I'm Hispanic but my wife is Filipina and she have me taste Filipino food boy my head was spinning like a globe filled with joy. My favorite foods are Lechon kawali,cripsy pata,bulaklakakan,Jollibees,lumpia,bulalo,fish pompano tinola,etc. Because I'm Hispanic they've Spanish style foods like bulalo,relleno,adobo,lechon,empanadas,etc.
As a Filipino I recommend banana cue/turon since you mentioned mainly savory dishes. But it's so funny that Jollibee is included as a filipino food because it totally is 😂
A bit of correction, but SInigang doesn't use Suka(vinegar) typically, it's usually sour fruits, like tamarind, tomatoes, mangoes etc. Very rarely is it used, because Filipino cuisine has a vinegared based soup/broth too, it's called paksiw, which is a style of cooking which literally translate to stew/simmer in vinegar. It's the same on paper, but they have very different flavor profiles, Sinigang is tangy, while Paksiw is acidic.
nah... not gonna put mangoes pls remove this you never gonna see it on our sinigang or ever mentioned.... only tamarind, tomatoes, calamansi or rarely bilimbi...
A bit of correction as well. Never in the history of Filipino cuisine were mangoes added to Sinigang, even as a substitute. Tamarind or Bilimbi (Kamias) are the two main ingredients that make the sinigang sour.
@@Blackfly032 You're trying to correct an existing Filipino recipe, which is SIningang sa Mangga. There are multiple recipes online, even family based recipes that use Mangga for their sinigang.
@@helloccmist I'm pure blooded Filipino, the fact that you haven't hear of sinigang sa mangga means, you haven't really explored Filipino cuisine outsie of your locality. Sinigang sa Mangga exist, and have always been used for Sinigang.
Appreciate you exploring this topic! As a Filipino-American, I often feel frustrated with my fellow Fil-Ams when they diss a new Filipino restaurant since it’s not as good as their mom’s/Lola’s. If that keeps happening, the cuisine will be forever relegated to the kitchen and will never blow up! I love the suggestion to focus on the top dishes to market: adobo, lumpia, etc. A Filipino Panda Express? Pandan Express, perhaps?
This is why Filipinos will never have a set recipe bc everyone is always trying to one up each other. If you look at our language, there's thousands of dialects other than Tagalog but why? We're always adding or editing the recipe in some way. It has its ups and downs for sure.
@@unwine main reason for not having a set of recipe is the fact that the Philippines is an Archipelago and has multiple regions and each region has their own version of certain recipe (e.g. Adobo has the standard recipe, then there is also an Adobong Puti, and Adobong Tuyo).
@@janrendon465 That's what makes it so unique as well. Wet, dry, tender and even crispy variations make it hard to settle on just one recipe. Matamis or maasim? Decisions! I can happily say that the Jollibee close to me is now serving adobo fried rice.
I think Filipino food has some interesting parallels to Indian food that somehow work to help Indian food while hurt Filipino food. Both have lots of soups and stews that aren’t as visually appealing, but Indian curries tend to have more bright baby food colored sauces whereas Filipino stews are often dark… browns, greens and even black. Both cuisines tend to be flavor packed and typically served with rice to balance out the flavors, but Indian food hits you with spices and heat where Filipino food hits you with salt and sweet or salt and sour.
I find it just as interesting that Ethiopian cuisine shares similar spices and cooking methods that Indian cuisine does. Hmmm…kindof makes you wonder as to how influential the Silk Road truly was and why spices were so prized back in the old days. I can’t imagine life without spices.
I think an adobo concept would actually be tough. Reason is that everyone's family cooks adobo and they are all different. It is easily a dish that divides. I think Mang Inasal (Filipino Grilled Chicken) would actually have an AMAZING chance at succeeding. They are owned by Jollibee, it's grilled chicken and fucking delicious, it sorta fits fast casual, and maybe most important... Even though it is Filipino, most Filipinos don't cook it at home. It is a great crossover dish too. Not too sweet and not too sour. It's been gaining popularity in the Philippines too.
It's always been popular in the Philippines. You will notice what's fast food in the Philippines is not homecooked or party food. So stuff like Mang Inasal definitely works internationally, it's like Nando's but Philippine version.
@@redfullmoon it was pretty popular when I visited 10 years ago, but it seemed more regional. It definitely is not that well known in the US and not served at resto often. I've made it myself, but it's more work than most Filipino dishes. I think your average home cook wouldn't really do it so often, so it works as a resto concept really well.
Havent been back home in 16 yrs, just heard of Mang in the past 2 yrs. Yeah, i mentioned Mang as 1 of the resturants to bring to the states in a local FB Filipino culture group, even thought I NEVER tasted any of it, lol
I agree about the adobo. I like my mom’s adobo and I’ve ordered adobo at two different Filipino restaurants and they weren’t good. They were very salty.
Here in Memphis, we have a family-owned Filipino restaurant called Casarap, which makes delicious banana lumpia, chicken adobo, halo halo, and other traditional Filipino dishes. They sometimes make free soup to go with their combo meals all for less than $20 a meal. I try to tell my coworkers about it, but I still have yet to hear from one person who went to that restaurant, partly because the restaurant doesn't open during nighttime. While I'm probably still a noob when it comes to Filipino food, I would say that in general, as a Chinese American, I like it. Same goes for my boyfriend who is fully white.
My fave Filipino dishes are Kare-Kare, Laing, Sizzling Sisig, and Lumpiang Ubod! Unfortunately, there aren't any Filipino restaurants nor Filipino local stores where I live (northwestern Germany). When I first arrived here, I would still call my mom back home whenever I cook certain Filipino dishes. But after awhile, I just grew tired of cooking them since looking for authentic ingredients alone is already tedious since most Asian shops here sell Vietnamese, Thai or Indonesian versions of our local ingredients and they don't really taste the same. So, I'll have to wait til come back to the Philippines to be able to eat Filipino dishes again. It's been 8 yrs since the last time I visited but at least I got to eat Adobo rice and Chickenjoy when I visited Jollibee in NYC last month! Haha
Come to Winnipeg if you want to get great Filipino food of all sorts, there might be 30 Filipino restaurants in Winnipeg alone, dozens of bakeries, you can get a full lechon on 24 hour notice, sinigang kits at grocery stores, lumpia is a Christmas buffet item here.
My friends and i were talking adobo is the new balut. Everytime a foreigner speaks of Filipino food, adobo is now in the forefront. The lack of filipino food presence in global cuisine has been a discussion among foodies here for ages and tbh, i'm actually fine with filipino food not being that popular especially in the west. I see our cuisine as a hidden gem. A hole-in-a wall joint waiting to be stumbled upon and yes, i need to bring this up, there's more to filipino food than adobo, lumpia, sinigang and even lechon considering how diverse the regions are here. I mean it's cool that there's a growing interest on our cuisine, regardless the interest blow up or not, i think the curiosity will always be there.
adobo already have had that rep since mid 2000s before social media. When newspapers were still a thing I remember reading about how in some Pinoy food expo by embassy etc., foreigners were so enamored with adobo and immediately attacked it over other Pinoy dishes. Which I don't get. Given the choice I would avoid eating adobo for a decade. I'm so sick of it 😂
@@cosmicgalaxystudio1539 not the first time I've heard of that mindset before and I thought it's actually selfish. Now I'm indifferent. If it becomes globally famous then awesome. If not then so be it.
@@alice_agogo i've encountered foreigners that act all high and mighty when flexing their filipino cuisine knowledge idk why they need to do that. Very strange. I guess given that a lot of Filipinos yearn for global validation they feel the need to exert their role? Doesn't work for me unfortunately. 😆 Prior the 00s, balut was the gateway to filipino food. Especially the 80s and 90s. Emotions and local curiosity perk up when seeing foreigners (especially westerners) eat one. It's a gateway and an icebreaker. Especially to ordinary pinoys, the reactions of foreigners eases the cultural gap and makes socializing easier and much interesting. Newspapers were a thing? Hahaha never felt so Jurassic. I just finished reading the broadsheet of PDI before i went on this app. 😆😆😆
Favorite Filipino dish is by far Bikol Express. There are no Filipino restaurants in my city But I'm starting one up with my buddy. We have been building slowly doing everything you have said and are very conscious of how we are going to build this thing because we do want it to blow up here in the states and we want to be the ones to do it. I literally told my partners that I want to be the Panda express of the Philippines. Wish us luck!
Lumpia. Grew up in SF and will always be grateful to my HS classmate Mirna, who one day literally brought me uncooked lumpia from home so I could taste it freshly cooked when I got home from school that day. I was hooked after that. She wrote down the recipe and I've been making it ever since. That was uh, a lot of years ago.
With regards to spice... Most of our spices are in our dips and condiments because spice tends to be more optional in our cuisine. Some people say that our cuisine isn't popular because it's not spicy, but Japanese cuisine is popular despite not being spicy. Personally I think that Filipino cuisine is underrated because it's not well promoted like other cuisines.
To be honest, cuisines are yummy all over the world and palate is the most subjective of all human senses. Mexican, Japanese, Chinse, Italian, Korean, Indian, Thai etc.... All those peoples have been exporting cultural exoticism and cultural industry to significant levels in areas outside of the kitchen.
Our country Problem is Culinary Linguistics, many Filipino Recipes are named on the Prestigious Language of the era of their creations, hence many Filipino Dishes with Spanish Names are just dismissed as Spanish influenced and they would never thought it as the other way around. It's the same to current New Filipino Recipes which is named in English, and don't be surprised most them are just copied by other nationalities and past it as a normal American or Western dish. I observed it in Online(and even Traditional Recipe Books) where many Asians are copying or taking inspirations of Filipino recipes, making them a little bit different and naming it in their language, and sell it as Fast Food or in their restaurants. Most of these recipes lacked Historical Evidence and the ingredients are just follow suit through importation of it where the ingredients is availably sourced. It's common in East Asian Countries.
@@romeocivilino6667 I get the point, but it's honestly kind of far-fetched... A lot of Mexican and other Latin American dishes also have Spanish names and they are admired and praised.
The Panda Express of Pinoy food is a fast food chain that owned by Jollibee, it is called "Mang Inasal" which serves a specific delicious Filipino version of roasted barbecue chicken with rice. All menu options are traditional Filipino dishes and foreigners have enjoyed the flavors.
As a filipina, I always love to see Filipino content. I agree, Filipino food is bomb but doesn't get enough love. However, I do cook it myself and whenever I present it to people they love it! My Spanish boyfriend loves Adobo, Sisig, Lumpia, and Halo Halo. Here in Denver, they recently opened Manila Bay in Aurora which is the best traditional Filipino food in the city. Another spot called Adobo is run by a half Filipino who infused Filipino with New Mexican style food and it's great. His food truck actually gets a lot of buzz since it's posted outside the bars in a trendy area, RiNo. My personal favorites are lumpia, pancit palabok, and tinalong. I agree that Filipino food can be turned off to a lot of people because we do like sour. Even myself, as I've gotten older and eat a cleaner diet, I can't eat much Filipino food because it does bloat me with the sodium. However, I'll always deal with the consequences on the occasions I do have it!!
I go to the Philippines regularly, there's a few great dishes but overall it falls short to other EA/SEA food. You can find great Thai, Viet, Malaysian, Indonesian street food but cheap Filipino food (under $2) ain't great
If you're ever in London (UK), you have to go try out Kasa & Kin, I think it nails what Filipino restaurants need to do. The food keeps all the notable flavours of the dish but it's arranged in a western fashion. They have their own bakery (great for sharing Filipino food outside of the restaurant) and a Karaoke on the bottom floor (I've never been). For desserts, you have to try out Mamasons, it's a Filipino Ice cream parlour, they've been doing really well and this year, they opened their 3rd branch (a kiosk) in a popular shopping mall. Their aesthetic is simple but very Filipino at the same time, you can tell a lot of thought went into how they present their brand and food. Another restaurant worth mentioning, is Cirilo, the restaurant has been around for a while, and sees a good amount of traffic but still not enough imo. The head chef (also the owner) there has taught and coached many of the up and coming Filipino chefs. Kasa & Kin and Mamasons are doing an exceptional job with their food and brand, and they've chosen really great locations to give themselves a better shot. I hope more Filo restaurants can open up in Central London soon. Some other Filo restaurant recs: Ramo Ramen (Locations are in or around central London) - Filipino stew flavoured Ramen! Spoon and rice (multiple locations) - they have the best Turon I've ever tasted. Romulo (Central London) Ading Ysa's Kitchen (South London) - home cooked style food, they have tapsilog and beef bulalo! Of course, can't forget Jollibee (Central London/Leicester Square, or Earl's Court). I'm planning to go to other well rated ones in the next year.
suggestion: call it as it is. some filipino restaurants in US use different names and claim it as their own recipe or idea. ie. they cook bicol express and call it coconut creamy pork dish or chicken adobo as marinated chicken dish, then they say they came up with it and just used filipino inspiration. just call it your take on chicken adobo. some say they invented kamayan then they give spoon and fork or say they came up with the idea of boodle fight then they just give a bunch of food where people eat on their own plate. it makes things confusing when you introduce people to lets say adobo for the first time then they'd say "oh i already ate this b4 and it's called by another name". so people don't think that it's filipino food instead they think it's just a copy of a recipe of a different food called by a different name (not filipino food but just filipino inspired food).
