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Article by: Thanh Truc
Champorado – A rich chocolate breakfast
Waking up in Ilo Ilo, Philippines, this time I didn't choose fast food or a pastry from a convenience store, but instead followed my friend, inquiring about traditional breakfast stalls on the sidewalk. The rainy season here is similar to Vietnam, with strong winds and a gloomy sky. At times like these, a hot cup of chocolate is the best.
My local friend, hearing my exclamation, enthusiastically pulled me into a food cart. A moment later, a bowl of Champorado, fragrant with cocoa, was brought out. Despite the rain and wind, many customers, mostly children, continued to excitedly pull their mothers inside, chattering excitedly, though I only understood the word "Champorado!". The dry, cold rainy season is also the time when children pester each other for Champorado – chocolate porridge – for breakfast every day.
In Pinoy cuisine, great emphasis is placed on balancing sour, salty, and sweet flavors. Champorado is also prepared according to this principle of flavor balance. Made from glutinous rice cooked with a special type of dark, bitter chocolate (77%), brown sugar, and unsweetened condensed milk, Champorado has a very distinctive thick brown color. The interesting thing about this chocolate porridge is that it can be eaten hot or cold. Hot is perfect for breakfast, cold is a great snack to nibble on between meals. Sometimes it's served with dried fish (tuyo) to balance the sweetness.
This treat is incredibly easy to find at any Filipino food stall. For those short on time, the triple chocolate version of Champorado at Max's Fried Chicken fast-food restaurants in Manila is also a pretty good option.
Halo Halo – Let's mix, mix!
Visiting the Philippines without trying Halo Halo is like only stepping one foot across the border, not truly arriving in the land of a thousand islands. Featured on popular television shows and renowned newspapers, and even the subject of the Top Chef cooking competition, Halo Halo, also known as "mixed dessert," is considered the most iconic street food of Filipino cuisine.
A Halo Halo drink absolutely must have a scoop of purple Ube ice cream. Nowhere else do people love purple Ube sweet potatoes as much as here; almost every dessert, ice cream, and cake features Ube. Can you guess why purple Ube sweet potatoes are so popular? Simply because the purple color of Ube sweet potatoes is similar to the color of the Philippine 100 peso banknote. Therefore, it is also considered the color of luck and wealth. Making Ube Haleyang jam, preparing Ube cakes, and eating Ube Halo Halo during the New Year and festivals have become traditions for many people here.
Returning to the famous Halo Halo, beneath the purple Ube ice cream is a layer of shaved ice drizzled with condensed milk. Underneath the shaved ice are jackfruit, banana, and mango, somewhat similar to Vietnamese mixed fruit. However, Halo Halo also includes tapioca pearls interspersed with various beans and jams; some places even add flan. When eating, you must mix everything together, continuously stirring the layers to create a refreshing, sweet, and creamy Halo Halo with a delightful blend of ice cream and fruit.
Banana BBQ Feast with Turon, Banana Q, Ginanggang & Maruya
Bananas in the Philippines are very large, almost three times the size of Vietnamese Siamese bananas. The peel is smooth, greenish-yellow, and the fruit is perfectly round. Normally, bananas that are too big aren't fragrant. However, these bananas, despite their size, are very aromatic, and this particular variety isn't sweet; its taste is very refreshing and mild. While they can be eaten raw, most Filipinos reserve this type of banana for cooking. This is the Saba banana, also known as the Cardaba banana. Walking through the Philippine market, I was surprised by the variety of dishes made from bananas. The four must-try dishes are Turon, Banana Q, Ginanggang, and Maruya.
Maruya is quite similar to our fried bananas. A banana is rolled into a thin sheet, dipped in batter, topped with a few slices of jackfruit, and then fried. The hot fried banana with jackfruit is often sprinkled with sugar or drizzled with syrup before being sold. Because Cardaba bananas aren't as intensely sweet as Vietnamese bananas, their flavor is very light and refreshing, so after cooking, the banana taste is just right; you don't need to worry if it's too sweet.
