The World’s First Fusion Food: Why Filipino Cuisine is More Than Just Sinigang and Adobo
WRITTEN BY: FRANCESA JANA SANTIAGO
From your mom’s homemade recipes to your go-to comfort snack, there is history behind each food you eat. Bet you can even remember small details of when you tasted something for the first time! And with Filipino cuisine in particular, the diverse and flavorful dishes are not just reflections of the different regions in the Philippines, but also significant moments in the country’s history. In fact, what a lot of people don’t know is that Filipino cuisine is regarded as the first fusion food in the world- way before the concept even existed! But wait, what exactly does “fusion food” mean?
This catchy term is a culinary technique that merges recipes and ingredients together, in order to create unique combinations which you won’t find just anywhere (think, Sisig Dumplings). Granted, it’s a trend popularized by today’s elite food scene to combine “east and west” but scholars confirmed that Filipinos have been using it even before any foreign settler came to the Philippines! The ancestral generation developed approaches on how to blend and match flavors together, which would soon become original Pinoy cooking methods, namely Sinigang (using a sour root-based broth) and Adobo (marinating with salt and vinegar).
Photo from Foxy Folksy.
Photo from Foxy Folksy.
Due to centuries of migration and colonialism, there are visible influences in the food Filipinos consume on the daily. Popular dishes like Kare-Kare and Pinakbet possess Malay influences while staple party foods Pancit and Lumpia were contributed by the Chinese. About a huge portion of Filipino dishes came from the Spaniards because of how long they stayed thus, the the Philippines was able to adopt the iconic snacks Leche Flan and Empanada. When the Americans came, not only were Filipinos introduced to the English language but also to hamburgers, fries and canned goods… eventually leading to the birth of the Fruit Salad.
When it comes to Filipino food, a majority will almost automatically think of Adobo and Sinigang. And while those are regarded as symbolic and popularly loved, our cuisine is more than just that. The Pinoy palette is actually hard to describe unless you yourself learn to develop one. A majority of non-Filipinos tend to find our food intimidating because of how wide the range of flavors and preparations are, while some may see it as non-original because of the numerous colonial influences. Still for our community, these dishes are what we consider “home” and the link that connects us to our heritage. The food we grew to know and love is a representation of all our cultural experiences, both the good and the bad. And it is and will always be a part of our identity.