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Sizzle and Smoke: A Look at Barbecue in the Lives of Filipinos

The smoke curled up and danced in the wind before spreading out. The embers glowed red as a quick burst of air fanned it. I watched the meat sizzle as it was placed over the hot coals and was cooked slowly. The crusty black grill was full of meat and glowing coals. People were gathered around giving their orders and choosing from the wide variety of barbecue products. This is the Filipino style of barbecue, where the food from the grill reached your table in ten minutes. Take a walk around the city of Cebu at night and you will see barbecue stations glowing on the streets like Christmas lights huddled together side by side in one food area or in competition with each other by just a few meters apart. With the numerous barbecue establishments in Cebu, it seems like a notable theory that barbecue has played a part in shaping the Filipino culture. Before I list how barbecue has shaped the Filipino culture let us define the method of barbecueing. According to the website http://www.bbqmyths.com/grilling.html, barbecue “... uses indirect heat or low-level heat to cook foods - usually meats.” Some people might say that with barbecue, you need to take time to let the meat cook fully but since there is really no inventor of barbecue, it is a hit and miss method of cooking. However, in most barbecue businesses, details of food preparation include grilling the meat half-cook prior to putting them on display for fast service as orders come in from customers at peak meal times.

In the Philippines, barbecue has encouraged a people-oriented society. Sit down in one of the many big barbecue stations in Cebu, like Larsian's near Fuente Osmena – Cebu City's rotunda or Matias in A.S. Fortuna, Mandaue City. Observe how almost all types of people are drawn to these barbecue stations. People from all walks of life— ordinary people on the streets, students, teachers, office workers and other professionals, come to these places not just to satisfy their hunger but more so to spend time with their family or friends. A 'barbecuhan', so called in the local dialect, is not a formal place and thus people can relax and in a sense, be themselves. A lot of times in traditional Filipino way of eating, people use their fingers to savor the barbecue of their choice along with the 'puso' or heart-shaped boiled rice packed in woven coconut leaves. Without the formality of spoons and forks, it seems that a lot of people are more prone to talking and laughing, although this has never been proven by a study.

Another factor that draws people to the barbecue places is the fact that it is a cheaper alternative to fast-food restaurants like McDonalds or Mang Inasal. McDonalds also serves finger foods like fries and hamburgers but the difference between them and the 'barbecuhan' is the type of food offered and the range of prices. McDonalds, being an American-influenced fast food, is a lot more expensive since a hundred pesos can only buy, more or less, one burger meal. Mang Inasal is also a fast-food restaurant focused on the barbecue industry. However, its prices are a lot higher than the barbecue places on the streets. One advantage it offers is a cleaner, airconditioned place and better hygiene for those who want to experience Filipino styled-barbecue without the danger of health problems.

In this world of high technology where everything is fast, fast, fast, barbecue seems to have fit in rather nicely. Its availability and convenience have made it a booming industry in Cebu. All a person has to do is pick out which barbecue he or she finds interesting, hand it over to the cook and wait for it. While dining in, one has the privilege of a few minutes talk with one's companions and then the barbecue arrives in around ten to fifteen minutes, which is not too long a wait. If one would like to bring his order home, he can simply wait and watch his order being cooked. Drawing on experience, it is quite enjoyable to take out a barbecue meal (complete with puso) and to eat it in a car, specifically in a multicab or pick-up type of vehicle with friends and family. As the car moves along you try to balance the rice on your lap while holding the barbecue in one hand. As the car rumbles and bumps along, the barbecue is passed among your fellow diners. Clean-up is a breeze since the only thing left are the sticks and the coconut palm fronds from the puso. On family outings in the beach, barbecues are a favorite mainstay which are conveniently prepared on the beach front and served hot to hungry, dripping wet swimmers.

One thing I admire about the barbecue stations is the fact that there are no fussy glass walls separating you from the cook or the grill. You can watch how the pork gradually gets smaller, how the oil bubbles out of the chorizo when it is sliced, how the cook deftly brushes the meat with oil and ketchup. Plus you can observe how the coals glow ruby red when the cook fans the grill with a piece of cardboard or the locally-woven anahaw fan to put out the flame or to heat up the coals. However, one disadvantage to the method of barbecueing in general is the smoke. Big billows of smoke or small wisps of them coming from the grill often leave a smoky smell on your clothes if you stand too close. So, feel free to observe but beware of the smoke.

