US foodies predict 'Year of Adobo'
02/01/2012
New Media America, which describes itself as a group of 2,000 ethnic news organizations, ran a story on Filipino cuisine on its website, declaring that it is "poised to break gastro ceiling."
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| Lamb adobo, a sophisticated twist on an old Filipino favorite. Photo by Karen Flores, ABS-CBNnews.com |
MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino food is currently creating a buzz in the United States, leading industry observers to believe that the Year of the Dragon, which began last January 23, could be the "Year of the Adobo."
Adobo is meat (from pork and chicken to seafood and offal) braised in garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. Each household, town, province and region in the Philippines has a different way of preparing this otherwise simple Filipino viand.
New Media America, which describes itself as a group of 2,000 ethnic news organizations, ran a story on Filipino cuisine on its website, declaring that it is "poised to break gastro ceiling."
"The Year of the Dragon will be the Year of the Adobo if some local foodies are predicting it right," the article said.
The article also quoted veteran food writer Nancy Freeman as saying: “I think there are so many hot Filipino restaurants now, and they have really helped get this food bubbling to the surface of the marketplace.”
It noted the emergence of Filipino eateries in the San Francisco Bay Area, including gourmet food trucks, such as Adobo Hobo, Señor Sisig, Hapa SF and Lumpia Cart.
The article also mentioned that a new line of frozen appetizers with the brand name “Kusina ni Maria” is now available in almost 20 Whole Foods Markets and select Costco Stores across Northern California.
Growing interest
Because of the growing interest in Filipino food, the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco has launched cooking events in line with its "Kulinarya" travel packages, which were designed by the Philippine Department of Tourism and Philippine Airlines to entice Americans to go to the Philippines for food trips.
The article on New Media America also gave suggestions on how to make Filipino cuisine more palatable to American consumers.
"Filipino cuisine could break through the mainstream food scene by making it as healthy as possible, especially by cutting down on grease and sodium i.e. soy sauce,” it said, citing Nicholas von Wettberg, the managing editor with the local Fil-Am Star newspaper.
"Another important step for Filipino chefs is to consider veering away from 'lutong buhay,' or home-style cooking, as much as possible and work towards making it more creative and commercially appealing," it said, quoting Freeman.
“It can’t just be as my mom or grandma makes it. It can be however you want to make it, it can be a modern take, it can be fusion, it can be whatever tastes good, as long as it reflects its roots."
Big, bold flavors
Meanwhile, In the latest edition of Specialty Food, the magazine of international group National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, writer Joanna Pruess noted the "big, bold flavors" of Filipino cuisine.
The magazine has the Filipino lumpia (spring roll) on its cover.
"While similar to other Asian cuisines, Filipino food is less spicy, shares many commonalities with Spanish foods and has distinctive combinations, such as very salty ingredients added to sweets, that make it distinctive," Pruess wrote.
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