Why Filipino Food is not Popular?
I had my usual geeky chat with a friend a few days ago, sparked by a comment on a Facebook post about having an unpretentious Filipino buffet in restaurants — Pinoy cuisine sans fusion.
One supporter liked the concept but raised concerns about the cost because Pinoy recipes use many ingredients.
It didn’t take me too much time to weigh what the commenter said. I just cooked a chicken adobo with just eight ingredients — chicken, oil, garlic, onion, soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper, and bay leaf. It made me question how this dish could end up being expensive.
This led me to ask, why hasn’t Filipino cuisine gained widespread popularity globally? Is it due to the absence of bold flavors in the ingredients?
Real butter in cookies is miles apart from a cookie with butter compound or margarine. It has a decadent taste, and you can never go wrong with it.
Similarly, the distinct taste of mirin, sake, sesame oil, palm sugar, olive oil, and Shaoxing wine. Not to forget the herbs such as basil, parsley, and coriander. The same goes for garam masala, cajun, cloves, and cardamom.
Adding these ingredients to a recipe level up the food.
So, how can Filipino food compete with these familiar flavors?
Well, we just need to cook it right.
Remember the memes and jokes about the menu at a birthday party? If the sweet-style spaghetti lacks the perfect balance of red sauce, by default, we conclude the sauce is just a banana ketchup.
The same thing goes with a Pinoy fruit salad. If you don’t use enough cream and condensed milk, your guests can tell you skimped some ingredients.
If you don’t get the perfect ratio of the vinegar and soy sauce in an adobo, you’ll taste the strong flavor of the vinegar.
Filipino food is not expensive, but it’s not easy to cook. Yet, the secret is in the perfect ingredient ratios.
“Hindi mo maappreciate ang Filipino food kapag hindi masarap ang pagkakaluto.”