Let us now take a closer look at the business aspect of barbecue. Small roadside barbecue operations like that of Mr. Julius Lao of Ibabao-Estancia, Mandaue City is the more common business venture on barbecues. His barbecue station has continued to generate income since its establishment seven years ago. He usually buys his ingredients and meat from the mercado or wet market nearby and preparation takes around six hours before they open up at four thirty in the afternoon. He caters to dine in customers for whom he provides three tables by the roadside and mostly to neighbors who prefer to just take away their orders. He serves a wide variety of barbecue product line at very low prices and in small quantities such as chicken intestines, head, liver and gizzard, cubed blood, chicken legs and wings, pork barbecue, hotdogs, chorizo and longaniza and dried nocus. Closing time is at ten in the evening and in between Mr. Lao is helped by his mother. When asked for any advice for aspiring barbecue entreprenuers, he answered that it was very easy to begin a barbecue station and his usual capital for one day is around P1,000. If barbecue outlets are easy to put up and they generate income, it is easily a good way of making jobs. How does generating jobs help in revealing the Filipino values? I believe that Filipinos really are hard working but at times this cannot be seen since there are not enough jobs to go around. So, instead of sitting idle at home, Filipinos should set up small enterprises that are able to generate income to support the family like the popular barbecue stalls.

On the other hand, Mrs. Prudy Perez of Matias Barbecue shared that their family business of selling different types of barbecues started around 1996 and is still operational and booming today. This shows that the barbecue business is really very popular amoung the 'Sugbuhanon', a local word for Cebuanos. Their numerous customers have been able to support a family and their team of workers while in turn satisfying their loyal customers. For a big barbecue operation like Matias, their different product lines include pork belly, sliced pork on sticks, chicken legs, wings and breast, chicken liver and gizzard, chorizo and grilled whole fish. They are displayed in big basins from which customers choose. Due to the huge volume that they sell, they have sub-contracted the preparations of the product which include slicing the meat, marinating, putting them on a stick and getting them half-cooked. Thus, the benefit of the business extends to suppliers and sub-contractors. This reflects the entreprenurial skills of the Filipinos where they show their ability to establish networks with loyal friends and families concerning the business. The fact that Matias is operating in the front yard of the family property, reveals the ingenuity of the Filipinos in using their available resources. By using what they had, the family has been able to cut down on costs because all they needed to supply was the tables, benches, washing area, and food. Matias' operating hours start from 11:00 am until 10:00 pm. Peak hours would be during meal times at 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for lunch and 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for dinner.

When barbecue is mentioned usually the image of steaks and burger patties come to mind. However, the Filipino style of barbecue offers a wide variety in terms of shape or size and taste. Some examples of the different shapes and sizes that are rather unusual are the chicken liver, blood—looking like squares of reddish brown earth, chicken head cut in half and intestines—thin and flesh colored zigzagging on the stick. Fish, pork and chicken are the meats usually barbecued and eaten.

Another characteristic of Filipino barbecue in Cebu is the 'puso' that must be eaten with it. It is a heart-shaped cooked rice popular here in the Visayas. Coconut palm leaves are woven together to make a container where the rice is boiled. When served, all that needs to be done is to open the 'puso' through the slit made at its side. This is a very fast and efficient way to serve rice since it does not need to be scooped out of the rice cooker and carried back and forth on plates. Also, as mentioned before, this preparation makes cleaning up very quick and in some places the empty wrapper is the basis of how much you have to pay. They do this by counting the left behind 'puso' wrapper together with your order of barbecue.

Barbecue taste ranges from sweet, salty, sour and spicy. The main seasoning usually found in all barbecue stations is ketchup and soy sauce with a choice of kalamansi or chili. Many other Filipino dishes also have either ketchup or soy sauce as an ingredient. For ketchup-using dishes, there is mechado, sweet-style spaghetti and afritada. Adobo, humba and pancit fall under the soy sauce using dishes. So, in a way , barbecue has the components of several well-loved dishes eaten by millions of Filipinos. The smoky taste of barbecue must also tickle the Filipino pallette because there are many other food types prepared with the use of smoke. Examples are the tinap-anan and the smoked bangus, quite popular in Luzon.

Barbecue is hardly noticeable among the many different variations of food found around the world but by observing how it shapes Filipino values and culture, I have seen many different characteristics that make me proud of this food for all seasons like Filipino entrepreneurship, ingenuity and industry.

Comm1 assignment- Combining sentences

Combine all of those sentences into one effective sentence containing only one main thought (independent clause).
 

1.
Mark Twain is the author of Huckleberry Finn.
Huckleberry Finn is a classic American novel.
Mark Twain's real name was Samuel L. Clemens.
He lived in Hartford for several years.