I think the -silogs will go better too. It has different kinds of cured meat paired with sinangag (garlic fried rice) and itlog (fried egg). Silogs can have different combo and it's really an easy on the go meal. Pair it with pineapple juice or any sodas, it's a winner. I think it's a good gateway to filipino food, that is easy to do and easy to love as well.
Thanks for giving love to Pilipino food!! my fave dishes are sinigang & bangsilog! if you’re ever in the Bay Area gotta try Chibog in Daly City or Lucky Chances in Colma!! 😋
Hey Fung Bros, thanks a bunch for bringing up Filipino Food Awareness. My favorite dish is probably Beef Bistek (beef marinated and fried in soy sauce and lemon with onions). The only Filipino restaurant in my town is called Halo Halo. You bring up some good points about the struggle I think that preference can play a huge part as to what we like. The Philippines itself is very diverse and so we all have different biases that can affect the universality for each dish.
I think the creativity is there and the tasty factor is definitely there, what Filipino food needs is a hook to catch western attention. It needs to be something that is completely traditional yet approachable enough to westerners. The easiest is BBQ, this is why we need Mang Inasal in the states. If Westerners could get hooked on Filipino BBQ, then they would be more open to try other things. It could have the effect that Korean BBQ has where almost everyone I know got hooked on Korean cuisine because of it.
Thank you for bringing up Mang Inasal! This is my favorite of all the fast food chains. A uniquely Filipino marinade ….grilled meats …with a ‘nearly exotic’ presentation. It’s just something most people don’t expect from fast food… it would be seen by many as a kind of special treat . But with fast food prices. I think it would be enjoyed outside of the Philippines as well.
Growing up I always loved the typical staple dishes such as adobo, pancit, lumpia. As an adult who’s lived in NY, MIA and now Tampa I really don’t look for the food because I cook it myself. Only in NY and LA have I found legit Filipino food. I think Filipino food trucks could help popularize the cuisine and Filipino take out restaurants rather than sit in. Thanks for shining some light on the subject!
NY and LA are overrated. Other cities have better authentic Filipino restaurants, although the presentation is admittedly lacking. Filipino restaurants in NYC and LA, the issue is reversed: their presentation is excellent but the dishes do not really taste authentic or good as it should since they have been mostly compromised. That or the serving is too small while being overpriced. Lol.
In San Diego we got a place at the Liberty Station Public Market called White Rice. It's fast casual but the food is pretty traditional with some twists. Seems like they're doing well because they opened up a standalone shop recently.
I agree with most of the points here, especially the presentation part, which is why a lot of the street food ones tend to be more successful than "restaurant" concepts, because the food being offered are simple "bowls" like adobo with rice, salad, lechon, lumpia etc. Infact, I decided to post my own vlog series called "Penis Sarap" exploring Filipino food here in London & promoting Filipino cuisine establishments
When I was In the navy…. On shore duty, we had a kitchenette in our lobby. One day this chief that was staying there decided to make Filipino beef stew and it’s a clear type of broth. He asked me, do you want some? I’m like, okay. What is it? It’s our version of beef stew. I can say that’s it’s just as good as pho! I would definitely eat that dish hands down. I wish there was more Filipino restaurants to scope out.
As much as I love Jollibee, I was super disappointed to find when the opened their first Manhattan location next to Port Authority they didn't sell their Palabok out of that location and I believe they still don't to this day. I'm quite certain the same is likely true for their new Times Square location as well. I mean that's the most authentic filipino dish on their menu (even though they don't use the correct type of noodle) but the sauce is authentic enough and if enough people gave it a chance I think they'd love it. It's definitely my absolute personal favorite filipino dish and has been for years! I mean where is Jollibee's own confidence in Filipino food and culture if they're suppose to be the pioneers of at least introducing the idea of filipino food to the masses?!? Matter of fact, I was just at their American Dream location in New Jersey this past weekend and they didn't even have the Palabok listed on their menu screens above the cashiers, but they definitely had it when I asked the cashier. Largest filipino chain in the world and they don't even promote or encourage people to try the most filipino item on their menu, seems kinda silly to me.
Few Filipinos like Palabok and im one of them. I will never ever have non Filipinos eat Paksiw,Dinuguan,Tuyo,Bagoong,Palabok as well.They maybe savory for us ,but never for them. Ive been to different Fiestas and non Filipinos do not like once they sampled them.
@Elmhart PALABOK IS A M.MLA DISH .ITS LITERALLY NOT SERVED IN NORTHERN LUZON ,MINDANAO,VISAYAS ,BICOL .I WOULDNT BE SURPRISED IF JOLLIBEE DOESNT SERVE THEM IN MINDANAO!
@@truthhurtsalways4uTry bagoong with kare-kare bro. You'll probably enjoy it bro. (don't mind my username bro, I created this account when I was 12 bro)
The real question is: why does Filipino food have to be popular? It doesn't. Those who crave for Filipino food to be popular are just looking for external validation
I think the biggest hurdle for Filipino food to be mainstream is that , it takes a long time to cook the foods, say adobo if you have to cook it from fresh meat it will take at least 30 mins and customers will not wait for that (sit down restaurants already precooked the food) and most customers (Americans) don’t want an already cooked food sitting on a warmer for more than 30mins. Chinese/Korean/Japanese foods can be cook for about 5 to 10 minutes or less. We Filipinos need to figure out how can we cook food faster
in SF there are lot of dimsum stores that sell a rice plate with 2 items for $8.5 with plently of dimsum and variety of food sitting in a steamer/warmer . Filipino food can do that for adobo easy. its a braised item. no one anywhere is going to eat a braised to order food unless they don't mind a long wait lol
I’ve been looking for this comment!! This has been exactly the same as what I was telling to my american husband when we think and talk about putting up a Filo resto- almost every dish requires so much preparations and the time duration for cooking to achieve the most desired flavor and consistency of the food. It’s going to be a challenge to meet the most authentic flavor if cooked in restaurant in such a fast/quick manner. 😢
Filipino dishes I like: Beef or Goat Caldereta, Sisig, Laing (spicy), Binagoongan, Lechon Paksiw, Chicken Inasal, Pinakbet, Tinola, Pinaputok na Isda, Longganisa (We have a variety of it depending on which province it came from.), Kare-kare, Beef Tapa Desserts I like: Bibingka & Puto Bumbong (especially for this Christmas season), Maja Blanca, Pichi-pichi, Napoleones, Sans Rival, Buko Pie, Buko Pandan, Yema Cake, Crema de Fruta, Razon’s Halo-halo (has fewer ingredients: sweetened saba, macapuno, leche flan, evaporated milk.)
The Lola bowl, consists of Adobo garlic fried rice, topped with Lechon cracklings, fried egg, sweet BBQ reduction drizzle, side of roasted Patis marinated beets, and garnished with pickled scallion's sliced jalapenos and daikon cubes.
So Cal Filipino here, I saw Chinese food dominate the 80’s and 90’s… other Asian cuisine (Thai, KBBQ, Pho) all blew up in the 00’s because of their unique flavors. Filipinos restaurants should have dishes that make the cuisine unique and not just play it safe. I can see a Filipino restaurant that specializes in well made Sinigang (sour soup) and pinakbet (with bomb bitter melon) to really represent Filipino tastebuds as well as serving lumpia.
Very good analysis and fun opinion. To me it's all about adobo, pancit, egg rolls & lechon :snap: .. when the first Jollibees opened in chicagoland there were lines to get in for like a year (mostly asians though lol). Calmed down now, but happy to have it as a fast food option.
The problem is that the flavors are a little simple. Adobo is basically garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. It's good but not mind blowing amazing. Compared to a Thai chicken Curry, adobo lacks the depth of flavor from all of the spices used in Thai cuisine.
It's sad but true. Filipino food is good but mediocre compared to food from other countries. Thai food is an example. It wowed me: the complexity of flavours, aroma and texture, appearance and presentation, even nutritional and healthiness are superior.
Spices are overrated only by those who do not understand them; and how they are used to combine with other ingredients to elevate a dish into something greater. Generally, Thai cuisine uses more fresh ingredients(herbs and vegetables) and aromatics along with light seasoning rather than dried spices to achieve an appropriate balance between the disparate elements. Filipino food from what I've seen are on the simpler end, which isn't necessarily a bad thing(see Japan), but can be less appealing as it lacks the "exotic" aesthetic that is really needed to be able to make it abroad. What is also lacking though is proper marketing, presentation, and the general "poor" look of the food, which is were Japan does right as , while they lack complexity they more than make up in terms of quality of ingredients, sophistication, and marketing. Image really matters to...Yes different socioeconomic situations, cultures and all that, but I think that tackling these topics would be a good place to start.
Philippines even in our own country have competition with the same dishes but with different techniques in preparation, styles of cooking and ingredients. It's the same with local tribes and ethnic groups within the country that you can't just say one regional ethnic group would represent the entire Philippines and boom this is the Panda Express of the Philippines. Filipino food could be categorized on the demographic origins if they are from the flat lands, the mountains or beside bodies of water. It's mainly because the country is consisting of several islands that make it diverse and cannot just be generalized in one style of cooking. But if we are to simplify and just pick staple dishes would be Sinigang (which is my favorite), Dinuguan, Lumpia and Kare-Kare. You just have to argue the style of cooking you will carry as the national representation.
Kasama is a Michelin Starred restaurant in Chicago, and Abaca is a fine dining Filipino restaurant in San Francisco. In Seattle there are several fine dining Filipino venues, and in the fisherman’s market there is a vendor that makes a Michelin Starred Salmon Sinigang. Filipino food is becoming mainstream in America, especially with influences from Jo Koy, EZMil, R’Bonney Gabriel Miss Universe who is Filipino American from Houston, Texas!
I have to admit, I don't know if I've ever had authentic Filipino Food... I wouldn't go out of my way to try it but if it look good and it was in front of me, I'd probably try it... I still wanna get to Jollibees, never had it. I think Mike Chen's food channels slowly opened my eyes to other asian foods as well as this channel besides Cantonese cuisine, which I grew up with loving
Jollibee is gross and filipino food is inferior to Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine. But I do encourage people to try all foods so they experience it for themselves. If you crave more Spanish colonial flavor then eat Latin American cuisine. Most filipino dishes are shit versions of better dishes from other countries like China, India, or Spain.
The Filipino population is small and where they do pop up, there are often enough substitutes that it is difficult for it to stand out. For example, there is a Filipino restaurant that opened nearby within the last month. But, it has difficulty separating itself from the dozen or so Chinese BBQ restaurants in the few blocks around it.
Most popular fastfood in the PH right now is Jollibee and Mang Inasal. Whatever time of day, those places are packed. Gerry's Grill for a mid-range family restaurant which can also turn into a drinking/sports bar at night in some locations. Aristocrat for classic chicken bbq and java rice. And finally I'd say Manam can be a restaurant I'd like to see get an NYC or LA location to introduce the bomb pancit sisig and patis chicken wings for those looking for a new twist on filipino food. Manam is also always packed any location you go even if its more expensive for the masses.
I lived in the Philippines for 5 months as a person who grew up eating his mother's Korean food. I personally find Filipino cuisine unusually difficult due to the general flavor profile being all over the place. It's like eating chocolate ice cream with rancid ketchup. That's exactly what Filipino cuisine is. I know that the American-ized Filipino food in Hawai'i or Saipan is much better than the one in their native country.
To add to the Lola's cooking subject, it's not only thinking of grandma's cooking but in the Philippines, the same dish would almost be a whole new recipe if you went to the next city over. Some regions pack on the white vinegar, some add brown sugar randomly, some like spicy, some don't. It'd just be a bit complicated to choose the one true flavor to bring to the states to what Americans like as Filipino food outside of the Asian community. Plus the older generations measure with their eyeballs and the current gen can't quite get to how our parents and grandparents made it 😭
I would say that a recipe could be different in the same family. My dad makes my mom’s family’s recipe different than my mom. He insists it’s the recipe my maternal grandma made, but I keep arguing with him that he was adding too much stuff to his recipe for “red” adobo, that my mom and grandma never added.
@@francismesina9341 oh yes that's what would make it harder to have that "one true taste" of Filipino food to the general public. People could have a bad experience with Filipino food at one house but they'd love that same dish of someone else made it
Whole new recipe is a myth. Outside of adobo other filipino dishes have more standard recipes with some variations in ingredients due to availability. There might be some regional differences as seen with sisig but in general most follow a general standard otherwise the dish isn't recognizable. Take sinigang the ingredient that makes the soup sour might change but in general the taste will have little variation.
@@zhixci958 You're right but those little variations should not be underestimated. These variances can make a huge difference depending on a person's individual taste and response to a meal. The man or woman who said people that had a bad experience with a Filipino dish at one Filipino person's home, they would love the same dish by another Filipino person's recipe, is also right.
