By David B. Katague, a Filipino-American, a son of the Philippines, and a lifelong lover of good food
A Filipino Among More Than 160 Senior Residents
As the only Filipino-American resident at The Heritage Downtown (THD), an active senior living community in Walnut Creek, California, I sometimes find myself serving as an informal ambassador of Filipino culture.
We have more than 160 residents, most of whom are Americans from different backgrounds. Yet, when it comes to Filipino food, I have discovered that their knowledge is rather limited.
Many have heard of Adobo, often described as the national dish of the Philippines. Some may recognize Lumpia, our version of a spring roll. Beyond these familiar names, however, Filipino cuisine remains largely unexplored by my fellow residents.
Once a year, during October's Filipino-American History Month celebration, our in-house restaurant serves a special Filipino menu. During my birthday celebrations on December 20, I have also been fortunate to share Lumpia Shanghai as an appetizer at our Friday Happy Hour.
These occasions make me happy. Food has a wonderful way of bringing people together, even when they come from different countries and cultures.
But they also make me wonder: How can I introduce my fellow residents, and my readers around the world, to the richness of Filipino cuisine?
Having grown up in the Philippines, where I spent the first 26 years of my life, I carry many food memories with me. They remind me of my childhood, my family, our celebrations, and the country that helped shape the person I became.
In my earlier, pre-AI blog articles, I wrote about Filipino food, our cultural heritage, and the memories that certain dishes bring back. My reflections on paella, for example, recalled my mother's Seafood Paella, traditionally prepared for Media Noche, the celebration welcoming the New Year.
Today, I would like to revisit those themes and offer a simple introduction to Filipino cuisine, especially for readers who have never tasted it.
1. The Philippines: A Country of Many Cuisines
To understand Filipino food, one must first understand the Philippines.
Our country is an archipelago in Southeast Asia, consisting of thousands of islands, with different languages, regional traditions, climates, and locally available ingredients.
Consequently, there is no single way to describe Filipino cooking.
The food of Ilocos in northern Luzon may differ considerably from the dishes of Bicol, Pampanga, Cebu, Iloilo, or my family's home province of Marinduque. Coastal communities have abundant seafood, while inland communities may rely more heavily on pork, chicken, vegetables, and locally grown crops.
Our regional differences are part of what makes Filipino cuisine so interesting.
Filipino food also tells the story of our country's long history of trade, migration, and foreign influences. Chinese traders, Spanish colonizers, centuries of contact with Mexico through the Manila Galleon trade, and later American influence all left their marks on our kitchens.
Yet Filipinos did not simply copy foreign dishes. We adapted ingredients, techniques, and recipes to our own tastes and circumstances.
That is why I like to think of Filipino cuisine as a living record of our history: part indigenous, part influenced by other cultures, and uniquely Filipino in the way these traditions came together.
2. Rice: The Heart of the Filipino Meal
For many Filipinos, a meal without rice does not quite feel complete.
Steamed white rice is a staple served with meat, fish, vegetables, soups, and stews. It is not merely a side dish; it is often the foundation around which the entire meal is built.
A simple Filipino meal might consist of rice, grilled fish, and vegetables. Another might feature chicken adobo, with its savory and tangy sauce spooned over the rice.
We also have many other ways of preparing rice.
Garlic fried rice, or sinangag, is a familiar breakfast favorite. Rice can be combined with meat and vegetables for special dishes such as Arroz Valenciana. Sticky rice is used in numerous traditional cakes and desserts.
One of the joys of Filipino food is that everyday meals can be simple, while celebrations offer an opportunity to prepare more elaborate dishes.
3. Adobo: One Name, Many Recipes
If there is one Filipino dish that many foreigners recognize, it is Adobo.
The word comes from the Spanish adobar, meaning to marinate or season. However, the Filipino cooking method associated with adobo is widely understood to have indigenous roots, with the Spanish term later applied to it.
Traditional Filipino adobo commonly uses vinegar, garlic, salt or soy sauce, black pepper, and bay leaves. Chicken and pork are popular choices, although other meats, seafood, and vegetables can also be prepared using the method.
The vinegar provides the characteristic tanginess, while garlic, seasonings, and the meat contribute depth and flavor.
Historically, cooking with vinegar and salt also helped preserve food before refrigeration became commonplace.
