The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans

Many years ago, I wrote about street food items and how these are inextricably linked to our Filipino identity. What only a few people know is how I was already an adult when I got curious about street food. This curiosity grows year after year. 

Here’s the background. Growing up before modern standards were imposed on food establishments and hawkers, my brother and I were not allowed to eat and buy food from just anywhere. My mother closely monitored and restricted our snacks and junk food consumption. There were two major reasons for this:

1. Hygiene and food safety concerns – safety and sanitation standards were lax and the makeshift set-up of street vendors led to the risk of contaminated ingredients, unsanitary preparation, and improper cooking. This was a cause of food-borne illnesses. In school, there were cases of jaundice and we had hepatitis scares. Our teachers cautioned us from buying from street food vendors.
2. Nutritional deficiencies – eating street food in the course of the day would ruin our appetite for proper meals. Street food often consists of fried, salty or sugary foods, which can lead to an unbalanced diet that hampers proper growth and development. 

However, we were occasionally allowed to buy from trusted vendors so we would not feel deprived. In my case, I didn’t really crave street food but when I was already at university, away from home, I found out that street food was far more varied than I could’ve imagined! Beyond fishballs, squidballs, and kikiam, it was a whole vibrant culinary landscape that was waiting to be explored! My forays into the tantalising world of captivating aromas and bold new flavours were tentative. What lured me at first were the unfamiliar tastes and ingredients. It was not every day that I could find grilled chicken intestines, or deep-fried bright orange eggs! After a few excursions, there was no turning back.

Not too long after graduation, as a young professional often sent out on assignment to regional offices, if I could during breaks, I would try to squeeze in an hour or two checking out the local public market and daily fare sold by street vendors. By partaking of home-grown street food, one experiences a taste of a place’s culture. From Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, I was astounded at the variation on familiar items. Many provincial towns had sliced fruits in season peddled to schoolchildren or made into slushies, which was less common in Metro Manila. There was an array of cassava products sold in the marketplaces in the more agrarian provinces. The grilled chicken intestines I had come to know in Quezon City were also breaded and deep-fried like tempura in Guagua, Pampanga! Apart from tasty and inexpensive meals, a search for local delicacies offers a unique opportunity to connect with communities on a deeper level. It is an immersion into a locality’s traditions, and culinary history. 

An amazing aspect of observing the local street food scene is how it represents the essence of a region’s cuisine. Aside from the dishes that have been passed down through generations, almost unaffected by modern culinary trends, in the local street food scene we also find more recent influences and how these have been adapted or indigenised by the locals. How has the diaspora of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to the Middle East inspired the local cuisine? Remember how shawarma stalls popped up like mushrooms around two decades ago? These shaved meat in flatbread wraps have evolved into ground choice of meat served like Oriental rice bowls, whilst retaining the flavours of the Middle East. Now, there is the Korean wave brought on by K-drama and other K-pop phenomena. We see samgyeopsal restaurants, Korean corndogs, ramyun, kimbap, and other items being peddled with their own dedicated food carts.

My curiosity about local street food has led me on many exciting adventures, not just for my taste buds but for my cultural enrichment as well. Now that I am much more mature, able to choose safe and hygienic food items, stepping out of my comfort zone and indulging my curiosity has rewarded me with not just new favourite food items but has made me more appreciative of my own culture and traditions, too! 

P.S. There was a meme about things not commonly known about us almost two decades ago. Here was my post.