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5.2.3 Food and Culinary Terms

A total of 114 lexical items were accounted for and classified under “food and culinary

terms,” based on actual occurrence. After ruling out repeated and overlapping terms, it was

found that there are thirty-three distinct entries in this category, based on word type occurrence.

A complete list of all the entries is shown in Appendix 3, along with the plays they appear in, the

number of times they appear in each play, and other information.

Majority or nineteen of the entries are borrowed from Tagalog, including dishes such as

care-care, kinilaw, and lechon kawale, and snacks like bibingka, bucayo, and palitao (Table 6).

On the other hand, there are Spanish-derived dishes, too, such as adobo, lechon, and rellenado.

Chinese-derived food, particularly hopia, lugao, lumpia, and mami, are also mentioned. These

terms indicate the influence of Spanish and Chinese cuisine on Philippine cooking.

Table 6. Food and culinary terms in the plays (based on source language)
SPANISH TAGALOG CHINESE
Adobo Bagoong Kalan Hopia
Bandeja Balut Kanin babuy Lugao
Cacerola Baon Kinilaw Lumpia
Chorizos de Bilbao Bibingka / Lechon kawale Mami
Leche flan Bibinka(s) Matamis sa bao
Lechon Bibingka especial Palitao
Merienda(s) Bibinka malagkit Penoy
Pan-de-sal Bucayo Salabat
Rellenado Care-care Tapa
Relleno Camote linaga Tuyo

Among the three authors, majority of the entries come from Guerrero’s plays, although

the term lugao is also mentioned by Florentino, and bibingka also appears in a Montano play.

Majority of the entries appear in plays published in the 1950s; still, bibingka and tuyo are also

mentioned in 1960s plays, while adobo, lugao, and lechon also appear in 1970s plays.
142

The entries under “food and cookery” can be further classified into the following sub-

categories: dishes (adobo, kinilaw, lechon, lechon kawale, rellenado, relleno, tapa, tuyo, care-

care); snacks (balut, bibingka/bibinka, bibinka malagkit, bibingka especial, bucayo, camote

linaga, hopia, leche flan, lugao, lumpia, mami, matamis sa bao, merienda, palitao, penoy,

salabat); various other food references (bagoong, chorizos de Bilbao, pandesal, baon, kanin

babuy); and kitchen tools (bandeja, cacerola, kalan).

Dishes. Nine entries refer to dishes usually served with rice and eaten for lunch or dinner:

adobo, relleno, rellenado, lechon, lechon kawale, kinilaw, tapa, tuyo, and care-care.

According to the New International Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English

Language (2010), adobo is “a Philippine stew of meat, fish, or chicken marinated in a sauce,

browned in fat, and simmered in the marinade” (p. 20). The term is borrowed from Spanish and

literally means “pickle, sauce” (Anvil-Macquarie Philippine English Dictionary, 2010, p. 3). In

A Quick Guide to Filipino Food & Cooking, Abiva (2001) describes the adobo as one of the

most popular dishes in the Philippines. Almario (2012) mentions that many Filipinos consider it

as the “pambansang ulam (national dish)” because of the many ways it is prepared in different

parts of the country (p. 9). It appears in a couple of plays by Guerrero:

CELIA: Have you prepared the chickens for the adobo?

(The Young & The Brave, 1952, p. 119).

PETEY: You’re pulling my hair! Don’t ever cheat again or I’ll grab a knife and
pull out all your intestines and make adobo with them!
(Loving Friends, 1971, p. 113).

Relleno and rellenado are two other Spanish borrowings used by Guerrero. The Larousse

Spanish Dictionary (2009) defines relleno as “stuffing or filling;” it can also be used as an
 143

adjective, meaning “stuffed or filled” (p. 444). Meanwhile, the UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino

(2010) defines relleno as “putahe ng isda, manok, o karneng pinalamanan ng rekado (dish of

fish, poultry, or meat stuffed with ingredients)” and rellenado as “pinalamanan, gaya ng isang

paraan ng pagluluto sa manok, isda, o karne (stuffed; a method of cooking poultry, fish or

meat)” (p. 1050). Both terms appear in Guerrero’s Irrepressible Sister Miriam (1974), where the

characters are talking about talong (eggplant) relleno and chicken relleno:

MIRIAM: I don’t either, once a week, but the cook doesn’t vary it in the least.
Boiled or fried talong day in, day out. If she could at least make it
rellenado with pork and raisins or ham – (p. 131)

ANGELA: Oh, I enjoyed it so much. Or you could try talong relleno with pork and
raisins or garbanzos – (p. 141)

MIRIAM: I’ll imagine these are chorizos de Bilbao or chicken relleno. (p. 133)

Another dish that is mentioned in the plays is lechon, which Abiva (2001) describes as a

“whole pig stuffed with aromatic leaves then spit roasted until the skin is crisp; it is usually the

centerpiece for fiestas and other celebrations, with an apple stuffed in its mouth” (p. 62).

