Culinary Delights!

I must confess . . . I like to eat!  One of my biggest battle is dropping a few pounds; it's a battle because I have a hard time avoiding the kitchen in the evening hours.  I'm hoping that the Philippines will offer some opportunities to sample a variety of new foods . . . at least new-to-me foods.  I love exploring different types of foods.  Tomorrow, I will be going to a Gospel celebration held by a group from Nepal who meet at our church.  They will offer music, dancing, and of course . . . food!  I have never had any traditional Nepali foods before, so this will be a fun, culturally enlightening event.  Don't misunderstand me  . . . I'm also looking forward to all of the other culture and spiritual aspects of the celebration, but this particular article focuses on food.

Anyway . . . I watch the Travel Channel, and I enjoy seeing Andrew Zimmer and Anthony Bordain as they sample foods from different cultures.  I've seen their episodes for the Philippines several times . . . it will be interesting to see how my experiences compare.

Durian

For instance, I look forward to sampling some fresh durian.  We can get it in the local Vietnamese market here in Albuquerque, but I think it looses some quality as it is either frozen or highly refrigerated in transport.  The imported stuff smells for certain, but I really want to try it fresh from the tree!  I also want to try some fresh jackfruit, which is a distant relative of durian.  Again, it's available locally, but it's probably not too "fresh".

Okay, the one thing I really want to try sounds kinda gross, but I've seen it featured on so many different travel shows and the Filipinos all say that it's great.  I'm talking about balut.  Essentially, it's a fertilized chicken or duck egg that has been allowed to almost reach full development, and then is boiled.  You crack open the shell and end up with what has I've heard described as a combination of chicken and hard-boiled egg.  We'll see!

Balut

I doubt that I will have the chance to sample a feast featuring a whole roasted pig.  Done on an open fire, the pig is put on a spit and then basted and turned and allowed to cook under the watchful eye of an experienced cook.  I've heard that the skin is the tastiest part of the meal.

I'm sure there are many other wonderful foods that I will have the chance to sample.  But honestly, what I am most interested in is finding out what the typical Filipino eats each day.  I'm sure that rice is a staple.  And of course there must be plenty of sea food, given the obvious fact that the Philippines are a series of over 7,000 islands.  I'm also interested in quantities.  How much food does the typical Filipino consume?  In America, we are so gluttonous with our meals.  Just say "super-size-me" and everyone knows what your talking about.

Lechon

 And while I enjoy the cooking shows on television, programs like "Man versus Food" do upset me a little . . . when I think of how much food is wasted with needless competitions to see who can consume excessive quantities of food . . . anyway, it just bugs me a little.  I don't have any problem with eat-all-you can buffets, but I've seen some ridiculous abuses by what I will call selfish pigs.  Just because the restaurant offers an open buffet doesn't mean that you should gorge yourself just because you can.

Filipino Foods

So let's see what lessons we can learn from our friends in the Philippines about eating habits . . . I have the feeling that I will be a little embarrassed by my own levels of consumption.