Adobo, Lumpia, Lechon, Tocino, Halo Halo, Sisig, Garlic rice pancit and soda pop served in a plastic bag with a straw! I also love the tiny little sweet sausages for breakfast with an egg over garlic rice. I lived in the Phil for a summer and stayed with my friend. Her family owns dorms that house women from the provinces that are in college. I never had to cook my entire time there, but enjoyed walking to the open markets with the girls to pick out ingredients that I liked. I was also in college at the time, but on break.
Thank you for this content. I’ve watched you guys devour all sorts of food, but giving some airtime to this subject was really thoughtful and classy of you bros.
Growing up in a Filipino household located in the province, I seldom in restaurants. I have compared how different the home-cooked meals are compared to the ones sold in restaurants. Filipino food is not just meat and everything oily and fried. At home, we eat lots of colorful vegetables from jute leaves, spinach, moringa leaves, squash, and every lentil you can find. One favorite is a meal made from shrimp and crabs with bamboo shoots, jute leaves, white sticky corn, and creamy coconut milk. These are not even found in restaurant menus. I think that most foreigners would argue about how oily the foods are but that is not entirely true. There are many areas of the Philippines unexplored, and many foods are uneaten. Homes from the provinces have unique food to offer when you're willing to try it. As long as you request unique foods out of vegetables, they will be willing to cook them for you. Here is the list of good food you might be interested in: 1. Tinolang manok (native chicken, lemon grass, ginger, and green papayo- some used sayote) 2. Laing (lots of creamy gata and gabi leaves) 3. Laswa (green and leafy vegetables) 4. Adobong sitaw (adobong stringbeans) 5. Kinalaw from kamote tops 6. Corn and malunggay soup 7. Fresh lumpia 8. Kilawing puso ng saging 9. Monggo with chili leaves 10. Ginisang ampalaya 11. Ubad (chicken, banana, and lentils) 12. Ginataang langka 14. Pakbet 15. Chopsuey 16. Sinigang
One Filipino dish which is difficult to make but I consider my go-to comfort food is Bopis - sauteed pork heart & lungs with diced onion and peppers. Buying organ meat is not so easy where I currently live, so everytime I see it in a Filipino restaurant menu I have to order it.
@@John77Doe menudo does have liver, but I would say bopis is closer to sisig in terms of flavor and how it's cooked :) Please try it when you get the chance!
A fast-casual / to-go store sounds awesome! You're right. It should focus on less than 10 dishes first. 1. Lumpia (egg/spring roll) 2. Sisig (the common version) 3. Adobo 4. Garlic fried rice 5. Caldereta (beef stew in tomato & cheese) 6. Lechon Kawali (this is the fried version) 7. Halo-halo (dessert/snack) 8. Ube cake and Ube ice-cream 9. Leche flan (like crème brûlée)
I think the flavours of every dish is too strong because we eat it together with rice. I tried Asiongs in Silang, Cavite I really appreciate their food you can feel and taste the simplicity of their dish
I think a modern take on the Filipino "Carinderia" which are road-side eateries where students and PUV drivers often eat is a good way to promote the food. It has variety, delicious meals and still have that Filipino character/vibe.
Authentic Filipino needs to have a home feel to it. Which I think will be lost when you try to make it into a let's say retail targeted cuisine. Like you said, there are a lot of variations and these mostly depends on geographical location. All of them are good. But, it's so good that you will want to stick to which variation you got to taste first. My mom's cooking is the best of all.
Well as a Filipino here who lives in the Philippines since birth, there are a lot and I mean A LOT of unique Filipino dishes by region and by ethnicity, it just cannot generalize it enough and there are delicious Filipino foods that doesn't involve popular ones like adobo, sinigang, etc. There the likes of ilocano's Ilocos Empanada (basically despite being called Empanada it's more like a Filipino tacos), ilonggo's pansit molo (our version of wanton noodle soup), la Paz batchoy, and many more. And what I noticed is that North Americans love their food to be "on the go" due to their urgent lifestyle so they prefer foods that can be eaten on the road and throw the remaining leftovers just as quick that's why they love foods that can be wrapped such as hamburger, burritos, hotdogs on the bun and in Asian delicacies meat buns, Korean corndogs, chow mein, Kung pao chicken, etc.. It's not because Filipino foods are ment to be homemade that doesn't mean it's restaurant version sucks, no, it's not like that it probably because most of its traditional variant aren't on-the-go enough for normal working class citizens to be patronised. And lastly maybe because most Filipino foods are always either swimming in soup or as an extension of on-the-go issue above is that it cannot be eaten by one hand and still see your hands neat and not covered in sauce afterwards; I mean we are hardly saw "dried" version of adobo in Filipino restaurant most of it are always swimming in oil fat or caramelized soy sauce and yes "dried" adobo like a roasted variant of adobo do exist and yet we never see or heard of it cooking in Filipino restaurants shown in this kind of shows, you get the idea where is this heading. Middle eastern already have their own on the go style dishes like shawarma, falafel, Japanese can go w/ sushi, onigiri and Bento lunches, Chinese has the meat buns, and yet Filipinos in the US still aren't capilaizing Filipinos foods to be on the go as much as the others.
I've eaten authentic Iloilo batchoy decades ago with puto that is not free. I found it overrated. same with the pancit sa bilao in Sampaloc, Manila. I was like, 'what's the big deal?'
Pinoys don't know how to spot an opportunity if it stares them in the face. Like my province is resource rich. We supply cattle to a major corned beef brand. We have a major livestock industry but no one thought of starting a dairy industry. No one sells milk here or makes cheese
I honestly think the answer as to why Filipino food is a lot more underrated than other cuisine, even from our fellow Southeast Asian neighbors, is because of a simpler fact: rice. Every dish that you can cook, and no matter if you present it aesthetically or as simple as plain, home-cooked meal looking one, is nothing without rice. To put it simply: almost every Filipino dish IS NOTHING BUT A SIDE DISH. In a Filipino's perspective, there's no main dish aside from a bowl of rice; everything else, be it fancy or not is there to serve as flavoring and additional texture to it.That's why every Filipino dish that you can cook is strongly flavored - it is never meant to be eaten alone like a main dish. It is extra salty or sour because the rice is needed to balance the flavor out. Ergo, our cuisine, whatever the regional variation, is created to serve a completely specific purpose: MAKE A FLAVORED RICE. And this is the thing that Westerners couldn't just get a grasp on, as majority of them, don't even consider rice as a staple food for the plain reason that their culture is not a rice-eating culture. So, to help in changing the perspective, try to link it perhaps in a Western dish that doesn't make sense getting eaten without rice. The perfect example? Paella. There you go: think about the Filipinos as a Paella-loving nation. We love nothing more than eating flavored and stuffed rice. It's complete, staple and it makes us full. Then using that as the fundamental logic, think further about the Filipino cuisine as simply being the world's peak customizable Paella menu. Think about Adobo not as simply Adobo but rather Adobo-flavored rice; Kare-kare not as Kare-kare itself but rather Kare-kare flavored rice etc. Of course, some can still be eaten by itself, such as soups (Sinigang, Nilaga, Tinola, Bulalo, Lomi etc.) and fried foods (Lechon, Crispy Pata, Lumpia etc.)and that's where rice would perhaps serve as side dish instead. Still, IT'S ALWAYS BETTER WITH RICE. I hope this helps the foreigners looking into our local cuisine understand the Filipino food thought process better.
Somewhat agree but you really did not hit the mark. What makes Filipino food underrated is how a lot of Filipino dishes tend to not be aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. If only Filipino cooks take the time to make their dishes look more aesthetic, rather than looking like it has been randomly slapped together, you'll see way more non-Filipinos be interested to try out Filipino food.
@@fvm8906 bruh , did you carefully read and understood my response? I already said that whether aesthetic or not, the essence of Filipino cuisine is centered around rice. When you have a rice meal, making it aesthetic is not the purpose; making you full is. Thus, rice meals are not supposed to look beautiful -- it's supposed to make you feel at home. Do you prep your meals at home like you're in a 5-star restaurant? Like, I get the need to make it look pleasing to the eyes, but our culture isn't just geared towards presentation. Presentation isn't what we need, we need to feel that the food being prepared to us is shown some love. We don't need to see it, just feel and taste it. We like our food be prepared the way we want to see our meals being served by our mothers in our own house. We don't care about how it looks; we Filipinos just love eating. Capiche?
@@Diyel The topic being discussed is how to get Filipino food attract more non-Filipinos and one of the big ways to do this is through the restaurant business or maybe some other avenue. Presentation is vital to do so, like it or not. And that's if Filipinos are willing to take that extra step. If not, then don't be surprised if Filipino food will probably stay niche. But of course you are satisfied with that it seems.
Cope. Westerners make up about 1/5 people on the planet and their regions are mostly multi cultural. If the food was good it would have caught on and if not there in other places it would have
Is it also probably because most of the food being hyped up are the ones from Manila and Luzon? Mang Inasal is so hyped, but there are way better chicken inasals than that. Sinigang and bulalo also one, but have people tried kansi or nilaga Ilonggo version? Humba instead of adobo (though adobo is love), batchoy and pancit molo instead of the usual lugaw and. goto. The thing is, some of the regional food are barely promoted or served in Manila where most of the foreigners come.
I'm not a chef, but as a Filipino, this video got me thinking about some fusion with predominantly Filipino flavors... Soup dumplings x sinigang, pizza and tacos x sisig
Sinigang doesn’t have vinegar. It has tamarind, which is similar to Thai Tom Yum soup. Many Southeast Asian cuisines use tamarind as a souring agent in our food.
The biggest reason in my opinion is the changing menu. When non-Filipinos go to a Filipino restaurant, they want to have a dish they’re familiar with. If they can’t have it, they’ll go somewhere else. They are not going to risk eating something they don’t know without a guide they trust. It’s hard enough to make some one try something new. I’ve introduced MANY non-Filipinos to Filipino BBQ, lumpia, Inasal, adobo, menudo, Filipino curry, Pancit, Filipino chop suey, Tinola, sinigang, arroz caldo. These are the more approachable dishes and they are usually a big hit. However, if it’s not guaranteed that those items will be there, they’re not gonna go by themselves.
I understand why the menu changes because they are catering to Filipinos who go there all the time and want variety. But non-Filipinos need to be introduced to the more approachable dishes first, before trying the more exotic dishes.
For example, my wife really like Tinola, Bulalo, Arroz Caldo, Sinigang, Lomi. But in many Filipino restaurants it’s never a guarantee that any of these will be served there that specific day.
Thanks for talking about this as I've been wondering about this for a few years now. I'm not smart enough to know how to popularize this cuisine but sinigang must absolutely be sour to taste. I even know white and latin folks who date filipino's who share the same sentiment.
There are Filipino foods that are very similar to foods in Latin America: Afritada ( Guisado in PRand DR), Menudo, Escabeche, Bobotu ( Tamales) , Lechon Kawali ( Chicharron) etc, etc.
Filipino cuisine and Filipino culture was influenced by both india and indonesia. The Philippines is part of the indosphere which is something you all failed to mention. The Kawi script and Baybayin are indic scripts used in the Philippines in pre colonial times which in turn was derived from the Pallava scripts of Southern india. There are Hindu and Buddhist artifacts that are almost 1, 000 years old from the Philippines. A lot of Filipino words are derived from Sanskrit and Tamil. Indian influences can also be noted in rice-based delicacies such as ''[[bibingka]]'' (analogous to the Indonesian ''Bibingka#Bibingka in Indonesia|bingka]]''), ''[[Puto (food)|puto]]'', and ''[[puto bumbong]]'', where the latter two are plausibly derived from the South Indian cuisine ''[[puttu]]'', which also has variants throughout Maritime Southeast Asia (e.g. ''[[kue putu]]'', ''[[putu mangkok]]''). The ''[[kare-kare]]'', more popular in Luzon, on the other hand could trace its origins from the [[Seven Years' War]] when the [[British occupation of Manila|British occupied Manila]] from 1762 to 1764 with a force that included Indian [[sepoy]]s, who had to improvise Indian dishes given the lack of spices in the Philippines to make [[curry]]. This is said to explain the name and its supposed thick, yellow-to-orange [[annatto]] and peanut-based sauce, which alludes to a type of curry. [[Atchara]] originated from the [[Indian cuisine|Indian]] ''[[South Asian pickle|achar]]'', which was transmitted via the [[acar]] of the [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Brunei]].
Unfortunately I’ve never tried the food but the way people push it wanting others to like it seems so desperate. Nobody has to convince that Italian food is good it just is. 😂
Home style food Hmmmmm yup agree with that And also adobo here in the Philippines has many different types or variation depending on the region who is cooking it.
My favorite Filipino restaurant (although not in the U.S. to my knowledge) is Mang Inasal. Why there isn’t one here is beyond me. The food is soooooo delicious! 🤤
I live in Idaho. I think there are only like 3 Filipino restaurants here. Two of them are near an air force base. The state is like 90% caucasian, and the usual diet is typically low salt, low fat, no MSG, non-spicy, non-garlicky. Filipino food will be a tough sell unless it changes the way Mexican and Chinese food changed drastically when they were introduced to the US. Add that to the fact that a lot of Filipinos, when they move to the US, they want financial stability and setting up a restaurant isn't exactly the most financially stable venture. The Vietnamese and the Chinese are just more aggressive in setting up restaurants. Also, they have already figured out what modification they need to make on their food to be appreciated by the Western market. Filipinos in the US have yet to figure out what tweaks they need to make. And if they do make those tweaks, they'd probably be scrutinized for not being authentic enough. It happens all the time on TH-cam/Facebook.
