Strange About Food

Food is such a powerful word that could hypnotise every single living thing in the world. We talk about it, we see it, we hear it and most of all, we can’t live without it. Food is one of those topics that we can talk about for a long time. Hence our podcast will probably have more food episodes.

Destiny and I had a great discussion this week about the different types of food from our birth places. It is something that we enjoy sharing with other people too. We love learning from each other’s cultures, our love and passion about Food was one way that we do this.

Here are some of the examples of food we talked about and we recommend you should try.

Adobo (Philippines)

Adobo is one of the Philippines national food. It can be made with pork or chicken, which is simmered in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar, with loads of black pepper and crushed garlic. (Yum!)

Chicharon (Philippines)

Chicharon was brought to the Philippines from Andalucia in Spain. It is deep-fried pork crackling. Likened to the chicharon from Mexico – crunchy rectangles of deep-fried pork rinds. However, instead of dipping it in salsa like the Mexicans, in the Philippines chicharon is paired with a coconut vinegar. Not only is it one of the most popular foods in the Philippines, it is one of the best foods to have with a nice cold beer. Over the years, locals have experimented with the dish, breeding a whole new lot of variations, but nothing comes close to the original chicharon.

Lechon (Philippines)

Lechon is a suckling pig cooked on a bamboo spit over charcoal for a few hours with constant turning, which is traditionally done by hand. The long process of cooking and basting creates a really crispy pork skin and is a distinctive feature of the dish. A lot of the time an apple is put into the pig’s mouth during the cooking process as well.

Hāngī (NZ)

A hangi is a traditional feast that is cooked in an earth oven over several hours. Kai (or food) can include chicken, lamb, pork, kai moana (seafood), vegetables (particularly kūmara or sweet potato), and breaded stuffing. This is placed on top of the stones then topped with dirt to trap in the heat.

Lamb (NZ)

New Zealand’s biggest export meat and highly praised all over the world, lamb is a must-try in New Zealand. Roast lamb or lamb cutlets can be found on most restaurants menus. If you ever go to New Zealand be sure to try the Lamb. One of my favourite ways to have it is definitely the Lamb Shank, with gravy and any form of mash.

Southland Cheese Rolls (NZ)

Southland cheese rolls, also known as Southland sushi, is a comfort food specific to the Southern Regions of Aotearoa New Zealand. The process is fairly simple: a slice of bread, normally rolled out with cheese (or a cheese mix), which is then rolled rolled up like sushi with a generous helping of butter. That is then chucked into the oven to either bake or grill. It’s cheap and something to warm you up on a cold Southland day.

We also talked about a couple of Exotic Foods you would like to try when visiting Philippines and New Zealand.

Paua (NZ)

A seafood delicacy in Aotearoa New Zealand. Paua is the local name for a large sea snail. You can eat paua in a variety of ways from raw to curries to paua fritters. And of course there’s no wastage. The Paua shells are used for a variety of things, from making jewellery to even being ash trays.

Kina (NZ)

Kiwis love their seafood. So it isn’t a shock to see a type of sea urchin, or Kina, is one of such delicacies enjoyed by many New Zealanders. Kina is a type of sea urchin that has a hard spiky outer shell and thin, fleshy (edible) insides.

Huhu grubs (NZ)

Huhu grubs! Yes, the huhu grub. Like most countries, there are some edible bugs, and New Zealand is no different there. The Huhu grub was part of a traditional Māori diet. When eaten raw, huhu grubs have the taste and consistency of peanut butter (and they are full of protein).

Balut (Philippines)

Balut is a developing duck embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell. Served in salt. There is a saying that it is “a substance that increases the libido when consumed.” It sort of tastes like brains meets scrambled eggs. It’s an important source of protein for millions in the Philippines, and actually not as bad as it looks. Just don’t look at it!

Soup No. 5 (Philippines)

Is a particularly disgusting dish for most foreigners because it is made from bull or ox genitals. This dish too is supposed to make a man more potent, another one for the libido! Would you try it?

Tequila Worm (Mexico)

The legend of the worm started in the 1950s when a Mexican mezcal maker discovered a moth larvae in a batch of mezcal. This mezcal maker thought the worm’s presence actually improved its taste. He placed a worm in each bottle as a marketing strategy. Over time, other manufacturers followed suit due to its popularity. Today, tequila does not contain a worm in the bottle (in fact, the Mexican Standards authority prohibits it).

Beondegi

Beondegi is made of silkworm pupae. It is a common and popular snack sold by street vendors all around South Korea. It’s served steamed or boiled, and occasionally they’ll be served as a side dish in a fish restaurant. Some liken its taste to nuts as they can be quite crunchy.

These are some of the food we talked about on the blog. There are more food we’d love to share but that’s another episode.

Let us know if you have anything you would like to share.

Reference

https://www.foxyfolksy.com/pork-adobo-recipe/

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/50-delicious-philippines-dishes/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_cuisine

https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/filipino-recipes/

https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-get-started-cooking-filipino-food-5270830

https://www.newzealand.com/sg/feature/favourite-new-zealand-foods/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_cuisine

https://www.chefspencil.com/25-most-popular-foods-in-new-zealand/

https://www.gorentals.co.nz/explore/blog/new-zealand-food/