The Chinese in food Pinoy

Even if I don’t cook Chinese food all the time, I can barely enter my kitchen without meeting ingredients, equipment and cooking methods that can be traced in China. Add a pinch of soy sauce to add depth to my sauce? Stirant frying vegetables in my wok or using my steam boat as a healthy way to cook fish or chicken? They all have roots in Chinese cuisine.
The delicious and the variety of Chinese dishes probably make it the best known of Asian kitchens in the world. Where would we be without our regular dose of rice and dumplings, noodles and milk teas? However, even if the Chinese elements have permeated our culture, we kissed them with our own ingredients and Philippin sensitivities.
Archaeological evidence, as written in Tsinoy: the history of the Chinese in Philippine life (Kaisa para its Kaunlaran Inc.), shows that at the prehistoric era, the Philippines were linked to other countries through land bridges, encouraging the ancient peoples to move when they hunted for food. The excavations in the archaeological site of Hemudu near Hangzhou, in China, reveal an ancient culture of rice dating from 7,000 years. The fact that we shared the same varieties of rice and the same software in the land of cooking, such as the Palayok and the Kalan (pot and stove), prove links between the Philippines and the civilizations of Yangtze in China, before the trade documented in the 11th century.

These Chinese merchants, many of whom took Filipino wives, surely aroused a taste of their homeland. As the late Clinton Palanca writes it in the noodles of Angkong (Elizabeth Yu Gokongwei, publisher), these women added local ingredients and the contributions of their own taste buds to create a hybrid kitchen. What is the result was a delicious mixture of Chinese and Philippin dishes.

“Chinese Philippine cuisine or Tsinoy cuisine is not as easy to define and categorize because a dishes subsection was renamed in Spanish during the colonial period, probably to appear higher and sell better,” explains Tsinoy Chef Sharwin Tee. “For example, we have Filipino dishes with Spanish names that are in fact Tsinoy. The most common examples would be Asado (Char Siu), Arroz Caldo (AM Be) and Camaron Rellenado (Diok Pit He). »»

The historian, photographer and tourist guide Anson Yu agrees.

“It is interesting to see how Chinese dishes in the Philippines have Spanish names,” he adds, “like Pinec Frito and Pansit Guisado, or Spanish Chinese names like Bihon Guisado or Pato Tim.
The reason is that when the Chinese began to open Patitérias, the dishes were renamed in Spanish to present them to the Spanish and Philippins.

“When the Americans came, some of the dishes kept their Spanish names, others have been renamed in English such as fried rice or sweet and sweet pork. It was also in the American period and in the post-war years that the dishes began to bear their original names in Chinese as Siopao, Siomai, Xiao Long Bao and Lomi. »»

Tao Meng Tsai de Little Grace, the private club of chef Sharwin

Anson also says: “Chinese cooking equipment has a great influence on local cuisine such as Woks and Chinese style delicacors, and techniques like jumping and sealing.”

“I would say that the steam and the sautéed of the frying would be the most obvious connections in terms of technique,” adds Sharwin. “With regard to ingredients, Chinese and Philippine kitchens are so intertwined for centuries that Chinese ingredients are also considered Philippins. For example, ingredients like ginger, soy sauce and even fermented tofu (tauri). »»

Anson says: “In fact, we adopt Chinese words for ingredients like Tokwa, Toyo and Taho. Taho means by passing “soy flower”. »»

“The Philippins adopting Chinese food continues to date,” he comments. “For example, 7-11 has a siopao hamburger cheese. Polland Bakery released the Fudge Hopia to the coffee and the Fudge Hopia chocolate. They even have Apple Hopia. Taho is now delivered with strawberry syrup or Ube syrup here in the Philippines. »»
Another example is Champorado.

“Champorado is of Mexican origin and was originally made with corn semolina, but the Philippins substituted rice instead, giving it Chinese accent. Now you can find Ube instead of Chocolate Champorado, which makes it even more Philippin, ”explains Anson.

He shares the story behind grannies. “Many people, including many tsinoys, think that Mami is the right term Hokkien for the combination of meat, noodles and broth. This is because the word Hokkien for meat is my.
But in reality, this is what the owner of the restaurant Ma Mon Luk named his chicken broth and his noodles to distinguish him from competitors. Literally, he called the noodles of the MA dish. But as he was a Cantonese speaker and not a Hokkien speaker, he did not realize the confusion he was going to create.

“In Mandarin or Putonghua, the proper name for the combination of meat and noodle broth is lemian or the noodles drawn. It would also be there that the Japanese would obtain their mandate. »»

On constant innovations in Chinese cuisine, Anson observes: “I think that the Philippins in the near future will continue to adopt and recreate Chinese cuisine, because more and more Philippins are exposed to other regional Chinese kitchens through travel and Chinese restaurants here.

“It is a testimony that despite the geopolitical problems we are currently facing, people in the two countries can sit, share their food and enjoy a meal together.”

Was there a way that the Philippins influenced Chinese cuisine? There is an example: during the first years of Spanish colonization, the Spaniards brought Camote from Mexico. A Chinese merchant then brought this back to China where he helped feed the Chinese in times of famine.

But from a particular Platipinian dish or ingredient that influenced China, Anson says there is not yet. “Few Chinese are exposed or aware of Filipino food or cuisine. But perhaps one day, they will appreciate or will be inspired by Chinese Filipino dishes like Miki Bihon, Arroz Caldo or Dynamite Roll. With regard to the preparation of your own Chinese dishes at home, you only need a few most fresh equipment and ingredients.

“The beauty of Tsinoy cuisine is that you don’t need a ton of equipment to do it,” says Sharwin Tee. “You can roughly survive with a wok, a strong ladle, an excellent knife and perhaps a bamboo steam boat. As for the ingredients, the Chinese grocery store in San Juan, like Little Store and Wei Wang, are old binders. Asina Mart in Ayala 30th is also my go-to. Many key ingredients are available in online stores. »»
“For Tsinoy cuisine, as for most kitchens, it is best to use fresh ingredients, especially for steame -cooked seafood dishes. Do not be afraid to experiment and use fermented ingredients, such as fermented black beans (Tausi) and salted mustard leaves (Kiam Tsai). Finally, take the time to study the soy sauce. There are several different soy sauces for Chinese cuisine and they all have different uses, ”advises Sharwin.
“There is now a great interest in extending Chinese cuisine to add more ingredients and techniques from other cultures,” he said. “Just like what we do with our Tsinoy tasting menu at Little Grace, we incorporate new techniques and ingredients to Tsinoy classics. I think that more and more, people are looking for new experiences, textures and tastes in the dishes, but they want the dishes to maintain the old soul and the spirit of the classic dish. “”

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Little Grace is Sharwin’s private club; You can contact him via ig @chefsharwin and @littlegraceddinging.

For Binondo on foot visits, contact Anson Yu at @mrbinondo.