That's So Filipino - PART I
Happy Wednesday and welcome to the first installation of the three-part series called: That’s So Filipino! In this first part of the series, we’ll talk about several day-to-day things that we use, say, and/or do here in America, that are actually Filipino.
Betcha didn’t know…
...the word ‘boondock’ known as ‘a rural area’ in English, was adopted from the Tagalog word ‘bundok’ (translated as ‘mountain’).
...the butterfly knife, aka the fan knife or Batangas knife, or ‘balisong’ in Tagalog, was first made in Batangas, Philippines.
...the word ‘cooties’, yes, the word that just gave me goosebumps, is adopted from the Filipino word for head lice, or ‘kuto’.
...whenever you hear Carrie Bradshaw talk about wishing she had as many pairs of shoes as Imelda Marcos, she’s actually talking about the former Philippine First Lady’s shoe collection. Mrs. Marcos was claimed to have owned over a thousand pairs of shoes. I’ve actually been lucky enough to see a part of her collection in a museum in Manila, and boy was I amazed!
...that although the karaoke machine was invented by the Japanese, a Filipino named Roberto Del Rosario was the first to patent and build the Karaoke Sing-Along System. It’s probably why it is now the Philippines’ favorite past time, and why Filipinos are also darn good singers.
...the phrase ‘Mani-Pedi’, the combination beauty regimen of a manicure and pedicure, originated in the Philippines.
...that time in P.E. class when you had to learn to step between two large poles without getting your feet caught, is actually a Filipino folk dance called tinikling. It originated from the Spanish colonial times.
...the yoyo is an ilocano word for ‘a toy’. It’s claimed that although the yoyo was invented in ancient Greece, the modern yoyo as we know it, was developed by a Filipino immigrant to the United States.
Congratulations! You are now an even better trivia partner than you were before you read this! It’s Wednesday! I’m sure there’s a trivia night somewhere near you. Enjoy your new found knowledge!
Don't forget to reserve your seat at our Filipino Food Popup Event on September 25th!
Making Filipino Food at Home
H-mart condiment shelf - Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce is used for lechon (pork dish), and I suppose other purposes as well...
(c) Christina Yung
Half the battle of new recipes is trying to find the right ingredients. I know the first time I made a Filipino dish, I had to go to several different places to find what I needed. And even when I did go to the right stores, the ingredients weren’t in the place that I naturally assumed they’d be. For example, I realized salted duck eggs weren’t by the milk like fresh eggs because they’re kept at room temperature. D’oh! Lucky for you, with the help from some of my fellow Filipina cooks (shout out to Bianca, Leila, Saima K, Christine DC, Christina Y), I pulled together this quick list of where you can get Filipino food ingredients around Greater Boston. And take my advice, if you can’t find an ingredient - ask.
Bagoong (sauteed shrimp paste)... for veggies, unripe mangoes, fried fish
Tocino (cured pork)... for bacon or simple dishes like this one with Salted Egg and Chopped Tomato
Tapa (cured beef)... for tapsilog (the term for tapa, garlic fried rice, and fried egg = Filipino breakfast)
Mark suggestion... Datu Puti vinegar
Flats Mentor Farms - check their FB page that’s linked for your local farmers market
Kangkong (water spinach)… for Kangkong & Tofu with Oyster Sauce
Flavored Spam (like Spicy Spam!)... for Spamsilog (garlic rice, fried Spam, and fried egg = breakfast!)
Palm Corned Beef… for Filipino Corn Beef Hash
Salted Duck Eggs.... for Tomato, Grilled Eggplant, & Salted Egg Salad ( I use sweet onions instead of green, and I don’t do the sauce)
Macapuno (coconut strings)… for Cassava Cake (one of my faves!)
Bagoong (sauteed shrimp paste)... for veggies, unripe mangoes, fried fish
Yakult (I’ve never had it, but it's a probiotic yogurt type of drink that some of the ladies used to drink as kids. Think kefir…)
Sometimes Filipino ice cream…
H-Mart in Burlington - A suggestion from one of our readers, Mark! He confirmed they carry the following:
Frozen lumpia (spring rolls)
Longanisa (sausage)
Tocino (cured pork)
Malunggay (leaves used in soups and broths)
Monggo (beans)
Jia Ho Super Market in Chinatown
Banana Leaves… for decoration or cooking like in this Bibingka with Rice Cakes recipe
Spicy vinegars… for everything. Filipinos love them some vinegars.