Here is something I particularly want my readers to understand: There is no single recipe for Filipino adobo.
Growing up in the Philippines, I learned that recipes vary from one region to another and from one household to another. Some cooks use more vinegar; others prefer a darker sauce with soy sauce. Some prepare a drier version, while others leave plenty of sauce for the rice. Certain regional versions incorporate coconut milk or turmeric.
Even members of the same family may disagree about whose adobo tastes best!
This diversity is not a weakness. It is part of the dish's character.
Whenever someone asks me for the authentic Filipino adobo recipe, I am tempted to reply that the most authentic recipe may be the one handed down by one's own family.
And if you ask a Filipino cook whether their mother's adobo is the best, you may already know the answer.
4. Five Filipino Dishes Worth Knowing
Let me introduce five more dishes that will help my non-Filipino readers begin exploring our cuisine.
Sinigang - A Comforting Sour Soup
Sinigang is a savory soup or stew distinguished by its pleasantly sour broth. Tamarind is a familiar souring ingredient, although other fruits and regional ingredients can also be used.
Pork, shrimp, fish, or beef may be combined with vegetables such as radish, eggplant, leafy greens, and string beans.
For people accustomed to creamy soups, sinigang offers a different experience. Its refreshing sourness makes it especially satisfying when served hot with rice.
Pancit - Noodles for Celebrations
Pancit refers to a family of Filipino noodle dishes influenced in part by Chinese culinary traditions.
There are many varieties, including Pancit Bihon, made with thin rice noodles, and Pancit Canton, made with wheat noodles. Depending on the recipe, they may contain chicken, pork, shrimp, cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables.
Pancit is frequently served at birthdays and other celebrations. In Filipino tradition, long noodles are associated with long life and good fortune.
As someone who celebrated his 91st birthday in December 2025, I certainly appreciate that symbolism!
Lumpia - The Filipino Party Favorite
Lumpia is one of the easiest Filipino foods to introduce to people who have never tried our cuisine.
Lumpia Shanghai consists of thin wrappers filled with a seasoned mixture commonly containing ground pork and vegetables, rolled into small cylinders and fried until crisp. Other lumpia varieties feature vegetables or fresh fillings.
The result is a delicious appetizer that is easy to share.
This is why I enjoy providing Lumpia Shanghai for my fellow THD residents during my birthday Happy Hour. It allows me to share a small but meaningful part of my heritage.
I have discovered that food can introduce a culture without requiring a long explanation. Sometimes, one bite is enough to begin a conversation.
Lechon - The Centerpiece of a Filipino Feast
Lechon is a whole roasted pig, traditionally prepared for important celebrations, fiestas, weddings, and family gatherings.
Its crisp skin and tender meat make it a festive centerpiece. Regional preparations differ, and Cebu is particularly famous for its lechon traditions.
Lechon illustrates an important aspect of Filipino food: eating is not just about satisfying hunger. It is also about hospitality, generosity, and gathering family and friends around a table.
Halo-Halo - A Dessert That Lives Up to Its Name
Halo-halo literally means “mix-mix.”
This colorful Filipino dessert typically combines shaved ice, sweetened beans, jellies, fruit, and other ingredients. It may be topped with leche flan, ube, or ice cream.
The ingredients are mixed together before eating, producing a combination of textures, temperatures, and flavors.
Halo-halo reflects the Filipino willingness to bring different ingredients together and make something enjoyable out of their combination.
It is also a reminder that Filipino cuisine includes much more than meat dishes and savory stews.
5. What Makes Filipino Food Unique?
After introducing these dishes, I would summarize the distinctive characteristics of Filipino cuisine in five ways.
First, we appreciate balance in flavor.
Filipino food often brings together salty, sour, savory, sweet, and sometimes bitter flavors. Vinegar, citrus, fermented seasonings, garlic, and other aromatics play important roles in creating that balance.
Second, rice is central to our meals.
Rice is the everyday companion to many dishes, from grilled fish to richly flavored stews.
Third, regional diversity matters.
The Philippines is not a country with one uniform food culture. Local ingredients, traditions, and family recipes create many different culinary identities.
Fourth, we have absorbed outside influences and made them our own.
Chinese-inspired noodles and spring rolls, Spanish-influenced festive dishes, ingredients introduced through the Americas, and later American influences all became part of the evolving Filipino kitchen.
