Adobo is like the ultimate Filipino dish, and everybody in the Philippines is obsessed with it. It is this cool Spanish word, which means sauce or marinade. So essentially, you start by marinating a few pieces of pork in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic.
After that, you just sauté it in a bit of oil until it gets all pleasant and golden brown. At that point, you pour in the marinade with the pork, along with a few bay leaves, peppercorns, and water.
You let it boil for a bit, and after that, just let it simmer until the pork is all delicate and scrumptious. They call this cooking strategy “inadobo.” But hello, some of the time individuals mix it up and use chicken or beef rather than pork. It’s all great! Once the adobo is ready, you can serve it with white rice.
2. Lechon
Lechon is a delightful Filipino dish with a Spanish twist. The thought is to cook a small piggy over hot charcoal until the skin is super crispy and the meat is super delicate.
To add even more flavor, we marinate it with garlic, onions, lemongrass, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.
First, we wash and season the pig. At that point, we put it on a stick and cook it in front of some charcoal. We have to keep turning the pig for a few hours to make sure it’s cooked evenly all the way through.
Once it’s prepared, the firm skin tastes awesome when dipped in liver sauce, and the meat goes superbly with rice. These days, individuals ordinarily prefer utilizing littler pigs and a few might even utilize a gas or electric rotisserie.
Lechon could be a huge hit in the Philippines, and we, as a rule, serve it with a delightful sauce made from liver. So, in case you need to form an extraordinary memory with your loved ones, let’s celebrate with a few lechon!
3. Sinigang
Pork belly or spare ribs are generally used for Sinigang na Baboy. In this case, we are going to use pork spare ribs, and to upgrade the taste of the sinigang, the pork ribs are first boiled until tender before including the tamarind soup base and vegetables.
To begin with, boil pork ribs in a pot of water, then add onions and the entire peppercorn. Cook the pork for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes until tender.
Once the pork ribs are tender, add the tamarind soup base and bring to a boil. The vegetables are, at that point, included and seasoned with fish sauce or salt. The sinigang is, at that point, prepared to be served once the vegetables are cooked.
4. Kare-kare
Kare-kare is a Philippine stew. It is made from peanut sauce and it is frequently served with some bagoong alamang. Bagoong alamang is a Philippine condiment with fermented shrimp paste as its fundamental ingredient.
In making Kare-kare, one tip is essential. You need to season the oxtail with salt and let it sit for almost 10 minutes. At that point, you need to sear the oxtail in a hot pot with a little cooking oil. Searing is imperative since it makes a crust.
This crust will seal the juice of the meat interior and keep the meat sodden when it is cooking. When the oxtail is golden brown, you can add the water to the pot. You should not put too much water in the pot.
The water level ought to be fair enough to cover the oxtail. Let the pot simmer over medium heat for approximately 2 hours. This will make the oxtail truly delicate.
In another pot, you warm up the peanut butter over low heat. Continuously, you add the oxtail broth to the pot. You ought to keep mixing the peanut butter with a scoop while including the oxtail broth. This is to ensure that, beyond any doubt, the peanut sauce is well blended with the broth and has a smooth texture.
Moreover, this is often done to prevent the peanut sauce from sticking to the pot. After including the oxtail broth, you add the toasted rice. Let the sauce simmer over low heat for around 30 minutes.
The reason for including the toasted rice is to thicken the sauce. When the sauce is almost cooked and has thickened, you add the seared oxtail to the pot. You can also add the vegetables at this time. The vegetables are snake beans and eggplants. Let it simmer for around 10 minutes and you are ready to serve.
Brief History of Filipino Cuisine
The food of the Philippines is all about tradition, about bringing people together and about the country’s Spanish, Chinese and Malay influences. Filipino food is a melange of so many different cultures and its history is largely defined by colonization and the placement of the Philippines at the intersection of east and west.
During the pre-colonial period, the Philippines had a simple type of life; there were no powerful government units because of the presence of barangays only; rice, corn, fish and root crops were the major food and cooking tools were mainly made of earthenware.
Adobo, one of the more well-known Filipino dishes, was said to have been adopted by the Philippines in the 16th century by the early colonizing Spaniards. They called it adobo due to its similarity to the Spanish adobo.
In the initial days of Spanish colonization, the Spanish military men and civilians settled in local towns and they missed their traditional dishes so they came up with this adobo because it is easy to preserve. Long after the Spanish arrived, the Americans ventured in too, from 1898 to 1946.
This, of course, was followed by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. The Americans brought with them a different style of eating, for example, having breakfast in the morning and lunch at midday as opposed to a larger lunch and later dinner as the Spanish did.
Some ingredients, such as tomatoes and potatoes, were also brought in at that time. And so, you see, with each phase of colonization, Filipino cuisine was adapted and reinvented. Soy and bean products were introduced by the Chinese, while curries and spices were brought in by Indian and Muslim people.
In the 21st century, however, the food and culture of the Philippines are still quite unique and are developing a stronger identity of their own. Today, with the influence of the fast food culture of the west in big cities and with new waves of work and travel opportunities, there will be modernization and further development by foreign food trends as the new generations become more exposed.
However, hybrid fast food and such are generally ignored in favor of true Filipino-style home cooking with friends and family. Such is the importance of food to the social culture of the Philippines. And what really excites me is that, by talking about the history, your journey to the food will now have more reasons to be cherished and appreciated.
Importance of Pork in Filipino Cooking
Pork plays a huge role in Filipino culture and societal traditions. For example, it is traditional to prepare large pork feasts for celebrations, which are community celebrations that respect the patron saint of a local town.
Numerous Filipinos also celebrate Noche Buena, a one-of-a-kind Filipino convention of having a large, extraordinary family supper on Christmas Eve, by serving pork dishes such as lechon (roast pig) and ham.
In addition, pork is frequently a key ingredient in Filipino celebrations and special events, including weddings, birthdays, and New Year merriments. A wide range of pork recipes for distinctive events and tastes guarantees that pork continuously remains at the center of Filipino gastronomy and the hearts of Filipino individuals.
In addition, the Spanish colonization of the Philippines from the 16th century until the conclusion of the 19th century has had a significant impact on Filipino food. The Spanish presented a number of new ingredients to the local people, including garlic, onions, and tomatoes.
They too brought dishes such as adobo, which is a well-known Filipino pork dish, to the Philippines. Filipino cooks adapted the conventional Spanish way of moderate cooking with vinegar to help preserve the meat in the hot and humid climate; over time, this evolved into the Filipino adobo that we know nowadays.
One of the main reasons why pork is prevalent in the Philippines and other tropical nations is that pigs are low-upkeep animals and can survive on nourishment that people won’t or can’t eat. They are especially well suited to small-scale, low-income farming and they produce a large amount of meat in a relatively short time. This implies that pork is more affordable and readily accessible compared to other meats, such as beef or lamb.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Filipino pork recipes are traditionally prepared with soy sauce or vinegar. They also use different kinds of spices that are uniquely Filipino and not commonly found in the Western world. It is the combination of these spices, vinegar, and soy sauce that makes Filipino pork recipes unique and special. You should definitely try out some of these recipes and I hope they turn out great!