Dilis (anchovies)… for Crispy Fried Dilis
Pinoy sardines… for Ginisang Sardinas
Kangkong (water spinach)… for Kangkong & Tofu with Oyster Sauce
Salted Duck Eggs.... for Tomato, Grilled Eggplant, & Salted Egg Salad (but I use sweet onions instead of green, and I don’t do the sauce)
Skyflakes (crackers)… for snacking
Haw flake (candy, kinda like fruit leather)… for snacking
Sotanghon pancit rice noodles… for Pancit Sotanghon
Pomelo (citrus fruit)… for snacking and salads
Persimmons (fruit)… for snacking
Kam Man Foods in Quincy
They have an ENTIRE AISLE dedicated to Filipino ingredients!
Bagoong (sauteed shrimp paste)... for veggies, unripe mangoes, fried fish
Pancit (noodles)… for Pancit Bihon
Chicken Tocino… for Filipino breakfast like the tapsilog I listed above!
Maggi Savor Calamansi (liquid calamansi seasoning)... for Bistek (Filipino beef steak)
Salmon head... for Sinigang na Salmon
Goat meat… for Goat Caldareta
McKinnon’s Meat Market in Somerville
Oxtail… for Kare Kare (oxtail stew)
You can also call most butchers and ask!
Lumpiang shanghai (spring rolls)
Ube ice cream
Bangus (milk fish)… for Bangus Paksiw
Tinapa (smoked fish)... for Tinapa Fried Rice
Tocino (cured pork)... for bacon or simple dishes like this one with Salted Egg and Chopped Tomato
Tapa (cured beef)... for tapsilog (the term for tapa, garlic fried rice, and fried egg = Filipino breakfast)
Ensaymada (sweet bread / pastry)
Outside of greater Boston:
Pinoy Republic in Worcester
Moving forward we’ll be creating a resources page for all your Filipino food needs, so stay tuned!
What are we missing? The stores above are only the ones we / our friends go to, so please feel free to share where you go to get your Filipino goodies. Comment below and we’ll add it to the resources page once it’s up!
Save the Date For Our First Eatup
Hi BFers & friends -
We are thrilled to announce that our first eatup (food pop-up!) will be September 25th at Saus! We’ll be partnering up with the Milagros Project and Chef Roland Calupe to bring you his creative take on Filipino cuisine.
What can you expect? The BF founders will be in full force working the front of the house, while Chef Roland talks you through his 3 course (yeah, you definitely won’t go home hungry) menu. There’ll be lots of food, learnin’, and laughs.
Stay tuned to our social (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) for the Eventbrite link in the next week, as tickets are limited. The invite will include the full menu, details on the 2 seatings we’ll be offering, and it will (hopefully) answer any questions you might have. In the meantime, if you've got any burning questions you can reach out to us via our Contact page.
We hope to see you there!
- Trish, Bianca, Leila
More about Saus:
Known for their french fries and housemade dipping sauces, Saus is a fast-ish casual restaurant serving made-from-scratch food with a focus on condiments.
More about the Milagros Project:
The Milagros Project promotes Filipino food, beverage, and culture through media and dining events in Chicago, Boston, and NYC.
NO FORKS GIVEN - An interview with an inspirational Filipina chef, Yana Gilbuena
NO FORKS GIVEN - An interview with an inspirational Filipina chef, Yana Gilbuena
(c) Leila Amerling
A little over 3 years ago (woah!), I had the pleasure of meeting a very passionate and energetic young Filipina chef. Wait... this is not how this post should start, because honestly June 1, 2014, the day I met Chef Yana Gilbuena, was the day I changed all of my #lifegoals. She brought out an excitement in me that was dormant. She brought the ultimate Filipino Food experience to Boston. For one night only, Boston was given the opportunity to eat classic Filipino food, made by Chef Yana, and enjoyed Kamayan-style.