Mark Twain, whose real name is Samuel L. Clemens and author of Huckleberry Finn- a classic American novel, lived in Hartford for several years.

2.
Mark Twain's house was very elaborate and elegant.
It was on Farmington Avenue.
It was in an area called Nook Farm.
He was a neighbor of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Mark Twain’s very elaborate, elegant house was on Farmington Avenue, Nook Farm and he was a neighbor of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
 

3.
Mark Twain's home has a large side porch.
Windows and a balcony overlook the porch.
Today, people say the windows and balcony remind them of a steamboat.
In his youth, Twain piloted steamboats on the Mississippi.

Mark Twain, who piloted steamboats on the Mississippi in his youth, has a home with a balcony overlooking a large side porch  and windows which people say remind them of a steamboat.

4.
Mark Twain was one of the first three people in Hartford to own a telephone.
The telephone was first used commercially in nearby New Haven.
There was practically no one to talk to.
Mark Twain never really liked this newfangled gadget.

Mark Twain was one of the first three people in Hartford to own a telephone, which was first used in New Haven and which Twain never really liked because there was no one to talk to.
 

5.
Mark Twain loved industrial inventions.
He lost a fortune investing in them.
One of these inventions was the elaborate Paige typesetter.
Unfortunately for Twain, this machine was developed at the same time as the Linotype.
The Linotype machine was much simpler and less expensive.

 Mark Twain loved and lost a fortune in industrial inventions like the elaborate Paige typesetter, which was developed at the same time with  the simpler and less expensive Linotype machine.
 

6.
Mark Twain's beloved daughter, Susy, died in the Hartford home.
She died of spinal meningitis.
Twain never felt the same about the house again.
He soon left the house and Hartford.
He returned only once.
He came back for the funeral of his friend, Charles Dudley Warner.

Mark Twain left his Hartford home when his daughter, Suzy, died there of spinal meningitis and returned only once for the funeral of his friend, Charles Dudley Warner.

Bread- details

History of Bread

•         When ancient man discovered a food which would keep through the winter months, and could be multiplied in the summer, it could be said that civilization began.

•         Loaves and rolls have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs

•         Wheat has been found in pits where human settlements flourished 8,000 years ago

•         A Bakers' Guild was formed in Rome around the year 168 B.C. From then on the industry began as a separate profession. The Guild or College, did not allow the bakers or their children to withdraw from it and take up other trades.

The Romans enjoyed several kinds of bread, with interesting names. There was:
-oyster bread (to be eaten with oysters)
-'artolaganus' or cakebread
-'speusticus' or 'hurry bread'
-oven bread
-tin bread
-Parthian bread.

In early English historical times, there were constantly recurring periods of famine, due to not enough, or too much rain, or frosts, and other natural causes. The ruling classes, knowing that rebellion often followed famine, did their utmost to keep the price of bread from rising too high.

The bakers liked to keep the ‘mystery’ of the trade to themselves and to prevent unlicensed people from starting up.

Importance of Bread (in our diet)

Certain studies have shown that complex carbohydrates in bread composition, properly prepared, can cover half of the necessary caloric intake of the human body.

Alimentary fiber decrease the cholesterol level and protect against heart diseases, hemorrhoids, constipation and diabetes.

Brown bread, prepared with whole grains, is rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins. It is well-known the fact that a bread in a darker color is more nourishing that a white one. For a healthy diet, specialists recommend brown bread. 

White bread, highly appreciated for its taste, it’s poor in nutriments due to the substances eliminated through the process of wheat refining.

White bread is poor in iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and fiber.

Types of bread

White bread-is made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ have been removed through a process known as milling.  The flour used in white bread is often bleached using potassium bromate or chlorine dioxide gas to remove any slight yellow color and make its baking properties more predictable.

Examples: Ciabatta (Italy), Dampfnudel (Germany)

Brown bread- a designation often given to breads made with significant amounts of whole grain flour, usually rye or wheat, and sometimes dark-colored ingredients such as molasses or coffee.

Examples: Irish Brown Bread, New England Brown Bread

Whole wheat bread- a type of bread made using flour which is partly or entirely made from whole or almost whole wheat grains. It is one kind of brown bread.

Rye Bread- type of bread made with various percentages of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour.It is higher in fiber than many common types of bread and is often darker in color and stronger in flavor. 

Examples: White rye-type bread, Dark rye bread

Flatbread- A flatbread, or unleavened bread, is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough.

Examples: Crepe, Roti, tortillas  

Quick bread- refers to a bread chemically leavened, usually with both baking powder and baking soda, and a balance of acidic ingredients and alkaline ingredients.

