Considering the recent news from the Philippines, I thought to dedicate a Food Friday post to Filipino foods as a way to share part of the culture and to keep the Philippines in our minds over the holidays.
While many of us are celebrating the holidays, the Red Cross continues the important work of helping the country recover from the deadly typhoon. A dedicated Canadian medical team is spending the holidays in Ormoc where a Red Cross field hospital has been set up.
Food is always a great way to bring families and communities together and it’s no different in the Philippines.
According to Canadian Red Crosser Nicole Robichaud, who is working at the Red Cross field hospital, the kids in the Philippines LOVE a dish called champorado. It’s a sweet chocolate rice porridge they eat for breakfast or for a day-time snack. It can also be served with a salty dried fish called tuyo. The main ingredients are rice, sugar, milk, cocoa and sweet glutinous rice (locally known as malagkit). It can be eaten hot or cold and has a thick chocolaty consistency.
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Philippine Red Cross volunteers have been going into communities to provide psychosocial support after the devastation of the typhoon. They always cook up a big pot of champorado and serve it to the kids after playing some games.
Check here for a recipe to try it yourself at home.
Back in Canada, the Philippines is also being celebrated through food. During a recent fundraising gala party hosted by the people behind #HaiyanTO, the dessert table included a spread of cookies in the colours of the Philippines flag. The gala raised $30,000 to support Red Cross efforts in the Philippines.
Lamesa Filipino Kitchen, a popular restaurant in Toronto, supported the #HaiyanTO gala with the donation of a gift certificate to its restaurant. I checked in with Lamesa to see if they had any traditional holiday recipes they could share, and was pointed to this story in the Toronto Star where Chef Rudy shared his
mother’s beloved Christmas ham recipe. It looks divine!