It's possible to make those tweaks without losing authenticity. Filipino cooks and most Filipino chefs just has not figured it out yet. Some have but there needs to be more of them if Filipinos want their authentic food to be popular with non-Filipinos in general. Jollibee does not count. Lol.
In my opinon, Filipino food is all about being organic and, unfortunately, countries like the US do not have organic Filipino ingredients. You settle with frozen goods which makes it more unhealthy to the eyes of these people. Imagine frozen ube. Chinese and Japanese cuisine are more popular because they are able to mass produce the ingredients to such countries.
Or maybe we Filipinos should start revolutionizing the recipes to cater ingredients available to other countries. In the first place, that is what Filipino food is all about, cooking the recipe using available ingredients.
Speaking from growing up and still living in the Philippines. I kinda have a feeling that although there is Filipino food abroad. I think there is a lack of enough knowledge of Fil-ams (especially those who have never been here) on what is Filipino food beyond sinigang, adobo, lumpia, and all the mainstream Filipino food available there is . You mentioned that we don't have the "freshness" of the Vietnamese or the thai but we do have salads and we even have our own form of ceviche called kinilaw, we also have our own pickling called atchara and enselada. You also mentioned that it is not a power food, but here we actually have restaurants specifically serving "power food" 24 hrs a day or pretty late at night and very early in the mornings called pares houses and carinderias, serving bang for your buck meals to power you up for the rest of the day. That's the thing with Filipino food it is actually designed to be power foods or food that you eat to give you strength for the rest of the day, but again lack enough exposure and knowledge. Another thing, there are tons of similarities in South East Asian cuisines but because South East Asian cuisine is not really widely popular, it is often misrepresented and misunderstood. This is saddening because there are a lot of Filipino content creators that actually showcase what Filipino food is but because a lot of people who post about cuisines generally, those that do feature Filipino food with a global or a bigger platform will not necessarily explain in detail the different types of say Adobo in the Philippines because adobo in itself has lots of variants, one doesn't even use soy sauce. Its more of a lack of ample research than anything. Because if you are gonna represent a whole country's cuisine, i hope people would at least try to research because there is a lot of available information here, recipes included. And those mainstream dishes that you mentioned, are only available in Luzon (where Metro Manila is). Dishes from the provinces of say Visayas and Mindanao are not even included. So one can't really represent our country's cuisine without including all of the flavors of the Philippines. And I hope for those who do have the power to represent Filipino cuisine globally will actually include the whole of the Philippines. Maybe at least try to research more and learn the traditional ways of creating Filipino dishes before creating your own twist to it because having not enough knowledge would just make your dish lose its essence and your goal and that is to represent a culture. Filipino Food Channels here worth following FeaTr Ninong Rhy Chef Jp Anglo Filipino Recipe Websites: Yummy Ph Pepper Ph Panlasang Pinoy Hope these will help.
I do agree that the reason why Filipino food isn't popular because it doesn't look appealing to an average American. For example Dinuguan or chocolate meat looks like slop and some people would be grossed out because it is cook pork's blood. Arroz Caldo and even Sotanghon (filipino version of chicken noodle soup) are also good entry dishes other lumpia and adobo. Sotanghon is a good thing to cook, especially whenever you are sick. On the flipside, Jollibee is getting quite popular. Mango pies from there are way better than the apple pies from McDonald's. Also, the gravy over the chicken is awesome.
Wow! I just wrote an essay for my business class about what business to put up if I were an entrepreneur and I chose Filipino restaurant focusing on serving Filipino noodle soups! Introducing filipino food this way is very innovative and very marketable too since many people like Asian noodle soups such as Japanese ramen, Vietnamese pho, korean tofu stew, etc. P.S. Whoever sees my comment and uses my idea as inspiration for their Filipino restaurant, dont forget to thank me. 😁
Good point. I go to Spain a lot. Almost everything I see on the dinner table in Spain, the Filipinos has a similar version of it. The Spanish food is not very popular in America either. Both cuisine doesn’t compromise. It’s very exotic and it’s always always an acquired taste. This is just my 2-cents.
My issue is texture: intestines, pig ears, offal cuts, just not my jam. Love that they eat nose to tail. Just can't handle the crunchy textures. Not a tendon person. Maybe focus more on the more western dishes, like chicken adobo or lumpia. Sesig is not for the faint of heart.
In my opinion why it's not popular is because the presentation of the food. To get other race to try the food they look for the nice presentation like you would see in food network. Us Filipinos we don't do that fancy stuff, we just want to eat alot. Have yall ever ate at a fancy restaurant, it's expensive and they give you a tiny amount of food but the presentation is like Bobby flay made it? Then when u get home your still hungry and ate the left over chicken adobo lol 😆
@@DemonFox369 be adventurous and give it a try when you get a chance. The style of cooking may vary because depending on which part of the Philippines they're frm, they might have a few extra ingredients on a dish that you may find other Filipino dont add. Not all adobo are cook the same but similar 🤷♂️
No excuse for Filipinos to not try making their food with nice aesthetics. If other nationalities could visually modify their food to look more appetizing, so can Filipinos.
not an excuse, that's just lowballing imagine going to a fancy restaurant then served a non fancy looking filo dish like what you're seeing in karinderyas.
If you wish to taste that authentic filfood visit the country and try different food in every island has different taste and style the twist is just like the island that in every island has its own dialect and it has a different style and version of that taste try it and make it difference
I've had the stalest-looking filipino food blow my mind, but I've also seen some of the most elaborate, beautiful presentations of it too, tasty across the board.
The thing with Pinoy food that I think most foreigners misunderstand is that they think the dishes themselves are stand alone meals like an American steak or a Burger, and you can just have an optional side dish like potatoes or fries with it if you like. But for me, Filipino food is basically Rice with everything as a Topping. No Rice, no good. The first thing people complain about when trying traditional Pinoy food is that the dishes are too salty, too bitter, too sweet, too sour or too spicy. And the reason is usually because they eat the dishes without rice. Rice, like water, is the universal base of Pinoy food. Too spicy? Eat rice. Too bitter or sweet? Eat rice with it. Too sour or salty? Eat rice with. Filipino cuisine is basically a huge diverse Rice Toppings menu. And the way they've tried to market it to the west is to sell the dish without the rice. That's like asking people to drink coffee without water.
Either too sweet, too salty, swimming in grease and heavy on the pork, the presentation scares Westerners . You go to a Filipino restaurant and all you see is Filipinos eating there.
My apologies, as far as food goes...except for certain specialty food, Chinese food rules! From the Cantonese bread and butter (sorry, bad pun🤭) food to hot pot Sichuan to Yunnan bridge noodles to the Uyigurs's Rou Jia Mo, Shanghaiese xiao longbao etc...we survived decades, if not centuries of colonial rule in tens of nation states from Cuba to Madagascar to Malaysia to Toronto to Tehran to London😊 I'm somehow surprised yuen-yeung never got caught on smh, weird😆 Food capitals outside China mainland...KL, Singapore and HK, of course.
They should try Mang Inasal chicken. A restaurant chain with barbecue chicken Filipino style is gonna gonna be a hit! Along with Pancit Luglog, Sisig, Kare-kare. Sooo goood!
You can't compare the Indonesian case to the Filipino, to start with Indonesian diaspora in the US is very low, Indonesia has a relatively small relationship with the US post world war, so it makes sense that Indonesian food is not that popular in the US. It is different where the Philippines have a close tight relationship with the US and have the highest population among southeast asian nationals, so their food not being popular regardless huge amount of immigrants there says something about their food. In Indonesia look at the Netherlands for example as an ex-colonial and where most Indonesian diasporas reside. Indonesian food in the Netherlands is common and some are already assimilated into local cuisines, it is easy to find Indonesian cuisines and food products in the Netherlands, can you say the same for the Philippines? does it easy to find Filipino food and food products in Spain ?. So it is not apple to apple to compare Indonesian cuisine case to Filipino.
One of the only places I know in Phoenix, AZ that sells Filipino food is Halo Halo Kitchen and I still really want to go there someday! Edit: There is also a Jolibee's that opened up recently, and that is another place I want to go to as well, but it's a bit of a drive.
My issue with Filipino cuisine is lack of flavor aside from adobo and them trying to charge people like they’re a high end restaurant in NYC but using the cheapest cuts of everything. Lumpia is just a spring roll.
Most of it is Culinary Linguistics, Filipino Cuisines are named in Foreign Language that usually Prestigious in the times of the creation of it's Recipes. In my observations, the neighbors of the Philippines gotten their Influences from the Philippines in making their Foods. Most of the Popular Foods in East Asian, Southeast Asian Cuisines is just a recent phenomenon, mostly of them starting to developed at the start of 19th century, but the Philippines already had that during 18th century, and many American New Inventions is first started in the Philippines. Even many desserts is already created here and most of them are spread thru Out Asia by Filipinos and Tourism in the Philippines during the early 19th Century.
I don’t think Filipino needs to be popularized, not that it doesn’t deserve it, but it doesn’t need popularity. It stands on its own and is what it is. Some people love it and get it and others don’t 🤷🏻♂️. There are way more unpopular cuisines than there are popular ones. The Fung Bros raised a lot of good points. There are many chefs tweaking the recipes to make it pop on a large scale, but whether it breaks through into popularity is neither here nor there. It’s delicious and genius for the ones that love it, and it’s not for the ones that don’t, and that’s ok! The other southeast Asian cuisines outside of Viet and Thai are not popular, but are absolute BANGERS. Popularity is for the birds.
Theres something people miss out with Filipino food: the main dish is the rice, everything else is a side. Missing the rice would make the the food too strong for western taste.
I appreciate this video as a Filipino American thank you! …. Opening up a Filipino truck in manhattan New York soon .. focusing on bbq Filipino sticks only chicken and pork .. might add some lumpia in there !!
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm Hispanic but my wife is Filipina and she have me taste Filipino food boy my head was spinning like a globe filled with joy. My favorite foods are Lechon kawali,cripsy pata,bulaklakakan,Jollibees,lumpia,bulalo,fish pompano tinola,etc. Because I'm Hispanic they've Spanish style foods like bulalo,relleno,adobo,lechon,empanadas,etc.
paella, minudo , mechado let your wife tey cook you that too :D
As a Filipino I recommend banana cue/turon since you mentioned mainly savory dishes. But it's so funny that Jollibee is included as a filipino food because it totally is 😂
Most of the things you mentioned are just deep friend greasy mess
@@johnnyairplane2896 grease is good
@@johnnyairplane2896 You sounded very arrogant.. Full of negativity.. Bad vibes.
A bit of correction, but SInigang doesn't use Suka(vinegar) typically, it's usually sour fruits, like tamarind, tomatoes, mangoes etc. Very rarely is it used, because Filipino cuisine has a vinegared based soup/broth too, it's called paksiw, which is a style of cooking which literally translate to stew/simmer in vinegar. It's the same on paper, but they have very different flavor profiles, Sinigang is tangy, while Paksiw is acidic.
nah... not gonna put mangoes pls remove this you never gonna see it on our sinigang or ever mentioned.... only tamarind, tomatoes, calamansi or rarely bilimbi...
A bit of correction as well. Never in the history of Filipino cuisine were mangoes added to Sinigang, even as a substitute. Tamarind or Bilimbi (Kamias) are the two main ingredients that make the sinigang sour.
You forgot cotton fruit(santol)
@@Blackfly032 You're trying to correct an existing Filipino recipe, which is SIningang sa Mangga. There are multiple recipes online, even family based recipes that use Mangga for their sinigang.
@@helloccmist I'm pure blooded Filipino, the fact that you haven't hear of sinigang sa mangga means, you haven't really explored Filipino cuisine outsie of your locality. Sinigang sa Mangga exist, and have always been used for Sinigang.
I moved to the Philippines 4 years ago and I'm obsessed with Sisig and Halang Halang.
Adobo and sinigang are great too
Appreciate you exploring this topic! As a Filipino-American, I often feel frustrated with my fellow Fil-Ams when they diss a new Filipino restaurant since it’s not as good as their mom’s/Lola’s. If that keeps happening, the cuisine will be forever relegated to the kitchen and will never blow up! I love the suggestion to focus on the top dishes to market: adobo, lumpia, etc. A Filipino Panda Express? Pandan Express, perhaps?
Lot of Filipinos have Crab Mentality.
This is why Filipinos will never have a set recipe bc everyone is always trying to one up each other. If you look at our language, there's thousands of dialects other than Tagalog but why? We're always adding or editing the recipe in some way. It has its ups and downs for sure.
@@unwine main reason for not having a set of recipe is the fact that the Philippines is an Archipelago and has multiple regions and each region has their own version of certain recipe (e.g. Adobo has the standard recipe, then there is also an Adobong Puti, and Adobong Tuyo).