Consider paella and Arroz Valenciana, for example. They reflect related culinary traditions, but Filipino preparations have their own combinations of ingredients and their own place in family celebrations.
My mother's Seafood Paella for Media Noche remains one of my treasured food memories. Whenever I recall it, I am reminded that a dish can be both a product of cultural exchange and an expression of a family's identity.
Finally, Filipino food is about sharing.
Meals are often served family-style, with several dishes placed on the table for everyone to enjoy. Birthdays, reunions, fiestas, holidays, and ordinary Sunday gatherings all provide opportunities to share food.
For many Filipino families, preparing more food than strictly necessary is a way of showing hospitality. A visitor should feel welcome, and nobody should leave the table hungry!
6. Filipino Food Comes with a Story
I have written before about the relationship between food, memory, and cultural identity. The older I become, the more I appreciate that connection.
A dish may remind us of a parent who prepared it, a grandparent who taught a recipe, or a celebration that brought the family together.
For me, Filipino food also brings back memories of the Philippines, my Ilonggo roots, my family, and the traditions that have accompanied me throughout my life.
Even after decades in America, these connections remain meaningful.
Living at THD has given me another opportunity to share them. Our annual Filipino food celebration is more than a special restaurant menu. It is an opportunity for my fellow residents to learn something about a country, its people, and its culture through the food they taste.
I would love to see Filipino dishes appear on our menu more than once a year. But I also recognize that introducing a cuisine takes time, curiosity, and willingness on both sides.
Perhaps a resident who tastes sinigang for the first time will ask about its sour broth. Someone who enjoys lumpia may become curious about pancit. Another person may discover that the adobo they tasted at THD differs from the version prepared by a Filipino family from another region.
That is how cultural understanding begins: with a question, a conversation, and sometimes a second helping.
My Final Thoughts
To my non-Filipino readers, I hope this short introduction encourages you to look beyond the familiar image of chicken adobo.
Try sinigang if you enjoy a tangy soup. Sample pancit if you love noodles. Share some lumpia at your next gathering. If you have a sweet tooth, give halo-halo a try.
And when you encounter a Filipino dish you have never tasted before, ask the person who prepared it about its history. You may discover that the food comes with a wonderful family story.
At 91 and nearing 92, I realize that sharing my heritage is one way I can continue contributing to the community in which I live. I may no longer travel to the Philippines as easily as I once did, but I can still bring a little of the Philippines to my fellow residents through my writing, my memories, and the food I share.
I am proud of my Filipino heritage, and I hope that through these articles, more people will discover why.
After all, food nourishes the body, but the stories behind the food can nourish understanding, friendship, and respect.
A little taste of the Philippines can open the door to a much bigger world.
Kaon ta! - In Hiligaynon, the language of my roots, that means, “Let's eat!”
Here are photos of Four of My Favorite Pinoy Dishes
1. Chicken adobo with rice
Introduce the best-known Filipino dish while explaining that recipes vary from family to family.
2. Sinigang
Illustrate the distinctive sour flavors found in Filipino cooking.
3. Lumpia Shanghai
This is especially relevant to your birthday Happy Hour tradition at THD.
4. Halo-halo
A colorful way to show readers that Filipino cuisine includes distinctive desserts, too.
AI Impressions on this Posting:
One historical point worth highlighting: Your explanation of adobo is a particularly good teaching moment. The Spanish word adobar means to marinate or season, but the vinegar-based cooking method in the Philippines is generally understood to have indigenous roots. Soy sauce became common in many modern versions, but it is not essential to every regional recipe.
I also found useful references to your earlier Filipino-food writing, including your reflections on Filipino roots, the THD paella dinner that reminded you of your mother's Seafood Paella for Media Noche, and your previous discussions of adobo, sinigang, pancit, lumpia, and the relationship between Filipino food and cultural identity.
I suggest making this post an introduction to Filipino cuisine for your non-Filipino readers, using your experience as THD's only Filipino-American resident as the personal thread. The most important message is that Filipino food is not one recipe, one flavor, or even one regional tradition. It is a diverse cuisine shaped by the Philippine archipelago, local ingredients, centuries of cultural exchange, and the traditions of individual families
My Related Articles on Filipino Food and Cuisine:
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2026/10/filipino-food-feast-for-eyes-heart-and.html
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-five-flavor-styles-in-filipino.html
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