5 Delicious Dishes Proving BBM Is A Certified Foodie
Which dish would make our new president rush home from work?
It's not every day that you witness the inauguration of a president. The inauguration of Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. or BBM for short, the 17th president of the Philippines, is indeed an exciting day that will surely be filled with celebration and revelry.Â
What better way of commemorating the day than with a feast? After all, as one of the world's friendliest countries, Filipinos commonly offer food as a gesture of hospitality to guests as well as for welcoming good tidings such as birthdays, great achievements, significant milestones, and yes, presidential inaugurations.Â
You might already know many facts about Bongbong but did you know that he is an avid cook? In a 2015 article on Rappler, one of the unique trivia that few may know is that he loves cooking, just like his mother former first lady Imelda Marcos who shares his passion for food.Â
He may call himself adventurous in his choice of food but his tastes run along the same lines as his father, the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr. If he does enjoy cooking as one of his hobbies, we might hear him invading the palace kitchen!
Here are 5 dishes that our 17th president might be serving (or even cooking himself!) at Malacañang Palace soon: Â
1 Sinigang
In the same Rappler article, it listed two dishes that he claimed were his favorites, and one of those two is the sinigang. The sinigang is already recognized as one of the world's best vegetable soups, so it's no wonder that the son of Marcos Sr., who once declared that he liked to eat "simple, Filipino food" and enjoyed fish, seafood, and vegetables, is just as fond of this classic Filipino ulam dish.Â
2 PinakbetÂ
A powerfully savory and umami-loaded dish, the pinakbet is the second dish Bongbong claimed as one of his favorite dishes in the Rappler report. The pinakbet or pakbat is an Ilocos original, loaded with local lowland vegetables such as okra, ampalaya, talong, tomatoes, and sitaw, and flavored and seasoned with bagoong isda. Since his father's family is from that region, it's no wonder that this dish is special.Â
3 Osso BucoÂ
In another newspaper, this time in the opinion section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer back in 2016, Chef Reggie Aspiras, who wrote "Kitchen Rescue" in the newspaper's print edition, asks the food questions that everyone wants to hear. One of those bullet questions was in relation to his specialty when cooking.Â
BBM's answer? "People like my osso buco."Â
Just in case you don't know, osso buco is a rich and flavorful tomato stew normally made with veal shanks and vegetables. It's common to see the veal shank replaced with beef shanks, especially here where veal is much more rare meat than beef. It's a seemingly normal stew until you realize that there's a fragrant topping made of finely chopped garlic, lemon zest, and parsley that takes it over the top and makes it sinfully delicious!Â
4Â Kanduli Sa MisoÂ
Kanduli, a specie of Philippine catfish or hito, simmered in miso soup is a simple dish much like the sinigang. You might be surprised to know that it is one of two dishes that Aspiras learned would make BBM eager to go home if he knew that was on the menu for dinner.
What's the other dish? Nilagang baka.Â
5 Kare-KareÂ
Kare-kare or peanut stew is another one of BBM's favorite food. It is a delicious medley of vegetables and meat in a thick sauce made with ground peanuts and rice. The peanuts already make this local peanut stew thick but the addition of the toasted rice is a unique way of not only adding flavor but also a thicker consistency that will not turn back into a liquid if you happen to simmer it a little too long.Â
Since BBM is a bigger fan of seafood than other kinds of meat, it's just right that the kare-kare recipe that he would make is a seafood version. This recipe is loaded with the bounty of our seas: crabs, prawns, fish, and tahong or mussels are just some of the different kinds of seafood you can add to the kare-kare dish.Â
Bonus Trivia: What dish would BBM serve to visiting officials?Â
6 Tinola or Binakol
The humble tinola or the binakol is his answer. He claims that foreigners seem to like the flavors of these two dishes. Both are easy chicken soup recipes with slight differences. The tinola is a stewed chicken in ginger soup with green papaya and malunggay leaves. Where the tinola is a ginger soup, the binakol's soup is made flavorful by the buko juice or coconut water, giving the soup a sweet flavor that's definitely unique and delicious.Â
Want to learn how to make other Presdiential favorite dishes, too? Here are more recipes to try:Â
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