@@janrendon465 That's what makes it so unique as well. Wet, dry, tender and even crispy variations make it hard to settle on just one recipe. Matamis or maasim? Decisions! I can happily say that the Jollibee close to me is now serving adobo fried rice.
That just shows that they are filipino 😢
I think Filipino food has some interesting parallels to Indian food that somehow work to help Indian food while hurt Filipino food. Both have lots of soups and stews that aren’t as visually appealing, but Indian curries tend to have more bright baby food colored sauces whereas Filipino stews are often dark… browns, greens and even black. Both cuisines tend to be flavor packed and typically served with rice to balance out the flavors, but Indian food hits you with spices and heat where Filipino food hits you with salt and sweet or salt and sour.
Indian food is overpowering.. the Flavor is Exagerated. Which makes most of the people around the world hate it
couldn’t have said it better
man the brown greens and blacks are just perfect hahahhaa.
Yeah 80 percent of filipino food has vinegar
I find it just as interesting that Ethiopian cuisine shares similar spices and cooking methods that Indian cuisine does. Hmmm…kindof makes you wonder as to how influential the Silk Road truly was and why spices were so prized back in the old days. I can’t imagine life without spices.
I think an adobo concept would actually be tough. Reason is that everyone's family cooks adobo and they are all different. It is easily a dish that divides.
I think Mang Inasal (Filipino Grilled Chicken) would actually have an AMAZING chance at succeeding. They are owned by Jollibee, it's grilled chicken and fucking delicious, it sorta fits fast casual, and maybe most important... Even though it is Filipino, most Filipinos don't cook it at home. It is a great crossover dish too. Not too sweet and not too sour.
It's been gaining popularity in the Philippines too.
I second this!!! Chicken Inasal is next
It's always been popular in the Philippines. You will notice what's fast food in the Philippines is not homecooked or party food. So stuff like Mang Inasal definitely works internationally, it's like Nando's but Philippine version.
@@redfullmoon it was pretty popular when I visited 10 years ago, but it seemed more regional. It definitely is not that well known in the US and not served at resto often.
I've made it myself, but it's more work than most Filipino dishes. I think your average home cook wouldn't really do it so often, so it works as a resto concept really well.
Havent been back home in 16 yrs, just heard of Mang in the past 2 yrs. Yeah, i mentioned Mang as 1 of the resturants to bring to the states in a local FB Filipino culture group, even thought I NEVER tasted any of it, lol
I agree about the adobo. I like my mom’s adobo and I’ve ordered adobo at two different Filipino restaurants and they weren’t good. They were very salty.
Here in Memphis, we have a family-owned Filipino restaurant called Casarap, which makes delicious banana lumpia, chicken adobo, halo halo, and other traditional Filipino dishes. They sometimes make free soup to go with their combo meals all for less than $20 a meal. I try to tell my coworkers about it, but I still have yet to hear from one person who went to that restaurant, partly because the restaurant doesn't open during nighttime. While I'm probably still a noob when it comes to Filipino food, I would say that in general, as a Chinese American, I like it. Same goes for my boyfriend who is fully white.
Banana lumpia? You mean turon? That shit's the bomb! The thought of it is makin'me crave for it already! 🤤
It ain't Filipino unless there is soup with the combo meal
Here in the Philippines we have carenderia everywhere, ay kasarap!
Racism is everywhere even in food
Turon
First time Ive seen anyone not generalize Pinoy cuisine and actually hit almost every mark.
My fave Filipino dishes are Kare-Kare, Laing, Sizzling Sisig, and Lumpiang Ubod! Unfortunately, there aren't any Filipino restaurants nor Filipino local stores where I live (northwestern Germany). When I first arrived here, I would still call my mom back home whenever I cook certain Filipino dishes. But after awhile, I just grew tired of cooking them since looking for authentic ingredients alone is already tedious since most Asian shops here sell Vietnamese, Thai or Indonesian versions of our local ingredients and they don't really taste the same. So, I'll have to wait til come back to the Philippines to be able to eat Filipino dishes again. It's been 8 yrs since the last time I visited but at least I got to eat Adobo rice and Chickenjoy when I visited Jollibee in NYC last month! Haha
Come to Winnipeg if you want to get great Filipino food of all sorts, there might be 30 Filipino restaurants in Winnipeg alone, dozens of bakeries, you can get a full lechon on 24 hour notice, sinigang kits at grocery stores, lumpia is a Christmas buffet item here.
My friends and i were talking adobo is the new balut. Everytime a foreigner speaks of Filipino food, adobo is now in the forefront. The lack of filipino food presence in global cuisine has been a discussion among foodies here for ages and tbh, i'm actually fine with filipino food not being that popular especially in the west. I see our cuisine as a hidden gem. A hole-in-a wall joint waiting to be stumbled upon and yes, i need to bring this up, there's more to filipino food than adobo, lumpia, sinigang and even lechon considering how diverse the regions are here.
I mean it's cool that there's a growing interest on our cuisine, regardless the interest blow up or not, i think the curiosity will always be there.
I actually never thought if it that way. Good point!
adobo already have had that rep since mid 2000s before social media. When newspapers were still a thing I remember reading about how in some Pinoy food expo by embassy etc., foreigners were so enamored with adobo and immediately attacked it over other Pinoy dishes. Which I don't get. Given the choice I would avoid eating adobo for a decade. I'm so sick of it 😂
@@cosmicgalaxystudio1539 not the first time I've heard of that mindset before and I thought it's actually selfish. Now I'm indifferent. If it becomes globally famous then awesome. If not then so be it.
@@alice_agogo i've encountered foreigners that act all high and mighty when flexing their filipino cuisine knowledge idk why they need to do that. Very strange. I guess given that a lot of Filipinos yearn for global validation they feel the need to exert their role? Doesn't work for me unfortunately. 😆
Prior the 00s, balut was the gateway to filipino food. Especially the 80s and 90s. Emotions and local curiosity perk up when seeing foreigners (especially westerners) eat one. It's a gateway and an icebreaker. Especially to ordinary pinoys, the reactions of foreigners eases the cultural gap and makes socializing easier and much interesting.
Newspapers were a thing? Hahaha never felt so Jurassic. I just finished reading the broadsheet of PDI before i went on this app. 😆😆😆
@@thebookreader287 i actually read it on pdi though we stopped subscribing around 2009 I think
Favorite Filipino dish is by far Bikol Express.
There are no Filipino restaurants in my city
But I'm starting one up with my buddy. We have been building slowly doing everything you have said and are very conscious of how we are going to build this thing because we do want it to blow up here in the states and we want to be the ones to do it. I literally told my partners that I want to be the Panda express of the Philippines. Wish us luck!
😊😊 wish u more luck!! Go and make Filipino dishes popular
There’s a company called Senor Sisig that makes Filipino burritos in SF. Started as a food truck and always had lines down the block
Yes my Bay Area peeps representing!!!! Yes!!!
Big hugs for you both . Thanks for doing this … You’re always been Filipino food supporters … Let’s make this happen … Popularize Filipino Food !!!!
YEEESSS!!!! I may not be Filipino, but I support your comment very much!!!! :)
Lumpia. Grew up in SF and will always be grateful to my HS classmate Mirna, who one day literally brought me uncooked lumpia from home so I could taste it freshly cooked when I got home from school that day. I was hooked after that. She wrote down the recipe and I've been making it ever since. That was uh, a lot of years ago.
Senor Siisig is big in the bay area. E40 has a lumpia restaurant too.
That's so nice of her.
The meat didn't spoil while at school?
@@alice_agogo Nope. She lived nearby so it wasn't out that long. Also ground meat is cooked before the lumpia is assembled. Good question tho!
With regards to spice... Most of our spices are in our dips and condiments because spice tends to be more optional in our cuisine.
Some people say that our cuisine isn't popular because it's not spicy, but Japanese cuisine is popular despite not being spicy. Personally I think that Filipino cuisine is underrated because it's not well promoted like other cuisines.
To be honest, cuisines are yummy all over the world and palate is the most subjective of all human senses. Mexican, Japanese, Chinse, Italian, Korean, Indian, Thai etc.... All those peoples have been exporting cultural exoticism and cultural industry to significant levels in areas outside of the kitchen.
Our country Problem is Culinary Linguistics, many Filipino Recipes are named on the Prestigious Language of the era of their creations, hence many Filipino Dishes with Spanish Names are just dismissed as Spanish influenced and they would never thought it as the other way around. It's the same to current New Filipino Recipes which is named in English, and don't be surprised most them are just copied by other nationalities and past it as a normal American or Western dish. I observed it in Online(and even Traditional Recipe Books) where many Asians are copying or taking inspirations of Filipino recipes, making them a little bit different and naming it in their language, and sell it as Fast Food or in their restaurants. Most of these recipes lacked Historical Evidence and the ingredients are just follow suit through importation of it where the ingredients is availably sourced. It's common in East Asian Countries.
@@romeocivilino6667 I get the point, but it's honestly kind of far-fetched... A lot of Mexican and other Latin American dishes also have Spanish names and they are admired and praised.
Mexican food are popular around the world hence tacobell
@@mysterycharm03Not in Europe. Mexican food is overrated in the Americas. The best dishes are European, East Asian and Thai. Filipino food is awful.
I grew up around lots of filipino people and aunties so i absolutely love filipino food and i hope more people learn about the culture and food.
The Panda Express of Pinoy food is a fast food chain that owned by Jollibee, it is called "Mang Inasal" which serves a specific delicious Filipino version of roasted barbecue chicken with rice. All menu options are traditional Filipino dishes and foreigners have enjoyed the flavors.
As a filipina, I always love to see Filipino content. I agree, Filipino food is bomb but doesn't get enough love. However, I do cook it myself and whenever I present it to people they love it! My Spanish boyfriend loves Adobo, Sisig, Lumpia, and Halo Halo. Here in Denver, they recently opened Manila Bay in Aurora which is the best traditional Filipino food in the city. Another spot called Adobo is run by a half Filipino who infused Filipino with New Mexican style food and it's great. His food truck actually gets a lot of buzz since it's posted outside the bars in a trendy area, RiNo. My personal favorites are lumpia, pancit palabok, and tinalong. I agree that Filipino food can be turned off to a lot of people because we do like sour. Even myself, as I've gotten older and eat a cleaner diet, I can't eat much Filipino food because it does bloat me with the sodium. However, I'll always deal with the consequences on the occasions I do have it!!
I go to the Philippines regularly, there's a few great dishes but overall it falls short to other EA/SEA food. You can find great Thai, Viet, Malaysian, Indonesian street food but cheap Filipino food (under $2) ain't great
If you're ever in London (UK), you have to go try out Kasa & Kin, I think it nails what Filipino restaurants need to do. The food keeps all the notable flavours of the dish but it's arranged in a western fashion. They have their own bakery (great for sharing Filipino food outside of the restaurant) and a Karaoke on the bottom floor (I've never been).
For desserts, you have to try out Mamasons, it's a Filipino Ice cream parlour, they've been doing really well and this year, they opened their 3rd branch (a kiosk) in a popular shopping mall. Their aesthetic is simple but very Filipino at the same time, you can tell a lot of thought went into how they present their brand and food.
Another restaurant worth mentioning, is Cirilo, the restaurant has been around for a while, and sees a good amount of traffic but still not enough imo. The head chef (also the owner) there has taught and coached many of the up and coming Filipino chefs.
Kasa & Kin and Mamasons are doing an exceptional job with their food and brand, and they've chosen really great locations to give themselves a better shot. I hope more Filo restaurants can open up in Central London soon.
Some other Filo restaurant recs:
Ramo Ramen (Locations are in or around central London) - Filipino stew flavoured Ramen!
Spoon and rice (multiple locations) - they have the best Turon I've ever tasted.
Romulo (Central London)
Ading Ysa's Kitchen (South London) - home cooked style food, they have tapsilog and beef bulalo!
Of course, can't forget Jollibee (Central London/Leicester Square, or Earl's Court).
I'm planning to go to other well rated ones in the next year.
suggestion: call it as it is. some filipino restaurants in US use different names and claim it as their own recipe or idea. ie. they cook bicol express and call it coconut creamy pork dish or chicken adobo as marinated chicken dish, then they say they came up with it and just used filipino inspiration. just call it your take on chicken adobo. some say they invented kamayan then they give spoon and fork or say they came up with the idea of boodle fight then they just give a bunch of food where people eat on their own plate. it makes things confusing when you introduce people to lets say adobo for the first time then they'd say "oh i already ate this b4 and it's called by another name". so people don't think that it's filipino food instead they think it's just a copy of a recipe of a different food called by a different name (not filipino food but just filipino inspired food).
If a restaurant do that, it should close.
I think the -silogs will go better too. It has different kinds of cured meat paired with sinangag (garlic fried rice) and itlog (fried egg). Silogs can have different combo and it's really an easy on the go meal. Pair it with pineapple juice or any sodas, it's a winner. I think it's a good gateway to filipino food, that is easy to do and easy to love as well.
