Filipino Cuisine
Just what is Filipino cuisine? Filipino food can be confusing because Filipino culture has been constantly changing throughout history. Filipino food today represents the influence of Eastern and Western cultures and is strongly influenced by Chinese, Spanish and American traditions.
Adobo is a very traditional dish, but it is not a specific recipe; it is a cooking method that marinates and stews any cut of meat or fish in a briny mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, and spices. A variety of Adobo recipies can be found in The adobo road cookbook : a Filipino food journey-From food blog. to food truck. and beyond by Martin Gapultos, on the shelf at Yakima Valley Libraries.
Lumpia is a Filipino spring roll commonly served as an appitizer at family gatherings and celebrations. They are made of thin paper-like or crepe-like pastry sheets that are wrapped around savory or sweet fillings, then fried and served with dipping sauce. A classic lumpia recipe can be found in The Filipino family cookbook : recipes and stories from our home kitchen at Yakima Valley Libraries.
Pancit recipes are traditional noodle dishes served with a variety of toppings. The type of noodles used and the choice of garnishes differentiate the classic pancit recipes.
Most pancit recipies call for a long list of ingredients, a lot of slicing, dicing and shreading, and careful timing. Fortunately, The Filipino-American kitchen by Jennifer M. Aranas (available at Yakima Valley Libraries) has some terrific pancit recipes that include all of the steps required for each dish. There is also a helpful section that describes the ingredients and where to find them. If you want to learn more about Filipino American cooking, visit the Yakima Valley Filipino American Hall on Wednesday afternoons to sample authentic Filipino American dishes.