Similarly, Nieto (2012) writes that a Filipino fiesta is not complete without lechon (p. 397).

Borrowed from Spanish, the term lechon means “piglet; suckling or sucking pig” (Oxford

Spanish Dictionary, 1994, p. 451). It appears in two of Montano’s plays:

DIEGO: The woman can wait, your Grace, and the lechon will not spoil!
(Gabriela Silang, 1956, p. 140)

CELSO: Come Christmas in this barrio, we shall have lechon here aplenty.
(But Not My Sons Any Longer, 1973 p. 54)

In the first example, Diego is addressing Bishop Ustariz, who complains that he is sleepy

and hungry. Here, Diego is also implying that the bishop is filled with lust and greed. In the

second example, Celso is saying that there will be plenty of lechon in their barrio on Christmas.
144

Based on these examples, it can be noted that lechon is typically eaten during special occasions,

and that it is something that rich or powerful people (such as priests) can afford to have.

One more pork dish that appears in one of the plays is lechon kawale. In this case, the

term lechon has been combined with kawale, a Tagalog term meaning “frying pan; skillet”

(Diksyunaryong Filipino-English, 2005, p. 384). Unlike lechon, which is roasted, lechon kawale

is fried. Abiva (2001) describes it as “boiled pork belly deep-fried until crisp and golden brown”

(p. 63). Meanwhile, Nieto (2012) writes that it is a cheaper alternative to lechon, adding that it is

“kasinlutong ng orihinal at kasinyaman sa kolesterol (as crispy as the original and just as high in

cholesterol)” (p. 397). The dish is mentioned in Montano’s But Not My Sons Any Longer (1973):

SEBIA: We hope you will like this lechon kawale we made especially for you.
Amado is very fond of it. (p. 60)

Here, Sebia, a caretaker’s wife, is telling an American visitor about the dish. This

example suggests that similar to lechon, the lechon kawale is something that is usually served

during a special occasion, as in the arrival of a visitor.

Four other dishes that are mentioned in the plays are kinilaw, tapa, tuyo, and care-care --

all of which are borrowings from Tagalog. The Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles (1973)

defines kinilaw as “raw fish or meat soaked in vinegar and other condiments” (p. 284). The

same reference cites tapa as “meat or fish cured by exposure to smoke” (p. 960) and tuyo as

“dried fish” (p. 1002). All of these terms are derived from the method in which these dishes are

prepared. In their verb forms, according to the Diksyunaryong Filipino-English (2005) -- kilawin

literally means “to prepare meat or fish by soaking in vinegar and various condiments” (p. 389);

itapa means “to preserve or cure food by smoking” (p. 911), and tuyuin means “to dry” (p. 1008).
 145

Nieto (2012) states that kinilaw is perhaps the “pinakamantandang paraan ng pagluluto (the

oldest way of cooking)” (p. 341). Similarly, Abuan (2012) writes that tuyo and tinapa (or tapa)

are most likely the “pinakamatandang paraan ng pagtinggal sa isda (the oldest ways of

preserving fish)” (p. 767). All of these terms appear in plays by Guerrero:

FR. CAYO: Are you making some kinilaw with the onions?
(The Best Way, 1952, p. 81)

FLOR: My heart bleeds for those displaced people in Sapang Palay. I shall go
there and visit them …. I shall wear a black veil covering my face and
bring them tuyo and tapa and dilis. (Call Me Flory, 1964, p. 317)

The term tuyo also appears in the following excerpt from Guerrero’s The Young and the

Brave (1952):

FELISA: Let’s not talk any more. I am hungry. What have you got for lunch?

FELY: Just tuyo. (p. 108)

In these examples, it is implied that tapa and tuyo are “ordinary” dishes, and that these

are for “poor” people.