Thanks for giving love to Pilipino food!! my fave dishes are sinigang & bangsilog! if you’re ever in the Bay Area gotta try Chibog in Daly City or Lucky Chances in Colma!! 😋
Hey Fung Bros, thanks a bunch for bringing up Filipino Food Awareness. My favorite dish is probably Beef Bistek (beef marinated and fried in soy sauce and lemon with onions). The only Filipino restaurant in my town is called Halo Halo. You bring up some good points about the struggle I think that preference can play a huge part as to what we like. The Philippines itself is very diverse and so we all have different biases that can affect the universality for each dish.
What city is halo halo at?
I think the creativity is there and the tasty factor is definitely there, what Filipino food needs is a hook to catch western attention. It needs to be something that is completely traditional yet approachable enough to westerners. The easiest is BBQ, this is why we need Mang Inasal in the states. If Westerners could get hooked on Filipino BBQ, then they would be more open to try other things. It could have the effect that Korean BBQ has where almost everyone I know got hooked on Korean cuisine because of it.
Thank you for bringing up Mang Inasal! This is my favorite of all the fast food chains.
A uniquely Filipino marinade ….grilled meats …with a ‘nearly exotic’ presentation. It’s just something most people don’t expect from fast food… it would be seen by many as a kind of special treat . But with fast food prices. I think it would be enjoyed outside of the Philippines as well.
Growing up I always loved the typical staple dishes such as adobo, pancit, lumpia. As an adult who’s lived in NY, MIA and now Tampa I really don’t look for the food because I cook it myself. Only in NY and LA have I found legit Filipino food. I think Filipino food trucks could help popularize the cuisine and Filipino take out restaurants rather than sit in. Thanks for shining some light on the subject!
NY and LA are overrated. Other cities have better authentic Filipino restaurants, although the presentation is admittedly lacking. Filipino restaurants in NYC and LA, the issue is reversed: their presentation is excellent but the dishes do not really taste authentic or good as it should since they have been mostly compromised. That or the serving is too small while being overpriced. Lol.
In San Diego we got a place at the Liberty Station Public Market called White Rice. It's fast casual but the food is pretty traditional with some twists. Seems like they're doing well because they opened up a standalone shop recently.
I agree with most of the points here, especially the presentation part, which is why a lot of the street food ones tend to be more successful than "restaurant" concepts, because the food being offered are simple "bowls" like adobo with rice, salad, lechon, lumpia etc. Infact, I decided to post my own vlog series called "Penis Sarap" exploring Filipino food here in London & promoting Filipino cuisine establishments
When I was In the navy…. On shore duty, we had a kitchenette in our lobby. One day this chief that was staying there decided to make Filipino beef stew and it’s a clear type of broth. He asked me, do you want some? I’m like, okay. What is it? It’s our version of beef stew. I can say that’s it’s just as good as pho! I would definitely eat that dish hands down. I wish there was more Filipino restaurants to scope out.
Probably you ate beef nilaga. A version of Mexican cocido or caldo de res
@@overthere1238 it’s wonderful.. it’s as good as pho
As much as I love Jollibee, I was super disappointed to find when the opened their first Manhattan location next to Port Authority they didn't sell their Palabok out of that location and I believe they still don't to this day. I'm quite certain the same is likely true for their new Times Square location as well. I mean that's the most authentic filipino dish on their menu (even though they don't use the correct type of noodle) but the sauce is authentic enough and if enough people gave it a chance I think they'd love it. It's definitely my absolute personal favorite filipino dish and has been for years! I mean where is Jollibee's own confidence in Filipino food and culture if they're suppose to be the pioneers of at least introducing the idea of filipino food to the masses?!? Matter of fact, I was just at their American Dream location in New Jersey this past weekend and they didn't even have the Palabok listed on their menu screens above the cashiers, but they definitely had it when I asked the cashier. Largest filipino chain in the world and they don't even promote or encourage people to try the most filipino item on their menu, seems kinda silly to me.
Filipinos are mostly meat eaters and eating salads is frown upon.
Few Filipinos like Palabok and im one of them. I will never ever have non Filipinos eat Paksiw,Dinuguan,Tuyo,Bagoong,Palabok as well.They maybe savory for us ,but never for them. Ive been to different Fiestas and non Filipinos do not like once they sampled them.
Me too im soooo disappointed about the 'No palabok'
@Elmhart PALABOK IS A M.MLA DISH .ITS LITERALLY NOT SERVED IN NORTHERN LUZON ,MINDANAO,VISAYAS ,BICOL .I WOULDNT BE SURPRISED IF JOLLIBEE DOESNT SERVE THEM IN MINDANAO!
@@truthhurtsalways4uTry bagoong with kare-kare bro. You'll probably enjoy it bro. (don't mind my username bro, I created this account when I was 12 bro)
The real question is: why does Filipino food have to be popular? It doesn't. Those who crave for Filipino food to be popular are just looking for external validation
I think the biggest hurdle for Filipino food to be mainstream is that , it takes a long time to cook the foods, say adobo if you have to cook it from fresh meat it will take at least 30 mins and customers will not wait for that (sit down restaurants already precooked the food) and most customers (Americans) don’t want an already cooked food sitting on a warmer for more than 30mins.
Chinese/Korean/Japanese foods can be cook for about 5 to 10 minutes or less.
We Filipinos need to figure out how can we cook food faster
in SF there are lot of dimsum stores that sell a rice plate with 2 items for $8.5 with plently of dimsum and variety of food sitting in a steamer/warmer . Filipino food can do that for adobo easy. its a braised item. no one anywhere is going to eat a braised to order food unless they don't mind a long wait lol
@@slee2695lol that's the real hurdle. Are Filipinos the most delusional people? I think they are up there
I’ve been looking for this comment!! This has been exactly the same as what I was telling to my american husband when we think and talk about putting up a Filo resto- almost every dish requires so much preparations and the time duration for cooking to achieve the most desired flavor and consistency of the food. It’s going to be a challenge to meet the most authentic flavor if cooked in restaurant in such a fast/quick manner. 😢
Filipino dishes I like: Beef or Goat Caldereta, Sisig, Laing (spicy), Binagoongan, Lechon Paksiw, Chicken Inasal, Pinakbet, Tinola, Pinaputok na Isda, Longganisa (We have a variety of it depending on which province it came from.), Kare-kare, Beef Tapa
Desserts I like: Bibingka & Puto Bumbong (especially for this Christmas season), Maja Blanca, Pichi-pichi, Napoleones, Sans Rival, Buko Pie, Buko Pandan, Yema Cake, Crema de Fruta, Razon’s Halo-halo (has fewer ingredients: sweetened saba, macapuno, leche flan, evaporated milk.)
The Lola bowl, consists of Adobo garlic fried rice, topped with Lechon cracklings, fried egg, sweet BBQ reduction drizzle, side of roasted Patis marinated beets, and garnished with pickled scallion's sliced jalapenos and daikon cubes.
So Cal Filipino here, I saw Chinese food dominate the 80’s and 90’s… other Asian cuisine (Thai, KBBQ, Pho) all blew up in the 00’s because of their unique flavors. Filipinos restaurants should have dishes that make the cuisine unique and not just play it safe. I can see a Filipino restaurant that specializes in well made Sinigang (sour soup) and pinakbet (with bomb bitter melon) to really represent Filipino tastebuds as well as serving lumpia.
Very good analysis and fun opinion. To me it's all about adobo, pancit, egg rolls & lechon :snap: .. when the first Jollibees opened in chicagoland there were lines to get in for like a year (mostly asians though lol). Calmed down now, but happy to have it as a fast food option.
The problem is that the flavors are a little simple. Adobo is basically garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. It's good but not mind blowing amazing. Compared to a Thai chicken Curry, adobo lacks the depth of flavor from all of the spices used in Thai cuisine.
Spices are overrated
It's sad but true. Filipino food is good but mediocre compared to food from other countries. Thai food is an example. It wowed me: the complexity of flavours, aroma and texture, appearance and presentation, even nutritional and healthiness are superior.
Spices are overrated only by those who do not understand them; and how they are used to combine with other ingredients to elevate a dish into something greater. Generally, Thai cuisine uses more fresh ingredients(herbs and vegetables) and aromatics along with light seasoning rather than dried spices to achieve an appropriate balance between the disparate elements.
Filipino food from what I've seen are on the simpler end, which isn't necessarily a bad thing(see Japan), but can be less appealing as it lacks the "exotic" aesthetic that is really needed to be able to make it abroad. What is also lacking though is proper marketing, presentation, and the general "poor" look of the food, which is were Japan does right as , while they lack complexity they more than make up in terms of quality of ingredients, sophistication, and marketing. Image really matters to...Yes different socioeconomic situations, cultures and all that, but I think that tackling these topics would be a good place to start.
Philippines even in our own country have competition with the same dishes but with different techniques in preparation, styles of cooking and ingredients. It's the same with local tribes and ethnic groups within the country that you can't just say one regional ethnic group would represent the entire Philippines and boom this is the Panda Express of the Philippines. Filipino food could be categorized on the demographic origins if they are from the flat lands, the mountains or beside bodies of water. It's mainly because the country is consisting of several islands that make it diverse and cannot just be generalized in one style of cooking. But if we are to simplify and just pick staple dishes would be Sinigang (which is my favorite), Dinuguan, Lumpia and Kare-Kare. You just have to argue the style of cooking you will carry as the national representation.
Kasama is a Michelin Starred restaurant in Chicago, and Abaca is a fine dining Filipino restaurant in San Francisco. In Seattle there are several fine dining Filipino venues, and in the fisherman’s market there is a vendor that makes a Michelin Starred Salmon Sinigang. Filipino food is becoming mainstream in America, especially with influences from Jo Koy, EZMil, R’Bonney Gabriel Miss Universe who is Filipino American from Houston, Texas!
I have to admit, I don't know if I've ever had authentic Filipino Food... I wouldn't go out of my way to try it but if it look good and it was in front of me, I'd probably try it... I still wanna get to Jollibees, never had it.
I think Mike Chen's food channels slowly opened my eyes to other asian foods as well as this channel besides Cantonese cuisine, which I grew up with loving
@@slee2695 Maybe, but I'll be the judge of that if I get a chance to have some.
Jollibee is gross and filipino food is inferior to Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine. But I do encourage people to try all foods so they experience it for themselves. If you crave more Spanish colonial flavor then eat Latin American cuisine. Most filipino dishes are shit versions of better dishes from other countries like China, India, or Spain.
I am indian and i love the filipino beef or pork Sisig, menudo and the beef tapa….forgot about the longanisa sausages
Because I was in the Air Force, lots of my co-workers knew Filipino food and introduced me to the great food from that culture.
This video made me wanna go to the Philippine!!! For real!!
The Filipino population is small and where they do pop up, there are often enough substitutes that it is difficult for it to stand out. For example, there is a Filipino restaurant that opened nearby within the last month. But, it has difficulty separating itself from the dozen or so Chinese BBQ restaurants in the few blocks around it.
Filipino restaurants are hard to find in Connecticut , since BTS, I started to try Korean food, now I am hooked 😋 great food selections.
They can't keep it consistent. Sinigang is tamarind base. Adobo has vinegar and soy sauce. I"m not crazy of Jolly Bee.
Most popular fastfood in the PH right now is Jollibee and Mang Inasal. Whatever time of day, those places are packed. Gerry's Grill for a mid-range family restaurant which can also turn into a drinking/sports bar at night in some locations. Aristocrat for classic chicken bbq and java rice. And finally I'd say Manam can be a restaurant I'd like to see get an NYC or LA location to introduce the bomb pancit sisig and patis chicken wings for those looking for a new twist on filipino food. Manam is also always packed any location you go even if its more expensive for the masses.
Gerry's Grill, Aristocrat, and Manam, all sound very promising. I wish them success.
Many Inasal would kill in the US, give El Pollo Loco a run for their money.
I lived in the Philippines for 5 months as a person who grew up eating his mother's Korean food.
I personally find Filipino cuisine unusually difficult due to the general flavor profile being all over the place. It's like eating chocolate ice cream with rancid ketchup. That's exactly what Filipino cuisine is. I know that the American-ized Filipino food in Hawai'i or Saipan is much better than the one in their native country.
To add to the Lola's cooking subject, it's not only thinking of grandma's cooking but in the Philippines, the same dish would almost be a whole new recipe if you went to the next city over. Some regions pack on the white vinegar, some add brown sugar randomly, some like spicy, some don't. It'd just be a bit complicated to choose the one true flavor to bring to the states to what Americans like as Filipino food outside of the Asian community. Plus the older generations measure with their eyeballs and the current gen can't quite get to how our parents and grandparents made it 😭
I would say that a recipe could be different in the same family. My dad makes my mom’s family’s recipe different than my mom. He insists it’s the recipe my maternal grandma made, but I keep arguing with him that he was adding too much stuff to his recipe for “red” adobo, that my mom and grandma never added.
@@francismesina9341 oh yes that's what would make it harder to have that "one true taste" of Filipino food to the general public. People could have a bad experience with Filipino food at one house but they'd love that same dish of someone else made it
Whole new recipe is a myth. Outside of adobo other filipino dishes have more standard recipes with some variations in ingredients due to availability. There might be some regional differences as seen with sisig but in general most follow a general standard otherwise the dish isn't recognizable. Take sinigang the ingredient that makes the soup sour might change but in general the taste will have little variation.