On June 1, 2014, Chef Yana was here in Boston for her 14th pop-up dinner. Massachusetts was the 14th state out of her 50 state Kamayan (Filipino for “eating with your hands”) tour, called the SALO Project. Her initial goal was to host 50 pop-up dinners in 50 states.
“Actually it ended up being more,” she told me during our recent phone interview. “I did all 50 states, plus DC, 8 provinces in Canada, 4 cities in Mexico, and 3 states in Colombia.” She said this project was inspired on impulse. “It was during a time in my life where I needed to figure some sh*t out...one of my friends said to me, ‘there’s 50 states and there’s 52 weeks...and I said, ‘well ok then!’ The concept seemed easy!”
Chef Yana wanted to create a community by “the act of sharing.” Salo in tagalog means “gathering” (side note, I looked up the word Salo, conveniently, in Slavic, salo is also a type of food.) “The SALO Project was initially going to be a documentary,” she said. She traveled to 26 states with a videographer but “...traveling [this much] isn’t for everyone.”
Chef traveled in accordance to the sun and the seasons. She cooked with local produce, and used online couch surfing platforms as well as Facebook and Craigslist to find places to stay, and host her pop-ups. “I met some good samaritans along the way,” she said. To her it was never about connecting directly with the Filipino community. Sometimes she’d be the only Filipino at her event. She would connect with someone in one city, and through that person she'd be introduced to a group of contacts in another city.
Her memories and experiences needed to be heard, or rather, read. If it weren’t for the community she created, this project would not have been successful. So she decided to write the book No Forks Given with the help of a team of talented Filipinos. The book is a compilation of 3 major parts: a map of her tour, recipes from some of the dinners she hosted, and a memoir. She dedicated this book to all that have helped, and who are still helping her. “I still keep in touch with some people I met during the SALO Project. I want to say thank you to the people who helped,” Yana said. “I want to tell the story. Sometimes I’ll be on a hike and suddenly laugh because I’m thinking of a memory [from the tour].”
In a way, this book couldn’t have been written at a better time. Through her travels she discovered that “this country is not all that bad. I’m a woman of color traveling alone, but I was fine!” With all that is happening on the news these days and all of the country’s uncertainties, this book will remind us, across ALL 50 states, there is still faith, love, kindness, and humanity. It’s not just about the food. It’s not just about being Filipino. It’s about community. It’s about SALO.
It’s the last day to help her get her book ON the shelves by going to her KICKSTARTER page here!
If you want to learn more about her book and the SALO Project, check out the video below and head to her website at saloseries.com.
Kesong Puti and Me
By Bianca Garcia
I unwrap the cheese quickly, but carefully. I once did so haphazardly, greedily, and the wrapper of bright green banana leaves cut the skin on my fingertips. But now I do so gingerly, unraveling the six-inch logs of white cheese, pre-cut into little disks that are about half-inch thick, fresh from the local market, with the milk still dripping from the woven leaves. It is kesong puti, one of my very favorite foods in the world.
© Bianca Garcia
Kesong puti is a local Filipino white cheese made from pure carabao’s milk. It is essentially fresh buffalo mozzarella, but more tart, and softer than any other cheese I can think of, with a mildly pungent smell and a creamy aftertaste. I would often have it for breakfast with warm pan de sal (traditional Filipino breakfast rolls) and tsokolate (hot chocolate). Sometimes I’d spread butter on the bread, but I typically enjoyed my kesong puti plain and unadorned. I savored its flavor as much as I could, because I didn’t know when I could eat it again.
I have been living in the US for the last thirteen years, and have only been going back home to the Philippines once a year or so. When you ask any foreigner or immigrant living in the US what they miss most about home, the answers are likely to be family, friends, and food. And I do miss the food, especially my beloved kesong puti.