Also borrowed from Tagalog is care-care, which Abiva (2001) describes as a “stew of

oxtail, tripe, or chicken, eggplant, string beans, and banana heart in a sauce of ground peanuts,

toasted rice and achuete” (p.54). It appears in Montano’s The Ladies and the Senator (1953),

where the speaker, Mrs. Gomez, is saying that she prepared care-care for an important visitor:

MRS. GOMEZ: Mrs. Camus requested me to prefare care-care esfecially por da

Seenator. I did, but that is da trouble, when our oppicials come to
Washington, we peed them too much in sfite of their pood allowance.
They have exfensive fer diems. (p. 54)
146

One interesting observation based on all of these findings is that aside from referring to

the dishes themselves, some terms also indicate the method in which the food is prepared:

pickled (adobo), stuffed (relleno), fried (kawale), soaked (kinilaw), cured (tapa), and dried (tuyo).

This makes it possible to use the same term for different dishes (e.g. chicken relleno, talong

relleno), since various ingredients (e.g. meat, fish, and vegetables) can be used to prepare them.

Another observation pertains to the occasion and the people who will consume the dishes. Food

such as lechon, lechon kawale, and care-care are served to important visitors during special

occasions, whereas tapa and tuyo are seen as “ordinary” and are typically eaten by poor people.

Snacks. Several terms in the plays can be classified as “snacks.” These include:

merienda, balut, penoy, camote linaga, bibingka/bibinka(s), bibinka malagkit, bibingka especial,

palitao, salabat, leche flan, matamis sa bao, bucayo, hopia, lugao, lumpia, and mami. Most of

these can be further classified as street food, desserts, and Chinese food.

The Anvil-Macquarie Philippine English Dictionary (2010) describes merienda as

“refreshments or a snack consumed at mid-morning or mid-afternoon” (p. 131). The reference

also states that the term is borrowed from Spanish, where it literally means “light afternoon

meal” (p. 131). Additionally, the Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles (1973) mentions that

mid-morning snacks used to be called “sigunda-almwerso” (second breakfast), but nowadays,

they are also called “merienda” (p. 707). The term appears in a couple of plays by Guerrero,

where the characters mention about having merienda:

JULIANA: For merienda we have talong biscuits.

(Irrepressible Sister Miriam, 1974, p. 134)
 147

MOTHER: You’ve no idea, no idea, what a busy life I lead. Beauty parlors,
hairdressers, lunch today and tomorrow, meriendas and dinners here and
there – they never end. (Loving Friends, 1971, p. 126)

Meanwhile, some snacks can be further classified as “street food,” as these are food

typically sold by a street vendor. These are balut, penoy, camote linaga, bibingka/bibinka(s),

bibinka malagkit, bibingka especial, palitao, and salabat.

According to the Anvil-Macquarie Philippine English Dictionary (2010), balut is “a

boiled duck egg in which the embryo is just starting to form” (p. 16). Abiva (2001) describes it

more precisely: “fertilized duck’s egg, 16 to 19 days old, with the embryo or a hardly formed

chick within” (p. 10). Penoy is also a hard-boiled duck’s egg; however, there is incomplete

fertilization in this case. Says Abiva (2001): “the egg was fertile but failed to develop due to low

vitality of the germ” (p. 89). The balut and penoy are usually sold together.

The term balut appears in Guerrero’s Opisina ng Gobierno (1962):

AENLLE: I just opened my bag. I forgot my lunch. I just found two mangoes, three
bananas, and one balut. (p. 31)

Meanwhile, both balut and penoy are mentioned in the following excerpt from Guerrero’s

Americans Always Ask How Are You? (1976):

JUN: My daughter rushed up the stage with her shaved head and started singing.

MARK: She can sing?

JUN: A little, but she sang Balut, Penoy.

MARK: At least she’s nationalistic, it’s a Tagalog song.

JUN: But the words are so suggestive. It was Katy de la Cruz’s favorite song in
the early 20’s and every time she sang it the police would come and jail
her. (p. 88)
148

In the first example, Aenlle is describing to a colleague the contents of her bag, which

includes one balut. In the second example, the term balut was mentioned as part of a song, “Ang

Balut” (The Balut), which was popularized by Katy de la Cruz, the “Queen of bodabil” during

the 1920s (Maniquis, 1994, p. 287).

