Excerpt from Sandok: A Filipino-Canadian Oral History Cookbook |

The following is an excerpt from ANAK Publishing’s latest oral history publication, Sandok: A Filipino-Canadian Oral History Cookbook. The book features the personal narratives of five Winnipeg restauranteurs and their connection to Filipino-Canadian culture and cuisine. This book is written and researched by Ma. Monica de Castro and Kezia Malabanan-Abueg.

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Relevance of learning and understanding the history of Filipino cuisine

What is Filipino food? In developing this book, we realize that there is no real answer to this question. Instead, we have come to learn that Filipino food encompasses differing experiences in Winnipeg. One informant, Victoria David, sums up the Filipino food experience this way:

The [Filipino] food that’s being served needs to be explained. For example, when you first introduce a dish to someone, you have to explain the kind of food it is and the ingredients it needs… You have to know your food… That’s important.

In the process of explaining, one will inherently reflect on the broader culture, values, and history the dish evolved from. We have learned that food culture may be a readily distinguished portal to understanding a particular ethnocultural group. Moreover, an explanation gives guests permission to customize the dish to their liking.

The Filipino concept of sawsawan (dipping sauce) is not just a dipping sauce. When we think about sawsawan, we associate it with patis, bagoong, toyo (soy sauce), and suka (vinegar). A chef inviting his diners to add sawsawan to his/her meal is an act of involving them in the process of food preparation. This cultural act differs from other cultures wherein adding seasoning or condiments to dishes is deemed insulting. However, for Filipinos, it is a sign of a communal relationship that is ubiquitous to general Filipino culture. It shows tolerance for differing opinions whether it agrees or disagrees with the chef. It shows how individuals pick and choose what he/she likes (and does not like). It shows how personal preferences can still work in creating something harmoniously amazing.

In relation to Nakpil’s quote at the beginning of this chapter, Filipinos remain a Filipino (at least) gastronomically, but Filipino food culture is something beyond that. As long as preparation, cooking, and dining practices are observed, and as long as values are continually reflected upon (consciously or unconsciously) when explaining Filipino food to youngsters and non-Filipinos, then being Filipino is more than just a gastronomical attachment. Food culture is a convenient way to reflect on one’s own “Filipino-ness.”

As Filipino-Canadians ourselves, there is value on the communality that we express whenever we sit down to share and eat our food. There is value in the meanings we infer and confer on the food we set on our tables. There is value on the cultural factors that shape our cuisine. And now that many of us are “Global Filipinos,” there is value on how we can constantly (de-/re-) construct our identities and make sense of the world based not only by the food we put into our mouths, but also its process and meaning.