Pick up crunchy cornicks, sweet hopia, and more on your next shopping trip.
I have a complicated relationship withFilipino food . The cuisine itself is complex , too . By military unit of setting and survival , it incorporates century of outside influences frompre - compound Chinese traders,333 years of Spanish colonial rule,50 years under the American flag , and thena few years of Nipponese military control .
When I make a motion to the U.S. in my 30s , the ingredients and looker I get up with take a backseat to the cosmos of global flavors suddenly available to me . InDallas , where I live , talented cooks prepare Arabic , Lao , American barbeque , and other cuisine all within a few miles of my home .
But , after almost a decade in this country , I find myself longing for the look of the motherland . The collation and drink sold at Filipino foodstuff shop are a convenient and real mode to feed the hungry beast that is nostalgia and longing .
Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist
Summer get - togethers in the scorching Texas heating plant entail wintry pitchers of calamansi , pineapple , or mango tree juice blend in with sweettea . When I visit Philippine admirer , I take home zippered bags of pasalubong fill with polvoron , chocnut , or tablea tsokolate to be turned into a mug of hot tsokolate — even well when paired with ensaimada .
The Dallas area does not share the same compactness of Filipino Americans per satisfying mile as Los Angeles or San Francisco . So , access to the breadth of our culinary art is not as immediate , but it ’s still feasible . I call in Filipino supermarkets whenever I find myself in Houston , southern California , Chicago , and Seattle . Or , I go to Woodside in New York City to cobblestone together a Filipino food care package for myself and to share with other homesick Filipinos .
To me , the crinkle of a bag of snacks , an open mouth sharing chismis , the chewing of merienda , and the slurp of the bottom of a can of juice are the soundtrack of bonds counterfeit , then and now . Because , really , there ’s no taste like home .
Our favorite snacks and drinks
Saltine crackersWheat does n’t grow in the Philippines . So , how did a wheat berry cracker cementum itself into the culture ? From the late nineteenth century to the forties , U.S. colonisation brought this extremely portable blank canvas of a snack to Philippine shore . The iconic flushed , whitened , and blue packaging ofSkyFlakesbrand even point towards this American inheritance . Other popular brands includeCroley Foods ’ Sunflower CrackersandMagic Flakes .
lovingly called “ biskwet , ” as in cookie , one can buy the unornamented variety to be slathered with whatever one fancies , or you might opt for the sandwich form , stuff with emollient filling . I in particular delight grind butter with Spanish sardines atop my saltines , or I might go with guava jam .
PandesalPandesal is the shekels of life sentence for Filipinos . In the Philippines , they ’re trade in locality bakeries and peddled by bicyclist with a signature honk of their trumpet , garner the shekels the sobriquet “ potbelly - pot . ”
Powdered with yesterday ’s pandesal crumbs , their light crust crackle china at the slender press and contain a pillowy interior that can have fresh and savory flavors . Popular pandesal spread and filling includecoconut jam , Cheez Whiz , orStar margarineor butter sprinkled with sugar . Or , you may just relish it plain , douse into coffee or tsokolate .
Some computer storage now betray its viral materialization , the ube tall mallow pandesal , which has a purple over-embellished semblance and savory cheese woof .
Lucky Me Pancit CantonLucky Me Pancit Cantonis a packaged , instantaneous version of a beloved Chinese inheritance dish that has grace nearly every Filipino dining tabular array . A milder , more savoury version of the Asian flash shake fry noodles , this was the gustatory modality of my teens in the 1990s . Topped with a crispy fried egg for protein , or cast out in a chop suey of veg , it makes for a speedy and filling merienda , or midnight snack .
The original is my favorite , but Lucky Me Pancit Canton also come incalamansi , chile - mansi , and raging chile varieties .
PolvoronThis pantry shortbread cookie made from nut flour , butter , sugar , and spices is found in all of Spain ’s former colony , but takes slightly different forms around the world . For Filipinos , the powdery treat is made from roasted wheat flour , small-grained Milk River , sugar , and butter . It is never bake , so it does n’t have the crispy out case of many of its compound cousins . or else , it ’s toasted in a pan , formed by packing tightly into an atomic number 13 mold and traditionally packaged in cellophane wrap .
I prefer theGoldilocks’original or pinipig varieties , but there are also ube , cookie and cream or java flavors available .