@@zhixci958 You're right but those little variations should not be underestimated. These variances can make a huge difference depending on a person's individual taste and response to a meal.
The man or woman who said people that had a bad experience with a Filipino dish at one Filipino person's home, they would love the same dish by another Filipino person's recipe, is also right.
@@bella7079 I wouldn't be surprised if that 'adobo' has black beans as well 😂
Adobo, Lumpia, Lechon, Tocino, Halo Halo, Sisig, Garlic rice pancit and soda pop served in a plastic bag with a straw! I also love the tiny little sweet sausages for breakfast with an egg over garlic rice.
I lived in the Phil for a summer and stayed with my friend. Her family owns dorms that house women from the provinces that are in college. I never had to cook my entire time there, but enjoyed walking to the open markets with the girls to pick out ingredients that I liked. I was also in college at the time, but on break.
Thank you for this content. I’ve watched you guys devour all sorts of food, but giving some airtime to this subject was really thoughtful and classy of you bros.
Growing up in a Filipino household located in the province, I seldom in restaurants. I have compared how different the home-cooked meals are compared to the ones sold in restaurants. Filipino food is not just meat and everything oily and fried. At home, we eat lots of colorful vegetables from jute leaves, spinach, moringa leaves, squash, and every lentil you can find. One favorite is a meal made from shrimp and crabs with bamboo shoots, jute leaves, white sticky corn, and creamy coconut milk. These are not even found in restaurant menus. I think that most foreigners would argue about how oily the foods are but that is not entirely true. There are many areas of the Philippines unexplored, and many foods are uneaten. Homes from the provinces have unique food to offer when you're willing to try it. As long as you request unique foods out of vegetables, they will be willing to cook them for you.
Here is the list of good food you might be interested in:
1. Tinolang manok (native chicken, lemon grass, ginger, and green papayo- some used sayote)
2. Laing (lots of creamy gata and gabi leaves)
3. Laswa (green and leafy vegetables)
4. Adobong sitaw (adobong stringbeans)
5. Kinalaw from kamote tops
6. Corn and malunggay soup
7. Fresh lumpia
8. Kilawing puso ng saging
9. Monggo with chili leaves
10. Ginisang ampalaya
11. Ubad (chicken, banana, and lentils)
12. Ginataang langka
14. Pakbet
15. Chopsuey
16. Sinigang
One Filipino dish which is difficult to make but I consider my go-to comfort food is Bopis - sauteed pork heart & lungs with diced onion and peppers. Buying organ meat is not so easy where I currently live, so everytime I see it in a Filipino restaurant menu I have to order it.
Never heard of it. Sounds like Menudo. 😃😃😃😃😃
@@John77Doe menudo does have liver, but I would say bopis is closer to sisig in terms of flavor and how it's cooked :) Please try it when you get the chance!
It‘s the best!!!!!!
A fast-casual / to-go store sounds awesome! You're right. It should focus on less than 10 dishes first.
1. Lumpia (egg/spring roll)
2. Sisig (the common version)
3. Adobo
4. Garlic fried rice
5. Caldereta (beef stew in tomato & cheese)
6. Lechon Kawali (this is the fried version)
7. Halo-halo (dessert/snack)
8. Ube cake and Ube ice-cream
9. Leche flan (like crème brûlée)
I think the flavours of every dish is too strong because we eat it together with rice.
I tried Asiongs in Silang, Cavite I really appreciate their food you can feel and taste the simplicity of their dish
This is much appreciated. Popped up in my algorithm. Gonna like and subscribe
I think a modern take on the Filipino "Carinderia" which are road-side eateries where students and PUV drivers often eat is a good way to promote the food. It has variety, delicious meals and still have that Filipino character/vibe.
Sinigang we never use vinegar. Tamarind or Batwan is best.
Authentic Filipino needs to have a home feel to it. Which I think will be lost when you try to make it into a let's say retail targeted cuisine. Like you said, there are a lot of variations and these mostly depends on geographical location. All of them are good. But, it's so good that you will want to stick to which variation you got to taste first. My mom's cooking is the best of all.
Well as a Filipino here who lives in the Philippines since birth, there are a lot and I mean A LOT of unique Filipino dishes by region and by ethnicity, it just cannot generalize it enough and there are delicious Filipino foods that doesn't involve popular ones like adobo, sinigang, etc. There the likes of ilocano's Ilocos Empanada (basically despite being called Empanada it's more like a Filipino tacos), ilonggo's pansit molo (our version of wanton noodle soup), la Paz batchoy, and many more.
And what I noticed is that North Americans love their food to be "on the go" due to their urgent lifestyle so they prefer foods that can be eaten on the road and throw the remaining leftovers just as quick that's why they love foods that can be wrapped such as hamburger, burritos, hotdogs on the bun and in Asian delicacies meat buns, Korean corndogs, chow mein, Kung pao chicken, etc.. It's not because Filipino foods are ment to be homemade that doesn't mean it's restaurant version sucks, no, it's not like that it probably because most of its traditional variant aren't on-the-go enough for normal working class citizens to be patronised. And lastly maybe because most Filipino foods are always either swimming in soup or as an extension of on-the-go issue above is that it cannot be eaten by one hand and still see your hands neat and not covered in sauce afterwards; I mean we are hardly saw "dried" version of adobo in Filipino restaurant most of it are always swimming in oil fat or caramelized soy sauce and yes "dried" adobo like a roasted variant of adobo do exist and yet we never see or heard of it cooking in Filipino restaurants shown in this kind of shows, you get the idea where is this heading. Middle eastern already have their own on the go style dishes like shawarma, falafel, Japanese can go w/ sushi, onigiri and Bento lunches, Chinese has the meat buns, and yet Filipinos in the US still aren't capilaizing Filipinos foods to be on the go as much as the others.
I've eaten authentic Iloilo batchoy decades ago with puto that is not free. I found it overrated. same with the pancit sa bilao in Sampaloc, Manila. I was like, 'what's the big deal?'
Pinoys don't know how to spot an opportunity if it stares them in the face. Like my province is resource rich. We supply cattle to a major corned beef brand. We have a major livestock industry but no one thought of starting a dairy industry. No one sells milk here or makes cheese
I honestly think the answer as to why Filipino food is a lot more underrated than other cuisine, even from our fellow Southeast Asian neighbors, is because of a simpler fact: rice.
Every dish that you can cook, and no matter if you present it aesthetically or as simple as plain, home-cooked meal looking one, is nothing without rice. To put it simply: almost every Filipino dish IS NOTHING BUT A SIDE DISH. In a Filipino's perspective, there's no main dish aside from a bowl of rice; everything else, be it fancy or not is there to serve as flavoring and additional texture to it.That's why every Filipino dish that you can cook is strongly flavored - it is never meant to be eaten alone like a main dish. It is extra salty or sour because the rice is needed to balance the flavor out. Ergo, our cuisine, whatever the regional variation, is created to serve a completely specific purpose: MAKE A FLAVORED RICE.
And this is the thing that Westerners couldn't just get a grasp on, as majority of them, don't even consider rice as a staple food for the plain reason that their culture is not a rice-eating culture. So, to help in changing the perspective, try to link it perhaps in a Western dish that doesn't make sense getting eaten without rice. The perfect example? Paella.
There you go: think about the Filipinos as a Paella-loving nation. We love nothing more than eating flavored and stuffed rice. It's complete, staple and it makes us full. Then using that as the fundamental logic, think further about the Filipino cuisine as simply being the world's peak customizable Paella menu. Think about Adobo not as simply Adobo but rather Adobo-flavored rice; Kare-kare not as Kare-kare itself but rather Kare-kare flavored rice etc.
Of course, some can still be eaten by itself, such as soups (Sinigang, Nilaga, Tinola, Bulalo, Lomi etc.) and fried foods (Lechon, Crispy Pata, Lumpia etc.)and that's where rice would perhaps serve as side dish instead. Still, IT'S ALWAYS BETTER WITH RICE.
I hope this helps the foreigners looking into our local cuisine understand the Filipino food thought process better.
This
Somewhat agree but you really did not hit the mark. What makes Filipino food underrated is how a lot of Filipino dishes tend to not be aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. If only Filipino cooks take the time to make their dishes look more aesthetic, rather than looking like it has been randomly slapped together, you'll see way more non-Filipinos be interested to try out Filipino food.
@@fvm8906 bruh , did you carefully read and understood my response? I already said that whether aesthetic or not, the essence of Filipino cuisine is centered around rice. When you have a rice meal, making it aesthetic is not the purpose; making you full is.
Thus, rice meals are not supposed to look beautiful -- it's supposed to make you feel at home. Do you prep your meals at home like you're in a 5-star restaurant?
Like, I get the need to make it look pleasing to the eyes, but our culture isn't just geared towards presentation. Presentation isn't what we need, we need to feel that the food being prepared to us is shown some love. We don't need to see it, just feel and taste it. We like our food be prepared the way we want to see our meals being served by our mothers in our own house. We don't care about how it looks; we Filipinos just love eating.
Capiche?
@@Diyel The topic being discussed is how to get Filipino food attract more non-Filipinos and one of the big ways to do this is through the restaurant business or maybe some other avenue. Presentation is vital to do so, like it or not. And that's if Filipinos are willing to take that extra step. If not, then don't be surprised if Filipino food will probably stay niche. But of course you are satisfied with that it seems.
Cope. Westerners make up about 1/5 people on the planet and their regions are mostly multi cultural. If the food was good it would have caught on and if not there in other places it would have
Is it also probably because most of the food being hyped up are the ones from Manila and Luzon? Mang Inasal is so hyped, but there are way better chicken inasals than that. Sinigang and bulalo also one, but have people tried kansi or nilaga Ilonggo version? Humba instead of adobo (though adobo is love), batchoy and pancit molo instead of the usual lugaw and. goto. The thing is, some of the regional food are barely promoted or served in Manila where most of the foreigners come.
I'm not a chef, but as a Filipino, this video got me thinking about some fusion with predominantly Filipino flavors... Soup dumplings x sinigang, pizza and tacos x sisig
Well you'll be surprised that if I tell you in the Philippines some restaurant are already doing sisig pizza and our tacos is Ilocos Empanada.
Good take on Filipino food... it both shows appreciation and challenges the current norm as well.
Sinigang doesn’t have vinegar. It has tamarind, which is similar to Thai Tom Yum soup. Many Southeast Asian cuisines use tamarind as a souring agent in our food.
I use vinegar when I cook sinigang... It's somethimg that I saw my Ilocano friends do & it's soo good it improves the texture of the fish imo :)
@@zmlhezmlhe4843 Okay... But that isn't traditional. Most restaurants and households use tamarind as a base souring ingredient.
@@dayangmarikit6860sinigang uses a bit of vinegar for extra oomph but tamarind is the base flavor
The biggest reason in my opinion is the changing menu. When non-Filipinos go to a Filipino restaurant, they want to have a dish they’re familiar with. If they can’t have it, they’ll go somewhere else. They are not going to risk eating something they don’t know without a guide they trust.
It’s hard enough to make some one try something new.
I’ve introduced MANY non-Filipinos to Filipino BBQ, lumpia, Inasal, adobo, menudo, Filipino curry, Pancit, Filipino chop suey, Tinola, sinigang, arroz caldo. These are the more approachable dishes and they are usually a big hit.
However, if it’s not guaranteed that those items will be there, they’re not gonna go by themselves.
I understand why the menu changes because they are catering to Filipinos who go there all the time and want variety.
But non-Filipinos need to be introduced to the more approachable dishes first, before trying the more exotic dishes.
For example, my wife really like Tinola, Bulalo, Arroz Caldo, Sinigang, Lomi. But in many Filipino restaurants it’s never a guarantee that any of these will be served there that specific day.
Thanks for talking about this as I've been wondering about this for a few years now. I'm not smart enough to know how to popularize this cuisine but sinigang must absolutely be sour to taste. I even know white and latin folks who date filipino's who share the same sentiment.
There are Filipino foods that are very similar to foods in Latin America: Afritada ( Guisado in PRand DR), Menudo, Escabeche, Bobotu ( Tamales) , Lechon Kawali ( Chicharron) etc, etc.
Filipino cuisine and Filipino culture was influenced by both india and indonesia. The Philippines is part of the indosphere which is something you all failed to mention. The Kawi script
and Baybayin are indic scripts used in the Philippines in pre colonial times which in turn was derived from the Pallava scripts of Southern india. There are Hindu and Buddhist artifacts that are almost 1, 000 years old from the Philippines. A lot of Filipino words are derived from Sanskrit and Tamil. Indian influences can also be noted in rice-based delicacies such as ''[[bibingka]]'' (analogous to the Indonesian ''Bibingka#Bibingka in Indonesia|bingka]]''), ''[[Puto (food)|puto]]'', and ''[[puto bumbong]]'', where the latter two are plausibly derived from the South Indian cuisine ''[[puttu]]'', which also has variants throughout Maritime Southeast Asia (e.g. ''[[kue putu]]'', ''[[putu mangkok]]''). The ''[[kare-kare]]'', more popular in Luzon, on the other hand could trace its origins from the [[Seven Years' War]] when the [[British occupation of Manila|British occupied Manila]] from 1762 to 1764 with a force that included Indian [[sepoy]]s, who had to improvise Indian dishes given the lack of spices in the Philippines to make [[curry]]. This is said to explain the name and its supposed thick, yellow-to-orange [[annatto]] and peanut-based sauce, which alludes to a type of curry.