Another type of street food that appears in a play is camote linaga. The Diksyunaryong

Filipino English (2005) defines camote as originally a Mexican term for “sweet potato” (p. 356),

while the Tagalog-English Dictionary (1986) describes it as “a yellow root with sweetish taste,

used as a vegetable” (p. 290). In the play, camote is combined with the Tagalog term nilaga,

which means “boiled” (Abiva, 2001, p. 77). Thus camote linaga translates to “boiled sweet

potato” in Tagalog. It is cited in Guerrero’s Opisina ng Gobierno (1962), where Aenlle is

complaining about the snack that the janitor bought for her:

AENLLE: Camote linaga! I don’t want to eat camote! (p. 47)

The next kind of street food, bibingka (or bibinka), is the most frequently mentioned

snack in the plays. The Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles (1973) defines it as “rice cake

cooked or baked with fire above and below” (p. 154). The same reference states that it is also

called bibingka malagkit; the malagkit is “a species of rice which becomes sticky when cooked”

(p. 685). Abiva (2001) specifies the basic ingredients of bibingka as “ground rice, sugar, eggs,

and butter or margarine” (p. 14). A special version, she adds, is made when sliced salted eggs

and “kesong puti” or white cheese are sprinkled on top (p. 14); hence the name, bibingka

especial. The term bibingka appears in Montano’s Parting at Calamba (1953):

ADELA: Do you remember last Christmas? Father gave me this doll. And mother
made bibingka in the house, but I did not like it, because that was when
the civil guards came to take Father away. (p. 86)
 149

Likewise, bibingka – as well as bibinka malagkit and bibingka especial -- are mentioned

in the following plays by Guerrero:

MIGUELA: You haven’t had your breakfast yet? We had ours two hour ago. We had
bibingka and – (Basketball Fight, 1952, p. 7)

MIRIAM: I’ll do anything to make this talong lumpia or bibingka especial.

(Irrepressible Sister Miriam, 1974, p. 133)

AENLLE: Mr. Escasa, will you buy me bibinka malagkit at the corner?
(Opisina ng Gobierno, 1962, p. 43)

In these examples, it can be observed that the bibingka is eaten during special occasions

as well as on ordinary days. It is prepared for Christmas, but it can also be bought just “at the

corner,” supposedly from a street vendor.

Incidentally, in Montano’s Parting at Calamba (1953), the bibingka appears together

with two other kinds of street food, palitao and salabat. In the play, there is a street vendor who

occasionally announces the food he is selling:

STREET VENDOR: Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat! …. Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat! ….

Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat! …. (p. 85)

The palitao is also a type of rice cake. Abiva (2001) describes it as “rice dough shaped

and flattened like a thin tongue or flat circle … dropped in boiling water until it floats … then

rolled in grated coconut and sprinkled with sugar” (p. 81). It is so named because the Tagalog

verb lumitaw means “to arise; to come up” (Diksyunaryong Filipino-English, 2005, p. 497).

Meanwhile, the salabat is “a strong, ginger-flavored tea” (Anvil-Macquarie Philippine

English Dictionary, 2010, p. 180). This beverage, according to Abiva (2001), is usually taken

with bibingka and puto (another kind of rice cake) after the traditional dawn mass during the
150

Christmas season (p. 102). As cited earlier, in Montano’s Parting at Calamba (1953), salabat

appears together with bibingka and palitao as products sold by an ambulant vendor.

Still under the “snacks” category, a number of entries fall under a sub-group: desserts.

These are matamis sa bao, bucayo, and leche flan. The first two are made using similar

ingredients as the previous snacks, but they have been grouped together with leche flan because

of their distinctive “sweet” taste, and the fact that they are usually taken as a dessert, after a meal.

Matamis sa bao is mentioned several times in Guerrero’s The Best Way (1952):

JOSEFA: Ay naku, comadre! I’m making matamis sa bao, and I have no sugar.
Can you lend me some? (p. 79)

FR. CAYO: Ah, Josefa, you’re back! Is the matamis sa bao finished? (p. 82)

JOSEFA: Tecla! Tecla! I brought you some matamis sa bao and kinilaw! (p. 94)

As the first example suggests, preparing matamis sa bao requires sugar as one of the

ingredients. Abiva (2001) explains it more precisely: “sugarcane extract is boiled with coconut

milk until it is thick; it is eaten as is, or spread on bread” (p. 72). In Tagalog, the terms matamis

and bao translate to “sweet” and “coconut shell” respectively (Diksyunaryong Filipino-English,

2005). Put together, matamis sa bao literally means “sweet in a coconut shell.”

