Photographer Neal Oshima’s exhibit “Pagkaing Filipino” puts food porn to a higher level. More than just a feast for the eyes, his photographs pay attention to how food is cooked, the history behind local ingredients, the cooking traditions that Filipinos still practice, among others.
Here are some things we learned from his mouthwatering exhibit.
1| We are a rice-eating nation but we do love our bread.
Filipinos enjoy a wide variety of breads, the most famous of which is the breakfast staple pan de sal. Pan de sal literally translates to “bread of salt.” A traditional panaderia makes use of a pugonor wood-burning oven to bake bread and biscuits such as rosquillos, biscocho, broas, galletas, and bañadas. We also have bread with interesting names, such as kababayan, pan Amerikano, and pan de regla.
2| Making lechon is a meticulous process.
Most of the time, the lechon served in fiestas disappears within an hour of serving, but cooking it isn’t a piece of cake (because it’s pork…get it?). First, the slaughtered pig is hanged to make sure all the blood has been removed. Air-drying also ensures crunchier skin, and we all know that is the best part of lechon. Next, the pig is roasted in an open fire for four hours or so. The roasted pig is left to cool for a couple of minutes, to keep the meat moist and the skin crackling. To keep flies and wayward hands from touching the lechon while it cools, it’s recommended to shroud it in a kulambo like a sleeping infant.
3| Fancy dinner parties used to be thrown in a comedor.
The dinner party scene in Noli Me Tangere, in which a nail-biting power struggle involving chicken tinola took place, was held in Capitan Tiago’s comedor. During the Spanish era, rich families had spacious dining areas with long hardwood tables that could seat up to 20 guests. Heirloom tableware and fine bone china were laid out on the la mesa during extravagant dinner parties.
4| A chef created an entire menu inspired by Jose Rizal.
Chef Rob Pengson of The Goose Station created dishes inspired by the life and writings of Jose Rizal. Each item in the menu, such as kesong puti, foie gras taho, and dinuguan black pudding, is accompanied by a Rizalian quote. Take tres leches, a sponge cake served with sampaguita, coconut, and a burst of red raspberry: it’s the edible interpretation of the line “I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land” from Mi Ultimo Adios.
5| The sweetest mangoes are in Western Luzon.
Mango is the national fruit of the Philippines—unofficially. While this has yet to be authorized by the National Historical Comission, there is no denying that Philippine mangoes are among the best of their kind. The sweetest variety can be found in Pangasinan, Zambales, and the Ilocos region. But of course, Guimaras island in Western Visayas has world-famous mangoes, too.
6| If you’re raring to sample the best Vietnamese cuisine in the country, go to Palawan.
In Barangay Sta. Lourdes, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, fans of Vietnamese pho can get their fill of chao long in Viet Ville, the 70’s resettlement camp of Vietnam War refugees in the Philippines. Chao long is a dish of flat rice noodles cooked in a savory pork or beef broth, topped with sprigs of fresh mint, basil, and raw bean sprouts. Banh mi, a French-inspired roast pork-cheese-and-baguette sandwich, is also available in Vietnamese eateries in Palawan.
“Pagkaing Filipino: Images of Regional Cuisine” by Neal Oshima runs until August 3, 2014 at the National Museum of the Philippines.
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