Examples: pancakes , muffins , scones

Sourdough bread- A slightly sour flavor and a denser texture than regular bread is what can perfectly describe sourdough bread. This type of bread is made from a mixture of water and flour, known as starter, without any or very little addition of yeast. The mixture is kept for fermentation, thereby producing a gas and an acid. 

Examples: Pumpernickel (Germany)

Multigrain bread- Multigrain bread is prepared by combining assorted wholemeal, white or rye flour. Multigrain breads are further classified into two types, namely, light and heavy.

Fruit bread-a normal bread recipe to which fruit and often sugar are added. Ingredients used to enhance appearance and flavour of breads include cinnamon, nutmeg, egg wash and sugar/water wash.

Examples: Cinnamon Rolls , Apple Fruit Bread

Sources:

•www.botham.co.uk/bread/index.htm

•http://widbox.com/the-importance-of-bread-in-our-diet

Calories in Filipino Food by Dr. Philip S. Chua

I felt like the text was a very technical one. It described food by giving the number of calories equal to a certain serving. For me, this seems like a cold way to describe food. There was little to no adjectives used by the author. Instead, after a short introduction about feasting and being health-conscious, the author plunged into 'TCR', 'IBW', and other health-related lingo. In describing Filipino food, there was no descriptions that would help me imagine, even a little, what a lakatan or latundan banana was. There are a lot of delicious, adjective-needy dishes enumerated in the text and I find it such a waste to read and not find anything that describes how crunchy and caramelized a turon is or how an eclair tastes heavenly with its custard filling. A lot of the dishes are familiar ones for me but what about foreigners reading the article? Will they be able to imagine everything by just reading how many calories a dish has? I think the author did not use any concrete words to describe the food or drinks he listed in his article. In my head, I found myself clumping everything together and not seeing them as separate dishes. I've been rather negative about the article but it would honestly have been better if an adjective or two had been thrown in.

Indian Food

One thing I like about the article is the number of food it enumerates. Most of these the author described, some in a short one to two word description, some in longer sentences. The author did not go into extensive descriptions but did it in a quick, cut-to-the-chase way. He/she started off with saying that 'spices are used generously in food' to describe Indian cuisine. The author also classified Indian Food according to region (ex. North, South, West, East) and I must say that it is easier then listing them all alphabetically or according to taste. When describing a certain food, I noticed that the author didn't limit one definition to one dish. He/she applied one phrase to several dishes like the Roshogollas, Sandesh, and Cham-cham which the author stated was a dessert with milk as one of its main ingredients. In the paragraph about North Indian food, the cuisine is described as reflecting strong Central Asian influences. This later on helps explain why the people living in the north eat a lot of rice compared to their fellow countrymen who live in the South, West or East. In each region, the author focuses on one main point/dish. It may be dessert or rice or preserves. In this way, the author did not have to describe a lot of dishes and it was easier to imagine what the dishes looked/tasted like.

Positive and Negative (Connotation/Denotation)- Comm 1

Anderson, Digby. "Turn out the lite; lite food is insipid, weak, denatured, flat, diluted, and easy: food for cowards and children. "

(Negative)

1. The mildest thing one would want to say about this horrid dry pink innovation, which sweated under the grill and fell to bits under the knife, was that it was less than a sausage. 


2. There is a word that usefully captures this trend to the insipid and denatured, and it is "Lite." 

3. He is ignorant, timid, squeamish, and childish. 

4. Lite is insipid, weak, denatured, flat, diluted, and easy: food for cowards and children.  

5. The entertainment industry is fluffy and flimsy.

Nostalgia for Kerala (and its food) by Pete Cherches

 (Positive)

1. There are beautiful beaches and backwaters, places of great historical interest, reflecting the region's varied colonial past, and an overall sense of contentment and well-being among the people.

2. The menu was intriguing, including such seasonal specials as rabbit roast and frog legs fry (toddy shop style).

3. The ride was delightful, though a bit claustrophobic. 

4. It was a lovely, idyllic place, and I felt a bit like Gauguin arriving in Tahiti. 

5. Varuthatus are wonderfully incendiary dishes made with chili paste. 


Meanings (of words I did not understand and some other not-so-sure words):



Incendiary-tending to inflame the senses.
Idyllic- charmingly simple or rustic.
Insipid- without sufficient taste to be pleasing, as food or drink; bland.
Squeamish-easily shocked by anything slightly immodest; prudish.

Here ends my assignment in Comm 1. -bow-