Samalamig or palamigSamalamig or palamig is an entire category of sweet potable . The Filipino version ofaguas frescas , they ’re often trade in vitrolero or 3- or 5 - gallon jars , and made with tropical fruit juice , sugary liquids , and milklike concoctions . The primary purpose of samalamig or palamig is to cool one down .
While you may not see them in the same colossal container in your local Philippine market store , you may corrupt individual parcel in cans or Tetra Paks . Gina and Philippine Brand are the most omnipresent recording label , and their flavors include mango , calamansi , guava bush , guyabano or guanabana , and four seasons , a portmanteau of four juices .
CornicksA crunchy , salty , and wont - mold collation , cornicks are made fromcorn , which is not an indigenous factor to the Philippines . Cornicks are another gift from the New World that was adapted to the landscape painting and dining mesa across the Philippines . Kernels of a specific Indian corn variety are removed from the cob , boil , dry , fried into puffy globules , and seasoned with salt . Cornicks can be paired with tonic for merienda , or an Methedrine moth-eaten bottle of San Miguel Pale Pilsen as pulutan or barroom collation .
The most popular cornicks steel isBoy Bawang , which translates to “ garlic boy . ” It is testament of our intense dearest for Allium sativum , even in our snacks .
HopiaThe Chinese influence in Filipino cuisine is also evident in hopia , a gratifying pastry that come in two soma : flaky hockey pucks or chewy cubes filled with a variety of mashed beans and vegetables . Traditional fill include monggo or mung bean , pulang monggo or red attic , ube , kondol or winter melon and baboy , or pork mixed with wintertime melon . Much like pandesal , ube - cheese hopias are also available . But I have it away the diced hopia pulang monggo and sweet hopia baboy the most . There are a routine of older Chinoy , or Chinese Filipino , bakery stain likeEng Bee TinandCebu La Fortuna Bakeryavailable in entrepot or online .
Choc NutNeither goober butter nor chocolate legal community , Choc Nutis a mixed bag of the two that ’s transform into a flavor of its own . The crumbly , spunky peanut texture and sweet chocolate is a nostalgic flavor for many of us who grew up in the Philippines in the 80s and XC . The key signature white - and - cherry-red - striped wrapper is a reminder of twenty-four hours spend walking to the sari - sari store in tsinelas and buy a few pesos Charles Frederick Worth of Choc Nut to portion out with ally . In the former 2010s , a rumoredshake up in the ownership of Choc Nut gave birth to Hany , a raw mark of highly similar confect . Discerning palate claim to be able to distinguish between the two .
Tablea TsokolateWhen temperatures dip , it ’s time to bring out the Filipino hot beverage of choice : a smiler of hot , creamy tsokolate . you could purchase these chocolate tablet in Philippine grocery stores , and then add them to steaming milk or H2O , wait for it to dissolve , and unify .
This hot drink is another legacy from the country ’s historic kinship withMexico , but note that the Filipino version does not have spices like cinnamon or chili . Tsokolate is just cocoa , sugar , maybe a little powdered milk , and a whole lot of love .
EnsaimadaEnsaimada is another eatable step of Spanish colonization . Its rich , sweet , brioche - like doughis made with butter , margarine , or lard , and is coiled into a escargot shape . The Filipino version is breadier and chewier than its Mallorcan cousin-german , which has more of a melt - in - your - sass eubstance .
In the Philippines , ensaimada is often slathered with oleomargarine or butter , patter with sugar , and topped with processed tall mallow brought over by Americans . in person , I choose mine toasted , pressed , and paired with a mug of thick tsokolate . Red Ribbon BakeryorGoldilocksare the most popular Filipino bakeshop brands that trade ensaimadas in the U.S.
Where to buy Filipino snacks and drinks
Approximately29 % of the 4.2 million Filipinos live in the United States domiciliate in major metropolitan areas in California , most notably Los Angeles and San Francisco . These mart are home to dedicated Filipino food market depot such asIsland PacificorSeafood City , which gestate all of these collation and drink — and even more .
In New York City , you could head to Woodside , Queens , home to the now - renamedLittle Manila Avenue , a nod to the big absorption of Filipinos living in the region .
In other portions of the country , look for Asian food market chain of mountains like 99 Ranch or H - Mart , which impart these products in a designated Philippine aisle . If that ’s not an choice , Say Weeeis also a great pick to get Philippine production delivered to your threshold .
