Every cuisine has its trademark. As far as I know,
French got this "finesse" style of cooking,
Thai has the "that hot flavor" (as Rachel Ray put it),
Chinese has the wok and bamboo steaming,
American got the meat and all grills,
Italian, its herbs and pasta,
Mediterranean got the cheeses and olives and
Indian got the curry powder.
Japanese got it raw.
I became a fanatic of cooking shows in Food network. Watching these shows, I could not help but to compare
Filipino cuisine from the others. How come Filipino cuisine has not yet establish a name in the international cuisine? There are so many good stuff Filipinos create.
Then I made my own realization. As Filipinos are creative, our dishes are somewhat exotic. From
bagoong to
kinalburong isda, from
taho to
balut, these creations showcase not just the creativity but also the courage and the love of Filipinos for food. Courage, my dear, is what missing in other country. See, they included
balut as "fear factor".
And one more thing: most of the Filipino foods is either coated in fat or glistening with oil. From main course to desserts, some are simply high in
cholesterol and stuffs that make heart diseases as leading cause of death among the Filipinos. Unappetizing, really.
As bad as they are, oils, fats and cholesterol make Filipino dishes so tasty that Filipinos around the globe could not resist genuine Filipino home cooking (from my Nutrition class, fats and oils actually add the mouth-feel in foods). I would not trade Filipino cuisine for anything (Ok, a bit of a lie here. I also like Italian and Japanese, though).
Why am I doing this article? I better make some
lanera of
leche flan.
*Chef Rob Pengson's photos from his Friendster profile. Click on photos for image locations.
According to his profile (stalker mode), his significant other is another locally renowned chef, Chef Sunshine Puey. I guess these two will bring another family of culinary experts just like the Galangs. Imagine how lucky their would-be kids. Every meal is a gourmet! I honestly envy these two. I hope to find someone who has a kitchen in his heart (whatever, I just like to put it that way).
I really want to enroll in a culinary school. I think I can do great. But with that 100K tuition fee, I think it's better for me to finish my current course first and work my ass off second, so that I can pursue this thing. Oh I almost forgot. I need to double my ass to work off. There's still that med school thing.