I tried to look for it elsewhere. In Boston, I tried the fresh mozzarella balls sold in fancy supermarkets. I tried the ones sold at the lively farmers markets that sprout up during the summer, with vendors in stalls hawking their homemade cheese. I tried different kinds of cheeses from Vermont, a state known for its happy cows that produce delectable cheeses. But as amazing as they all tasted, nothing ever satisfied my longing for kesong puti. Next, I tried the Mexican white cheeses, packaged similarly to the “high-end” cheeses I remember buying in Rustan’s (a top grocery store in the Philippines), but those shrink-wrapped squares of cheese lacked the pungency and tenderness of the fresh-from-the-market cheese logs. I even tried the fresh mozzarella in Italy – I ate it in Milan, in Venice, in Tuscany – and still nothing. Nothing came close to the taste of the kesong puti from home. No cheese sings to me, no cheese calls me by name, no cheese makes me want to brave a nearly 24-hour long flight with the premise of my favorite breakfast waiting for me at home.
© Bianca Garcia
I love kesong puti for breakfast. I eat it with bread, but I also eat it melted over white rice (I heat it in the microwave then slide the oozy, gooey cheese on top of the rice). I love making breakfast sandwiches with it, with longganisa (Filipino sausages), or with leftover pork adobo. I love it plain. I can eat one whole log of kesong puti plain. Okay, two whole logs. Or three. And my love for it, according to Philippine superstition, can be traced back to my mother, who had a daily obsession with this cheese the whole time she was pregnant with me.
Bianca is the Italian word for white or pure. My mother told me that in the entire time she was pregnant with me, she had such a manic craving for kesong puti that she would fly into a rage if she did not find it on the breakfast table. When I was born, she said I looked so fair and radiant with a complexion “white as milk.” This could very well be an exaggeration of motherly pride, or if you believe in Filipino superstition, it’s lihi.
It is common knowledge that pregnant women often have food cravings, but according to Filipino folklore, my mother was experiencing lihi, a condition in which a pregnant woman strongly craves certain foods – weird or not. Lihi leads to the child having physical attributes (skin color, hair texture, face shape, even birthmarks) that mimic the visual characteristics of that food. This also leads to a supposed lifelong fondness – an eternal craving – for that food that was fed to the baby in utero.
I like imagining my pregnant mom going mad if kesong puti was not on the table. I like picturing myself possibly doing the same thing in the future, already planning to use hormones as an excuse just to get my daily dose of cheese. I like thinking how kesong puti will always be an unbreakable bond between me and my mother – the woman who introduced me to it while I was still in her womb. Perhaps I love it so much because I was introduced to it with love, as well.
© Bianca Garcia
At the breakfast table, I pick up another piece of the cheese and chew it slowly, while waiting for my family to join me. In my excitement – and jetlag – I was at the breakfast table early, and have nearly finished an entire log of kesong puti. My dad sits at the head of the table, sipping his coffee languidly. My two sisters start piling food on their plates. And I see my mom standing near the kitchen sink, quickly but carefully unwrapping the kesong puti wrapped in bright green banana leaves.
Kesong puti itself is not luminous or colorful or magnificent to look at; it is plain, white, and so simple-looking that it’s easy to pass it off as bland. But to me, it is beautiful. It is soft and comforting and delicious. It is my mom’s breakfast, and it is also mine.
Figuring Out My Filipino American Self
(Taken by Trish’s parents, or some other excited relative in the Philippines)
Unlike my fellow BOSFilipinos founders, I didn’t grow up in the Philippines. I’ve actually only been once, and I had a really good time if you couldn’t tell by the picture (I’m on the far left). My parents, however, were born in the Philippines but on different islands. My mom is from Pangasinan (Luzon) and my dad grew up on a farm in Iloilo (Visayas). They came to America around the same time in the 60s, and actually met in Newark, New Jersey where there was a Little Manila at the time. Both of them grew up in big families with little money, so they came to the US to live that “streets paved in gold” American dream.
When I was a kid, my dad was adamant that we be "American.” To him that meant always speaking English to me and my brothers, and assimilating whenever possible. On the other hand, my mom always made sure that we were connected to the Filipino community, especially when it came to parties and food.