[[Atchara]] originated from the [[Indian cuisine|Indian]] ''[[South Asian pickle|achar]]'', which was transmitted via the [[acar]] of the [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Brunei]].
We Filipinos do not start our own businesses. We tend to work for others.
when a channel talk about filipino, I just think they need views but you guys seem so passionate about this. ;)
Unfortunately I’ve never tried the food but the way people push it wanting others to like it seems so desperate. Nobody has to convince that Italian food is good it just is. 😂
well said. i notice that too.
Home style food
Hmmmmm yup agree with that
And also adobo here in the Philippines has many different types or variation depending on the region who is cooking it.
I always cook Lechon for side income here in Canada 🇨🇦 but I don’t have restaurants hopefully someday.! Thanks for exploring filipino foods!!!!❤❤❤❤
My favorite Filipino restaurant (although not in the U.S. to my knowledge) is Mang Inasal. Why there isn’t one here is beyond me. The food is soooooo delicious! 🤤
I live in Idaho. I think there are only like 3 Filipino restaurants here. Two of them are near an air force base.
The state is like 90% caucasian, and the usual diet is typically low salt, low fat, no MSG, non-spicy, non-garlicky. Filipino food will be a tough sell unless it changes the way Mexican and Chinese food changed drastically when they were introduced to the US.
Add that to the fact that a lot of Filipinos, when they move to the US, they want financial stability and setting up a restaurant isn't exactly the most financially stable venture.
The Vietnamese and the Chinese are just more aggressive in setting up restaurants. Also, they have already figured out what modification they need to make on their food to be appreciated by the Western market.
Filipinos in the US have yet to figure out what tweaks they need to make. And if they do make those tweaks, they'd probably be scrutinized for not being authentic enough. It happens all the time on TH-cam/Facebook.
It's possible to make those tweaks without losing authenticity. Filipino cooks and most Filipino chefs just has not figured it out yet. Some have but there needs to be more of them if Filipinos want their authentic food to be popular with non-Filipinos in general. Jollibee does not count. Lol.
Mexican and Chinese 🇨🇳 food are not even authentic. TeX Mex is not Mexican and real Chinese 🇨🇳 food don't use beef and broccoli
In my opinon, Filipino food is all about being organic and, unfortunately, countries like the US do not have organic Filipino ingredients. You settle with frozen goods which makes it more unhealthy to the eyes of these people. Imagine frozen ube. Chinese and Japanese cuisine are more popular because they are able to mass produce the ingredients to such countries.
Or maybe we Filipinos should start revolutionizing the recipes to cater ingredients available to other countries. In the first place, that is what Filipino food is all about, cooking the recipe using available ingredients.
@@marvequelistino1274 Use more vegetables. Filipino food could used more veggies. Lol.
Speaking from growing up and still living in the Philippines. I kinda have a feeling that although there is Filipino food abroad. I think there is a lack of enough knowledge of Fil-ams (especially those who have never been here) on what is Filipino food beyond sinigang, adobo, lumpia, and all the mainstream Filipino food available there is . You mentioned that we don't have the "freshness" of the Vietnamese or the thai but we do have salads and we even have our own form of ceviche called kinilaw, we also have our own pickling called atchara and enselada. You also mentioned that it is not a power food, but here we actually have restaurants specifically serving "power food" 24 hrs a day or pretty late at night and very early in the mornings called pares houses and carinderias, serving bang for your buck meals to power you up for the rest of the day. That's the thing with Filipino food it is actually designed to be power foods or food that you eat to give you strength for the rest of the day, but again lack enough exposure and knowledge. Another thing, there are tons of similarities in South East Asian cuisines but because South East Asian cuisine is not really widely popular, it is often misrepresented and misunderstood. This is saddening because there are a lot of Filipino content creators that actually showcase what Filipino food is but because a lot of people who post about cuisines generally, those that do feature Filipino food with a global or a bigger platform will not necessarily explain in detail the different types of say Adobo in the Philippines because adobo in itself has lots of variants, one doesn't even use soy sauce. Its more of a lack of ample research than anything. Because if you are gonna represent a whole country's cuisine, i hope people would at least try to research because there is a lot of available information here, recipes included. And those mainstream dishes that you mentioned, are only available in Luzon (where Metro Manila is). Dishes from the provinces of say Visayas and Mindanao are not even included. So one can't really represent our country's cuisine without including all of the flavors of the Philippines. And I hope for those who do have the power to represent Filipino cuisine globally will actually include the whole of the Philippines. Maybe at least try to research more and learn the traditional ways of creating Filipino dishes before creating your own twist to it because having not enough knowledge would just make your dish lose its essence and your goal and that is to represent a culture.
Filipino Food Channels here worth following
FeaTr
Ninong Rhy
Chef Jp Anglo
Filipino Recipe Websites:
Yummy Ph
Pepper Ph
Panlasang Pinoy
Hope these will help.
I do agree that the reason why Filipino food isn't popular because it doesn't look appealing to an average American. For example Dinuguan or chocolate meat looks like slop and some people would be grossed out because it is cook pork's blood.
Arroz Caldo and even Sotanghon (filipino version of chicken noodle soup) are also good entry dishes other lumpia and adobo. Sotanghon is a good thing to cook, especially whenever you are sick.
On the flipside, Jollibee is getting quite popular. Mango pies from there are way better than the apple pies from McDonald's. Also, the gravy over the chicken is awesome.
Wow! I just wrote an essay for my business class about what business to put up if I were an entrepreneur and I chose Filipino restaurant focusing on serving Filipino noodle soups! Introducing filipino food this way is very innovative and very marketable too since many people like Asian noodle soups such as Japanese ramen, Vietnamese pho, korean tofu stew, etc.
P.S. Whoever sees my comment and uses my idea as inspiration for their Filipino restaurant, dont forget to thank me. 😁
Good point. I go to Spain a lot. Almost everything I see on the dinner table in Spain, the Filipinos has a similar version of it. The Spanish food is not very popular in America either. Both cuisine doesn’t compromise. It’s very exotic and it’s always always an acquired taste. This is just my 2-cents.
My issue is texture: intestines, pig ears, offal cuts, just not my jam. Love that they eat nose to tail. Just can't handle the crunchy textures. Not a tendon person. Maybe focus more on the more western dishes, like chicken adobo or lumpia. Sesig is not for the faint of heart.
In my opinion why it's not popular is because the presentation of the food. To get other race to try the food they look for the nice presentation like you would see in food network. Us Filipinos we don't do that fancy stuff, we just want to eat alot. Have yall ever ate at a fancy restaurant, it's expensive and they give you a tiny amount of food but the presentation is like Bobby flay made it? Then when u get home your still hungry and ate the left over chicken adobo lol 😆
Agree with the presentation. Halo Halo looks great but that’s a dessert. I’ve never had Filipino food but have watched videos online
@@DemonFox369 be adventurous and give it a try when you get a chance. The style of cooking may vary because depending on which part of the Philippines they're frm, they might have a few extra ingredients on a dish that you may find other Filipino dont add. Not all adobo are cook the same but similar 🤷♂️
No excuse for Filipinos to not try making their food with nice aesthetics. If other nationalities could visually modify their food to look more appetizing, so can Filipinos.
not an excuse, that's just lowballing imagine going to a fancy restaurant then served a non fancy looking filo dish like what you're seeing in karinderyas.
Most italian, mexican, thai, chinese, vietnamese and middle eastern spots arent fancy wym? Thats not a reason.
If you wish to taste that authentic filfood visit the country and try different food in every island has different taste and style the twist is just like the island that in every island has its own dialect and it has a different style and version of that taste try it and make it difference
I've had the stalest-looking filipino food blow my mind, but I've also seen some of the most elaborate, beautiful presentations of it too, tasty across the board.
@@slee2695 Says the man who likely can't cook a nice meal or likes bland "American" food.
@@slee2695 I've been seeing your hateful comments like everywhereeee. Goodluck spreading the hate. 🤣
The thing with Pinoy food that I think most foreigners misunderstand is that they think the dishes themselves are stand alone meals like an American steak or a Burger, and you can just have an optional side dish like potatoes or fries with it if you like. But for me, Filipino food is basically Rice with everything as a Topping. No Rice, no good. The first thing people complain about when trying traditional Pinoy food is that the dishes are too salty, too bitter, too sweet, too sour or too spicy. And the reason is usually because they eat the dishes without rice. Rice, like water, is the universal base of Pinoy food. Too spicy? Eat rice. Too bitter or sweet? Eat rice with it. Too sour or salty? Eat rice with. Filipino cuisine is basically a huge diverse Rice Toppings menu. And the way they've tried to market it to the west is to sell the dish without the rice. That's like asking people to drink coffee without water.
Either too sweet, too salty, swimming in grease and heavy on the pork, the presentation scares Westerners . You go to a Filipino restaurant and all you see is Filipinos eating there.
Fake news - Donald Trump 😃😄
My apologies, as far as food goes...except for certain specialty food, Chinese food rules! From the Cantonese bread and butter (sorry, bad pun🤭) food to hot pot Sichuan to Yunnan bridge noodles to the Uyigurs's Rou Jia Mo, Shanghaiese xiao longbao etc...we survived decades, if not centuries of colonial rule in tens of nation states from Cuba to Madagascar to Malaysia to Toronto to Tehran to London😊 I'm somehow surprised yuen-yeung never got caught on smh, weird😆 Food capitals outside China mainland...KL, Singapore and HK, of course.
Love u guys and ur passion in pushing our envelope
They should try Mang Inasal chicken. A restaurant chain with barbecue chicken Filipino style is gonna gonna be a hit! Along with Pancit Luglog, Sisig, Kare-kare. Sooo goood!
You can't compare the Indonesian case to the Filipino, to start with Indonesian diaspora in the US is very low, Indonesia has a relatively small relationship with the US post world war, so it makes sense that Indonesian food is not that popular in the US. It is different where the Philippines have a close tight relationship with the US and have the highest population among southeast asian nationals, so their food not being popular regardless huge amount of immigrants there says something about their food. In Indonesia look at the Netherlands for example as an ex-colonial and where most Indonesian diasporas reside. Indonesian food in the Netherlands is common and some are already assimilated into local cuisines, it is easy to find Indonesian cuisines and food products in the Netherlands, can you say the same for the Philippines? does it easy to find Filipino food and food products in Spain ?. So it is not apple to apple to compare Indonesian cuisine case to Filipino.
No one cares about Indonesian anything the Netherlands
One of the only places I know in Phoenix, AZ that sells Filipino food is Halo Halo Kitchen and I still really want to go there someday!
Edit: There is also a Jolibee's that opened up recently, and that is another place I want to go to as well, but it's a bit of a drive.
My issue with Filipino cuisine is lack of flavor aside from adobo and them trying to charge people like they’re a high end restaurant in NYC but using the cheapest cuts of everything. Lumpia is just a spring roll.
Yeah true! Ain't good at all
Most of it is Culinary Linguistics, Filipino Cuisines are named in Foreign Language that usually Prestigious in the times of the creation of it's Recipes. In my observations, the neighbors of the Philippines gotten their Influences from the Philippines in making their Foods. Most of the Popular Foods in East Asian, Southeast Asian Cuisines is just a recent phenomenon, mostly of them starting to developed at the start of 19th century, but the Philippines already had that during 18th century, and many American New Inventions is first started in the Philippines. Even many desserts is already created here and most of them are spread thru Out Asia by Filipinos and Tourism in the Philippines during the early 19th Century.
I don’t think Filipino needs to be popularized, not that it doesn’t deserve it, but it doesn’t need popularity. It stands on its own and is what it is. Some people love it and get it and others don’t 🤷🏻♂️. There are way more unpopular cuisines than there are popular ones. The Fung Bros raised a lot of good points. There are many chefs tweaking the recipes to make it pop on a large scale, but whether it breaks through into popularity is neither here nor there. It’s delicious and genius for the ones that love it, and it’s not for the ones that don’t, and that’s ok! The other southeast Asian cuisines outside of Viet and Thai are not popular, but are absolute BANGERS. Popularity is for the birds.
Loved this discussion! Good work boys!
Theres something people miss out with Filipino food: the main dish is the rice, everything else is a side. Missing the rice would make the the food too strong for western taste.
I appreciate this video as a Filipino American thank you! …. Opening up a Filipino truck in manhattan New York soon .. focusing on bbq Filipino sticks only chicken and pork .. might add some lumpia in there !!
The smell of filipino food is not appealing to most americans. Specially food with “patis”, “bagoong”, “suka” ,” dried fish” and more
Dont forget our Ube, sweet purple yam. Ginataang bilo bilo, which is sticky rice balls with coconut milk, jackfruit and sago.
You are right when you said that it is like a cantonese cuisine it is because many southern chinese migrated to the philippines