Wednesday, February 07, 2018

My Husband’s Reaction to Filipino Foods

Filipino food is probably the touchstone of the culture and tradition that I grew up with. Though essentially influenced by Western culture (fries, burgers, steak and the like), there’s this part of Filipino cuisine that I wanted to share with my American husband. As a child, I heard of horror stories where families of Filipino immigrants received complaints of neighbors because of the strong smell of some Filipino dishes- most specially bagoong or anchovies which is a condiment partially or completely made of either fermented fish or krill with salt! So, here’s some interesting stuff I found out about my husband regarding Filipino cuisine.

Pork Binagoongan/ Ensalada with bagoong, kamatis, manga and itlog na maalat (Pork Flavored with Anchovies/ Grilled Eggplant with Tomatoes, Mango, and Salted Eggs)

It was only recently after over a year that I bought bagoong or anchovies. I had no intention of asking my husband to taste it when I prepared them. I was too worried regarding his reaction about the smell that I was constantly checking on him while I was cooking. He survived the dinner even though the smell was so strong! As for the ensalada or grilled eggplant with anchovies and mangoes, he tried to have a sniff of it in closer proximity but of course he didn’t try it.

Pork Barbecue and Isaw


I still feel guilty about this. Isaw or chicken liver skewer is not something that I would want my husband to try since I knew what he feels about exotic food. We were having a dinner at a Filipino restaurant while he was visiting me at Jakarta when he had a bite of this on ‘accident’. We ordered pork barbecue and he liked it so much so we asked for another serving. Unknowingly, ‘isaw’ which was ordered by one of our friends was included on the platter and my husband took a bite of it. My friends and I looked at each other and nobody said anything. I knew my husband noticed the difference so he immediately put it down. I was so guilty that I decided to tell him the truth. In fairness to him, he didn’t over react and simply said he knew it tasted different. He did not have another bite of barbecue that night.

Lumpia Shanghai (Similar to egg rolls but fillings are ground pork and other Filipino flavors.)


Lumpia is probably one of my husband’s favorite. He could easily wolf down several pieces without batting an eyelash! He loves that it's crunchy.

Pancit (Egg noodles flavored with veggies, pork and shrimp)


I put too much veggies on it that my husband would simply grimace whenever I ask him to take a bite so obviously it’s a big no for him. He had a bite (After removing all the veggies) of the last one I cooked though!

Filipino spaghetti


What makes Filipino spaghetti different is its sweetness and the addition of hotdogs on it! I only cooked it once since I’m starting to prefer the recipe here and my husband obviously didn’t like it.

Adobo


Probably the most famous Filipino dish. This is becoming a regular here at home and he likes this with his own version of rice (white rice with cinnamon and sugar).

Lechon

Disclaimer: This photo is not owned by the site owner. 

I have never tried cooking this but my husband and I were watching a TV show when they showed the whole pig roast on the table. He almost threw up! I guess no lechon for him when we visit Philippines in the future.

Not all Filipino cuisines are exotic or crazy however you want to label it. Thankfully, my husband and I have a lot of common grounds. We both like pork chops, fried chicken, meatloaf, steak, and of course bacon!




57 comments:

  1. Hi Ms. Nina! This is Rafael from BBS. Zeal misses you a lot. Please keep up the great blog posts!

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    1. Hello, Rafael! Your message made me so happy! I'm deeply honored hearing from one the smartest students I've ever had. I miss you and your classmates so much. Always take care and do let me know if you could be one of my guest writers on this blog. I would love to publish your work! :)

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  2. Trying new foods can be quite a shock if you aren't used to the spices used in the foods, I know I personally try to avoid things loaded with spicy things. What exactly is Isaw?

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  3. I wouldn't eat the pig either but the rest looks delicious.

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    1. That's one of the most famous dish in the Philippines.

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  4. Food looks interesting, as do your husbands reactions do it. Touching, amusing photos.

