Let's Party

The Filipinos are generous hosts at family gatherings, parties and most public functions such as a fiesta. There is always plenty of food. If you go to a party and go away hungry, don't complain for you may be to blame, has been my experience. It is probably easier to accept another small helping than try to convince your host that you have eaten enought and you could not possibly eat another thing. 

 I am one of those people who celebrate the anniversary of my birth during the week between Christmas and New Year. I was blessed that as a child my family always celebrated the day. So during my first visit in 1999 we also had celebrations  for all three occasions. Hence,  in this Post I will give a brief description of some of the cuisine that a Filipino may enjoy at such  functions.

Rice - As in many Asian countries, rice is one of the staple foods. The rice is  normally washed to remove the starch and then cooked in a rice cooker.

Odobo - A rich, dark, well-marinated stew of chicken and/or pork, with flavors that hint of the vinegar and soy sauce. The pork or chicken, or a combination of both, is slowly cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, crushed garlic, bay leaf, and black peppercorns, and often browned in the oven or pan-fried afterward to get the desirable crisped edges.  Its relatively long shelf-life is due to one of its primary ingredients, vinegar, which inhibits the growth of bacteria.

Kare-Kare - It is a meaty oxtail stew with pieces of tender tripe and vegetables in peanut sauce.

Pancit - It is sauteed noodles with bits of fresh vegetables, thinly sliced savory sausage and tiny shrimps laced throughout. This is easy to prepare, and the recipe is very flexible. Different types of noodles can be used: bihon (rice noodles), Canton (flour noodles), sotanghon (soybean noodle) and mike (pronounced as mee-kee, fresh egg noodles). 

Lechon -  In the Philippines, lechón (roast pig) is often served with vinegar, lechon sauce (made out of chicken livers or liver pate combined with vinegar, garlic, and pepper), plum sauce, or other sauces, or with other seasonings or accompaniments. The term lechón also came to mean any meat prepared by cooking on a pit, such as lechón baka (roast beef) and lechón manok (roast chicken). There are other Philippine versions of lechón. Lechón kawali involves chopping the meat into small pieces, boiling it, and then frying it. Lechón paksiw involves boiling lechón leftovers in a vinegar mix or lechon sauce, and then stir-frying it along with other ingredients. Another variation, known as Pritchon, consists of a deep-fried piglet chopped into small pieces and wrapped in pita wedges (à la Peking Duck), and served with an array of special sauces.