The best way I can describe my Filipino experience growing up is by talking about the two birthday parties I had each year. It wasn’t because of any particular extravagance, it was because my mom insisted that I have an “American” birthday party and a Filipino one. The American party was a Saturday lunch with my classmates from school. We had Domino’s pizza and Blimpie subs and a white cake with calligraphy writing from Pathmark, our local supermarket. The lunch was generally two hours long. The kids and their parents were on time, and they left on time. The Filipino party “started” at 5, but people didn’t show up until 6 or 7. The food was all Filipino, and mostly made by my mother with the exception of the lechon (a whole roasted pig). There was karaoke and line dancing and mahjong (an Asian tile game) and loud laughter that went into the wee hours of the morning. Or until my neighbors called the police, which is a whole other fun blog post on race relations for another time.
So for a very long time, the way I lived was much like the parties I grew up with. There was my “American” self that walked around most days fitting in as best I could. Then I was my Filipino self on the weekends and at home. And without many people that looked like me in the media - movies, magazines, etc - it was hard for me to imagine that you could be Filipino “out loud” and be accepted. Ah, one of the many reasons why representation is important.
Now after living in Boston for 15 years, a couple years off from being here half of my life, it’s now all coming full circle. But instead of the segregated identities I grew up with, over the past several years here, I’ve started to build a community to merge my Filipino American experience. And I know that may feel completely foreign to some, but I believe it will resonate with anyone out there who is Filipino American or a first generation kid or just trying to figure themselves out. BOSFilipinos is for all of the above, and more.
This project rose up from a place of warmth and hospitality (thanks for that influence, Mom!), and I’m so excited for you all to be a part of this community.
Why I am a BOSFilipinos Co-Founder
Read about why CFO (Chief Fancy Officer) Leila Amerling joined BOSFilipinos. And why you should too!
Leila in a white (and one of her BFFs Deirdre in blue) traditional Filipiniana gown at a Philippine parade during her sophomore year of high school.
While BOSFilipinos has its own mission, if you ask us three founders separately what our personal mission is, we all have a slightly different answer. We all have a reason for starting this community group and to explain mine, I guess I should take a step back and talk a little bit about myself.
I am a very fortunate girl, having a great and eclectic set of parents. My father is a Jewish Upstate New Yorker. My mother is a Catholic Ilocana (from the Ilocos Sur region, in northern Philippines) raised in Manila and the province town of Tabuk, Kalinga-Apayao, Philippines.
Even though I am an American citizen, and have an American father, living in the Philippines until I was 18, my brother and I were raised Filipino. We were brought up by mostly Filipina women (i.e. my mother and up to 7 helpers). We typically ate Filipino food, at home and from the street vendors, (and I mean things that you would never imagine would be considered food - check out this CNN story about how to eat balut - duck egg in embryo form). We didn't have snow days, but we had school cancellations due to flooding during “typhoon season”. And we even had to stay home from school for several days due to an attempted coup d’etat in the city! We walked around our house (even outside) barefoot, celebrated Noche Buena (the night before Christmas), and called our elders (even if we weren’t related) “Ate” (older sister), “Kuya” (older brother), “Tita” (Aunt), and “Tito” (Uncle). Now, even as full grown adults, these are things we still do happily.
Moving to the U.S. 17 years ago, I realized that I had a story to tell. The things I did in the Philippines, were experiences that not very many people that I meet have had. This gave me a sense of purpose and pride. I told myself that I would represent the Philippines the best that I could. To tell the world, especially Boston, my Filipino story.
I have so much pride in being Filipina, I have taken it upon myself to educate people, from friends and acquaintances, to my Uber drivers, and now you guys. There's so much to tell about the wonderful country that I call home, and I'm so thrilled that I can use this platform to share my love of the Philippines.
I want to thank my partners in crime Bianca and Trish for letting me take this ride with them. Because of them, I'm able to take the first steps of pursuing my dream!
Salamat (Thank you)! Mabuhay (similar to Aloha - it has many meanings)! Kamapai (Cheers)!
Leila
My Love for All Things Ube
© Bianca Garcia
By: Bianca Garcia
I started very young. My love for all things ube began with the luscious ube halaya (ube jam) that my great aunt Lola Conch would make at home. I would wait impatiently for hours as she prepped and cooked then simmered, stirred, and stirred some more. As soon as the jam was ready, still hot from the oven, and oozing with bright yellow mantequilla (butter), I happily lapped it up, savoring each thick, sweet spoonful.