Ginanggang is captivating from afar with its fragrant aroma of grilled bananas. At BBQ parties, Ginanggang – BBQ bananas – are an indispensable part of the experience. Large Saba bananas are skewered and grilled over charcoal until the outside is slightly browned, then brushed with unsalted butter and grilled again until light brown, releasing a rich, fragrant aroma of cooked bananas. Finally, they are lightly rolled in granulated sugar to enhance the banana flavor.
With Banana Q, also known as Banana Cue, the banana is peeled, lightly sugared, and fried until the sugar melts into a brown caramel coating. For a more elaborate version, instead of making Banana Cue, try wrapping it in rice paper, adding a few slices of jackfruit, and frying it. That's how you get Turon – "banana spring rolls," as I call them. Even those who don't know how to cook can make Turon at home. Cut a banana in half, roll it in brown sugar, add a few slices of jackfruit, or mango, or even some cheddar cheese if you like, and wrap it neatly in rice paper. Wait for the oil to heat up, check the temperature with a chopstick; if you see tiny bubbles around the chopstick, put the "banana spring roll" in, sing your favorite song twice. Then remove it; the sugar will have melted into caramel and seeped through the wrapper. Let the banana BBQ feast begin!
Pastillas de leche – for a tropical tea party
Derived from the classic Spanish dessert Leche Frita, Pastillas de Leche are also "milk balls" often prepared by mothers and grandmothers during warm family gatherings. You probably haven't forgotten the fried milk that was incredibly popular with sweet tooths when it first appeared in Vietnam, but if you don't like the strong smell of fried oil, then these "milk balls" are perfect for you.
Buffalo milk (carabao milk) is often used because it's a rich, creamy milk that thickens easily. Boil the buffalo milk (carabao), add a little sugar to thicken the mixture, and stir continuously like you would when making hot chocolate until it thickens. Pour into molds, or simply let cool and roll into small balls by hand, then roll them in granulated sugar or powdered sugar to create plump, juicy "milk capsules." Pastillas de leche are often served at tea parties and are also a popular street food in the archipelago.
These chilled "milk balls," small and round or cylindrical in shape, are incredibly simple yet addictive due to their smooth, cool, and sweet milky flavor. They make a unique Christmas gift for your loved ones.
The taste of Christmas - Bibingka
Just as Christmas in Europe is incomplete without turkey, Christmas in the Philippines wouldn't be complete without the taste of Bibingka in the morning. Originating from China, Bibingka is also a favorite dessert among Filipinos; it's a smooth, soft, and not overly sweet pastry.
Bibingka is made from rice flour, coconut milk, eggs, sugar, butter, and milk. Sift the rice flour and sugar together, then quickly pour it into a mixture of eggs, coconut milk, butter, and milk. Shake to mix well, being careful not to whisk the mixture until smooth before pouring it into a clay pot lined with banana leaves. This allows the batter to rise more. The finished product is hot, soft, and fluffy. You can top it with salted egg yolk, grated coconut, or, in some special versions, kesong puti cheese (carabao cheese made from buffalo milk), or pineapple.
Bibingka is often sold in front of churches during Christmas, so if you visit the Philippines in November or December, you can enjoy many different types of Bibingka, some even topped with balut (fertilized duck egg). You can also easily find hot Bibingka in street markets or at bakeries like Frino's Bibingka in Metro Manila.
The cuisine of the archipelago nation is a fusion of many cultures, including Spanish, Chinese, and Indian. Not to mention, it also bears the influence of neighboring countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia… Cuisine is like a window into the soul of a country; tasting the dishes in the Philippines, I felt the sweetness, warmth, and friendliness of the people here.
Enjoy the food at:
Loriekot's Lutong Bahay- 193 Dien Bien Phu Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Manila Fiesta- Parkson Le Thanh Ton, 35 Bis 45, Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