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  5. I would love to branch out try new ethnicities of foods than the ones I am used to. I wonder if my boyfriend would be as open as your husband...

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    1. Yeah. My husband actually surprised me being so game in trying different stuff.

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  6. My Turkish husband reacted in a very similar way to Chinese food!

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  7. Really nice and it's a nice approach to make your husband apprend the food you make

    Ben - www.nutrition-newage.com

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  8. Ha ha! Kudos to your husband he is such a sport! I can see it now....you serving up dishes and him trying them.....seems like lot's of fun!

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  9. Love this article. I really enjoy seeing foreigners try out food from the Philippines. :)

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    1. Yeah. He was pretty good in trying it. :)

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  10. My husband and I are from 2 different continents, and we live in USA. So I definitely relate to your experiences:))).

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    1. Haha. My husband was pretty brave even smelling some of them. :)

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  11. Aww I'm glad that he was a good sport and gave everything a try. It's awesome that you all are able to share your culture in this way!

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  12. Omg the food looks so yummy! I do the same with my boyfriend, lol make him try new dishes I make!

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    1. Yummy for the Filipinos but I know it's a bit strange for him to try those.

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  13. The food looks so delicious!!

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  14. We sell Pancit here in the shopping markets near where I live in Australia and it's absolutely delicious! And the Pork Barbecue and Isaw looks super good.

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    1. I'm lucky that there are Asian stores here so I get to cook whatever dish I like except for some veggies from the Philippines.

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  15. I'm not very adventurous with food, but man, this was fun to read! My partner constantly tries to get me to eat all kinds of food too!

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  16. o I miss these foods already.....and I get to cook wheneveri had the chance and I got same reaction from my colleagues here.....the classic grimace once they smell but surprised when they took a bite.....

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    1. The 'classic grimace' made me chuckle. lol

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  17. That was a good read.Every cuisine has its special and exotic dishes ,Filipino being no different.But it does take time to adjust and start loving the choices of your partner in a cross cultural marriage.

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    1. We usually prepare different meals whenever we want to. Most of the time, he only tries them. :)

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  18. Oh I don't know much about Filipino food at all. This was quite enlightening. I wish you would also give a description of all the foods tho. I am so curious. Esp the one which is your husband's favourite-lumpia Shanghai

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    1. I should have thought about that. Thanks for the suggestion. :)

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  19. I have not tried any Filipino food till now. Good read for me.

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  20. HAHAHAHA! Nakaka proud naman neto! I'm pretty sure your husband already the filipino Food :)
    FILIPINA PRIDE HERE!

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    1. He likes some of them but definitely not the one with bagoong. lol

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  21. I have not tried filipino food but it looks amazing. Your husband is a lucky guy, he gets to try all of these yummy foods!

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    1. Thank you. I'm lucky that he didn't complain with the smelly ones!

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  22. I’m glad your husband loves Filipino food. I’m sure he will because our food is tasty and yummyyy 😊

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  23. I'm just a girl from Nebraska but when I moved to San Diego, California I made a lot Filipino friends. From day one, I loved the foods and visiting the markets with them.

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  24. I have a lot of Filipino acquaintances here in New York. I was introduced to Filipino vegan restaurant and loved it.

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  25. My French boyfriend is an expert in eating skewer (isaw) and letchon, both that I couldn't eat more.
    Filipino foods are very tasty (and sometimes salty!).

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    1. Wow! I felt bad asking him to taste that.

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  26. what an interesting insight into Filipino cuisine. The skewers look quite tasty.

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  27. A very interesting post and you walked us through yummy Filipino cuisine.

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  28. Kristine Nicole AlessandraOctober 22, 2018

    It is great that you learn about your different cultures through food. I guess that is the universal language! Haha. I have tried most of the food in your list and my husband did too. The flavors are insanely delicious and you can never have any dish without a dipping sauce.

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  29. This was an interesting read. The food looked really tasty. I would love to try making mine one day.

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