So what is ube you ask? It’s not a purple sweet potato, it’s not taro. Ube is purple yam. It's vivid in color, mild in taste, almost nutty. It’s one of the most popular dessert ingredients in the Philippines, and certainly one of the most recognizable (and craveable) ice cream flavors.
© Bianca Garcia
When I was a little girl attending private school in Manila, I looked forward to lunch because I knew I would have a slice of ube cake for dessert. It was one of the more popular cakes at the cafeteria and would often sell out, so I had to be resourceful. During recess, when everyone was busy playing and not thinking about food, I would go to the cake counter and pay the cake lady in advance. I was reserving my ube cake so I could get it later during lunch. By the time I was in fourth grade, I would also reserve a slice for my after-school snack.
© Bianca Garcia
When I moved to Boston 13 years ago, I would smuggle in jars of ube jam in my suitcase every time I went back to visit the Philippines. Most of the time I would consume it within days, always hungry for the Pinoy food I left at home, and comforted by my sweet favorite. One year I was so busy that I didn’t get to eat my stash immediately. By the time I cracked open the jar, it had mold in it. I cried more tears than necessary.
© Bianca Garcia
When I go to a Filipino restaurant and they have halo-halo on the menu (like JnJ Turo Turo in Quincy, MA, or Jeepney and Pig & Khao in NYC), I always inquire if it comes with ube ice cream. If it does, then I order it immediately, even before my eating companions or I have decided on appetizers or drinks. It doesn’t matter if we’re already ordering a feast (which we usually do), I will always have room for ube later.
© Bianca Garcia
When I encounter ube ice cream on an artisan ice cream shop’s menu, you bet I’m getting at least one scoop. I was in Los Angeles a couple of months ago (the cradle of the Filipino Food Movement, but that’s for another blog post) and my husband and I took a 25-minute Uber ride to Wanderlust creamery, so I could have a double scoop of their ube ice cream on an ube cone. When we got there, I whipped out my ube-colored wallet quickly and tripped on my words as I excitedly placed my order. Their ube ice cream was ultra creamy, like white chocolate with a mild nuttiness, and crunchy pockets of malted milk balls. It’s one of the best ice creams I’ve had in years.
I know that ube is the new darling of the dessert world, that it’s the latest beautiful food that people can’t stop instagramming, and I welcome all of that. Nowadays, I am a proud member and supporter of the Filipino Food Movement - aiming to raise awareness and to educate people about the delicious food of my motherland. I try different Filipino restaurants all over the nation, proudly share articles about how sisig is going to win the hearts and minds of the world, and get giddy when I see a vibrant splash of purple in food pictures. Sometimes I’m disappointed to find out that the bright purple is actually blueberry or lavender, but most of the time, it’s ube. The cake of my youth, the jam in my luggage, the ice cream of my dreams.
Now excuse me while I search for ube cheesecake.
You can learn even more about the author and BOSFilipinos co-founder, Bianca Garcia, by checking out her profile on the About Us page!
Welcome!
© Bianca Garcia
Mabuhay!
If you’re not familiar with the word mabuhay, it’s sorta like our version of Aloha. Its roots are in the Filipino word buhay, which means “life,” and it’s used in a variety of ways to greet people and to say hooray, cheers, etc.
As we were talking about the BOSFilipinos launch - over food of course - Leila (one of the co-founders) yelled out, “MABUHAYYY.” She talked about the spirit of mabuhay, and we all quickly chimed in about how it made us feel. We started BOSFilipinos as a way to bring together Filipinos all over Massachusetts, but also as a way to warmly welcome others to what being Filipino means. From food to educational events to cross cultural meetups and more, we want to elevate Filipino culture in the Greater Boston area - a city we’re so proud to call our home.
We’re incredibly excited for you to join this adventure with us as we work to build this collaborative community!
To get to know the founding team, check out our About page.
Otherwise, if you’ve got any questions or want to collaborate, please feel free to reach out to us by emailing: info@bosfilipinos.com. You can also find us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or subscribing to our newsletter.
BTW, the group believes Leila yells Mabuhay the best, so if you see her, ask her for a demonstration.
Warmly,
Trish, Leila, Bianca