Another type of dessert that appears in one of the plays is bucayo, which the Anvil-

Macquarie Philippine English Dictionary (2010) defines as “a type of Philippine confectionery

made from coconut flesh and brown sugar” (p. 29). It is made by cooking grated coconut flesh

with sugar until dry, and then shaping the mixture into balls or bars (Abiva, 2001, p. 19). The

Tagalog-English Dictionary (1986) translates bucayo as “coconut caramel or toffee” (p. 223).
 151

The term is mentioned in Guerrero’s Opisina ng Gobierno (1962), where the speaker, Mr.

Mabigat, is complaining that the bucayo he just bit into was too hard:

MABIGAT: Aruy! My teeth! This is not bucayo, this is cement! (p. 33)

Leche flan is another kind of dessert mentioned in one of the plays. Leche is Spanish for

“milk,” while flan means “crème caramel” (Larousse Spanish Dictionary, 2009). Meanwhile,

the UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino (2010), defines leche flan as “minatamis na gawa sa gatas, itlog,

at asukal, at karaniwang inihuhurno sa lyanera (dessert made of milk, eggs, and sugar, and

usually baked in a llanera)” (p. 691). The llanera is an oval-shaped container lined with

caramelized sugar before the leche flan mixture is poured in and steamed (Abiva, 2001, p. 62).

The term appears in Montano’s But Not My Sons Any Longer (1973), where the speaker, Sebia,

has just realized that her leche flan was burning:

SEBIA: My leche flan! I smell it burning! Dios mio! (p. 62)

It can be observed that the following snacks are made from either rice, coconut flesh, or

coconut milk: bibingka, bucayo, matamis bao, and palitao. These are collectively known in the

Philippines as “kakanin.” According to Sanchez (2012): “Pangkalahatang tawag ang kakanin sa

mga pagkaing gawa sa bigas, gatâ ng niyog, at iba pang sangkap (Kakanin is a collective term

for food made from rice, coconut milk, and other ingredients)” (p. 297).

Meanwhile, also under “snacks” are a number of dishes that are borrowed from the

Chinese: lugao, mami, lumpia, and hopia. The Pilipino-English-Chinese Dictionary (1989)

translates lugao as “porridge” (p. 124). Likewise, the Diksyunaryong Filipino-English (2005)

describes it as “rice porridge; rice cooked with much water” (p. 510). The term is mentioned in

Florentino’s The World is an Apple (1954) and in Guerrero’s One, Two, Three (1970):
152

GLORIA: She wouldn’t even eat a mouthful of lugao. But I’ll buy her some biscuits.
Maybe she’ll eat them. (The World is an Apple, 1954, p. 1)

PETEY: That dull thing again! Lugao in the morning, lugao in the afternoon,
lugao in the evening! My stomach wants something different and
delicious. (One, Two, Three, 1970, p. 74)

Another Chinese dish mentioned in one of the plays is mami, which is described by the

Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles (1973) as “tape-like flour noodles” or “a dish made of such

noodles” (p. 690). The Anvil-Macquarie Philippine English Dictionary (2010), meanwhile,

defines it as “a Philippine dish consisting of egg noodles served in a hot clear broth with chicken

or beef strips and small onions” (p. 127). It also states that mami is borrowed from the Chinese

term mi, which means “noodles.” Mami appears in Guerrero’s Opisina ng Gobierno (1962):

MISS TANDO: After the show he asked me if I liked mami. So we went to

Banahaw. He ate four bowls of mami. (p. 31)

YLANAN: Four bowls of mami, ha? Ideal Theater pa. (p. 38)

In the first example, Miss Tando is telling her colleagues about her date with a co-worker,

Mr. De la Rosa. She is angry because it was she who paid for their night out, including their

dinner. In a later scene, another colleague, Mr. Ylanan, teases De la Rosa about the four bowls

of mami that he ate during the date, as indicated by the second example.

Two other Chinese-derived food mentioned in the plays are lumpia and hopia. The

lumpia is “a Chinese dish consisting of meat, shrimps, and vegetables rolled in a rice starch

wrapper” (Tagalog-English Dictionary, 1986, p. 856). Narvaez (2012) writes that the term may

be used in referring to “anumang putahe na inihaing may naturang pambalot (any dish that is

served in a wrapper)” (p. 418). On the other hand, hopia is a type of Chinese pastry defined by

the Diksyunaryong Filipino-English (2005) as “cake stuffed with sweetened mashed beans or
 153

chopped pork with beans” (p. 292). It may be stuffed with other fillings such as ube (purple yam)

or pineapple paste (Abiva, 2001, p. 44). Both lumpia and hopia are cited in Guerrero’s plays:

MIRIAM: I’ll do anything to make this talong lumpia or bibingka especial.

