Adobo

• Though of similar naming to Spanish stews, adobo is a pre-colonial and highly varied dish in Filipino cuisine. There are many variations of adobo across the archipelago. A popular version uses vinegar and soy sauce as primary flavor agents, alongside peppercorn and bay leaf. There are some versions that even use coconut milk and salt, rather than soy sauce.

Mushroom

• Believed to have played a minor role in the pre-colonial Filipino diet, mostly by way of foraging.

Sinigang:

• Believed to be pre-colonial in nature. Popular contemporary souring agents used include tamarind and/or guava, which originate from South/Central America and came by way of the Galéon trade

Shrimp

• Believed to be consumed by Filipinos since before colonization, being a coastal food

• Dumpling: Believed to have been introduced to the Filipino culinary repertoire by the Chinese before Spanish colonization

Pork

• Pork has been consumed in the archipelago since pre-colonial times

Sinuglaw

• A portmanteau of the Visayan ‘sinugba,’ meaning ‘to grill,’ and ‘kinilaw,’ a vinegar-marinated dish of seafood. In this case, pork belly is both grilled and dressed with a tangy citrus marinade.

Ginataang

• A technique of cooking in coconut milk, has Malay roots.

• There are sweet and savory ginataang dishes. Naming structure is ginataang [main ingredient] eg. ginataang hipon = shrimp cooked in coconut milk.

• Kabocha squash is used in this dish, but kalabasa is more abundant in the Philippines. Spaniards introduced kalabasa from Mexico.

Name: Gising-Gising 

Alternatively: Ginataang sigarilyas 

Translation: “wake up wake up” 

Country origin: Philippines 

Region origin (if applicable):  Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bicol 

Description: Spicy Filipino vegetable stew prepared with sigarilyas (chopped winged beans), ground pork, coconut milk, bagoong, and more siling for heat 

Influence: emerged from the farming communities where the dish was used as a way to utilize the abundant winged beans 

Variations: Belongs to similar ginataan dishes which are dishes simmered in coconut milk. The most popular being Bicol Express. 

Other Historical Context: This cooking method of simmering in coconut milk reflects Indigenous culinary practices as a way to rely on local resources and ingredients. Gising-gising is traditionally served hot which allows the creamy coconut milk to complement the spiciness of the dish.  

Name: Salmon sisig 

Country origin: Philippines and America 

Region origin (if applicable): Angeles, Pampanga and Pacific Northwest for Salmon 

Origins:  

1732- Makes an appearance in Vocabulario de la lengua Pampanga en Romance by Friar Diego Bergaño 

~originally described as a salad consisting green papaya or guava with a simple sauce and had no meat in it 

1950s-1960s- At Clark Air Base, staff would throw away pig heads due to it being “unusable”. The residents of Angeles Pampanga saw this as a waste and bought them at cheap prices from Clark Air Base. 

~This iteration of sisig used pork jowl and pork ears which were chopped and boiled with pig brains and chicken liver and seasoned with onions, pepper, salt, and vinegar 

1970s: The sisig we know today was created by Aling Lucing (Lucia Cunanan) of Angeles City in 1974. While keeping the core of sisig the same, she introduced new elements by grilling and/or broiling the pig cheeks and snout before chopping them and adding the chicken liver and seasoning. 

The hot plate for sisig was added much later during the late 1970s-early 1980s from Benedicto Pamintuan. 

Description: 

Chopped, minced pork jowl or cheek with chilies, onions, and seasonings 

Why Salmon? 

Besides Chef Dio’s Tito using salmon in his sisig, salmon offers a healthier and lighter alternative to the meat used in sisig. For historical context, we also used salmon as a teaser to our Filipino-American chapter to all the Manongs and Alaskeros who were cannery workers in Alaska and Seattle where salmon was abundant. 

Filipino flan

• Rich and buttery due to high ratio of egg yolks in the recipe, originating from using a surplus of them during the construction of cathedrals during the colonial period

Mama Vi’s notes:

• Leche flan was the centerpiece of desserts at fiestas in Lala, Lanao del Norte in Mindanao. She later learned this dish in her Home Economics class in Iligan City.