Facts on Filipinos' Eating Habits and Cuisine

To start off my entries on Filipino food, here are some basic facts I gathered!



1) Do you know that Filipinos regard enjoying food to be a "National Obsession"?
Yes! Its true! To the Filipinos, food is important as it is an integral part of local art and culture as well as communal existence. Believe it or not but Filipinos eat up to ELEVEN times a day! That means a total of five meals a day and snacks in between.

2) Do you know that the Philippine cuisine is a unique mixture from the East and the West?
There is probably nowhere else in the world where you can sample delectable and tempting delicacies if not in the exotic country of Philippines. Yes, due to nearly 400 years of external influences, the Filipino cuisine has evolved to become a fascinating blend of Malay,Spanish and Chinese cultures.

3) Do you know that Philippine cuisine is often labeled as bland and mild?
Unlike its surrounding Asian counterparts like Malaysia and Indonesia that uses hot chilies liberally in their dishes, the Philippine cuisine is more suitable for those with sedate and sensitive taste buds.

4) Do you know what is their must-have for meals?
As with other Asian countries, rice is their staple food and will be served with most meals. For over 2,000 years, rice has been grown in the Philippines and is eaten almost daily. As of the 21st century, over twenty varieties of rice are cultivated, which are made into thousands of different cakes, noodles, and pancakes. Rice noodles are now increasingly common in fast-food restaurants and stands, because noodles symbolize prosperity, long life, and good luck. Filipinos believe the longer the noodles, the better, so noodles are generally not broken or cut when a dish is being prepared.

5) Do you know Filipinos love to use coconuts in creating their exotic Filipino dishes?
It is indeed no secret that coconuts are used liberally to create Filipino dishes. Cooking meat and vegetables using coconut milk create dishes called guinatan. These dishes originated from the Malay side of the Filipino cuisine. Apart from that, coconuts are also great for creating mouth-watering desserts like bibingka and macapuno