Why Filipino Christmas Dishes Are Important to Me
By Darren Lacsado
It never occurred to me that having your Christmas tree up in September was weird until my Canadian friend pointed it out. Like being told in kindergarten that my skin colour was not included in a basic Crayola box, it was one of the first times I became aware of my Filipino ethnicity. Growing up as a first-generation immigrant, reconciling my Filipino heritage and Canadian nationality was difficult. A story all first-generation immigrants know all too well. Funnily enough, it wasn’t my cultural traditions, language, or even history that helped me accept my Filipino Canadian identity. It was Christmas. If I were to ask you what word comes to mind when I say the holidays, what would you say? Friends, festivity, family? For me, the first thing to come to mind when I think of Christmas is my second-favourite f-word: food! At the heart of most cultures lies its cuisine; Filipino culture is no different. After all, food is life. Perhaps the most popular and traditional of Filipino holiday dishes is Lechon: A whole pig, head and toes and all, slowly roasted, seasoned, and stuffed with a myriad of things that are beyond my incompetent, culinary understanding. A crispy exterior, complemented by tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat. So good. Alongside it will almost always be a plate of lumpia, or egg rolls, or whatever the actual name of it is called (every Filipino family calls it something different). Ground meat mixed with vegetables and seasoning wrapped up and deep fried in egg wrappers. Also, so good. And, of course, this is all served with copious and probably unhealthy amounts of white rice because, of course, we’re Asian. Some Filipino families, however, choose to forego rice and instead serve Filipino-style spaghetti: A sweet spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. It’s made of tomato sauce, brown sugar, and banana ketchup (yeah, that’s a thing). It may sound like an abomination, an affront to Italians and all people with tastebuds everywhere, but it’s good, trust me! (Just don’t try the one from Jollibee; that one is gross.) After the main course comes dessert, of course, and Filipinos have a sweet tooth. The most famous Filipino dessert is Leche flan, a caramel flan, pudding, and custard thing that some Spanish folks say originated elsewhere. Don’t let them tell you that, though. Speaking of Spanish, puto (not that kind, amigos) are these delectable, little rice cakes with a tiny block of cheese in their centre. Like bite-sized, fluffy cupcakes that don’t make you want to vomit after eating them. A little bit of red wine here and there, and hey, everyone is joining in on drunk karaoke! Merry times for everyone, except anyone sober.