(Irrepressible Sister Miriam, 1974, p. 133)

FELY: He has had only two clients the last two months – and both clients paid
him in kind – two dozen eggs and five or six papayas. A Chinese gave
him one box of hopia. (The Young and the Brave, 1952, p. 107)

In the first example, Sister Miriam is wishing that the talong (eggplant) in front of her

would turn into lumpia or bibingka especial instead. In the second one, Fely is talking about two

clients whom her husband, a lawyer, worked for. Both clients paid in kind; one of them was a

Chinese who gave her husband a box of hopia.

In the plays, the inclusion of lugao, mami, lumpia, and hopia, is an indication of Chinese

influence on Philippine cuisine. This may have stemmed from early ties between the Filipinos

and the Chinese. Even before the Spaniards came, traders from China and other neighboring

islands came to the Philippines (Oliveros, Galvez, & Estrella, 2004, p. 24). Some of these

traders settled in the country, thus bringing their own language, culture, food, and practices.

Various other food references. Aside from terms presented so far, other food references

that appear in the plays are bagoong, chorizos de Bilbao, pandesal, baon, and kanin babuy.

Abiva (2001) cites bagoong as a paste “made from shrimps or fish that is salted and

fermented” (p. 8). It is typically used as a condiment, especially when eating green mangoes

(Anvil-Macquarie Philippine English Dictionary, 2010, p. 15). The term appears in this scene

from Guerrero’s The Young and the Brave (1952), where Felisa is talking to her daughter, Fely:
154

FELISA: I expected that, the wife of Attorney Sandico Cervantes III. So I brought
adobo, chicken, and bagoong with me. (p. 108)

Chorizos de Bilbao is another type of food that appears in the plays. Chorizo means

“pork sausage” in Spanish (Cassell’s Spanish Dictionary, 1959, p. 288). Chorizo de Bilbao,

meanwhile, is described by Abiva (2001) as “a firm sausage with a sharp flavor used for a lot of

Spanish-derived dishes” (p. 26). According to Abrahan (2012), this type of sausage is “pang-

mayaman” (for the rich) because it is more expensive than longaniza, another kind of sausage

used in many dishes (p. 409). The term appears in Guerrero’s Irrepressible Sister Miriam (1974),

where the titular character is imagining that her talong (eggplant) dish is something else:

MIRIAM: I’ll imagine these are chorizos de Bilbao or chicken relleno. (p. 133)

The term is also cited in the following excerpt from Guerrero’s Compassion (1975).

Here, Judy is enumerating the ingredients of “chicken-a-la-king,” a dish that she had prepared for

her employer. One of the ingredients is chorizos de Bilbao:

FRANCIS: What are the ingredients in this superb dish?

JUDY: Chicken, peas, carrots, onions, butter, chicken broth, and chorizos de
Bilbao. (p. 150)

Another type of food mentioned in the plays is pan-de-sal, which literally translates to

“bread of salt” (Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 1994, pp. 550, 682). Abiva (2001) calls pan-de-sal

“the traditional Filipino breakfast bread – small, oval buns that are crusty outside and fluffy

inside” (p. 83). The term appears in Florentino’s The World is An Apple (1954), where Gloria is

telling her husband that he should have brought home pan-de-sal:

GLORIA: You should have tried to bring home pan-de-sal, or rice, or milk – and not
those “delicious” apples. We’re not rich. We can live without apples. (p. 4)
 155

The term baon, meanwhile, is defined by the Tagalog-English Dictionary (1986) as

“provisions such as money, food or other supplies for a trip” (p. 158). Likewise, Abiva (2001)

refers to baon as “food packed for school, office, travel, picnics or anywhere outside of the

house” (p. 12). The term appears in this excerpt from Guerrero’s The Young and the Brave

(1952):

MARTIN: I told Aling Doray to kill five chickens – the fattest ones.

CELIA: Good. Carmen looks so pale. And then they can bring some adobo home
as baon. (p. 120)

Here, Martin and Celia are talking about preparing chicken adobo for their visiting

friends, Carmen and Berting. Celia suggests that their visitors can bring adobo home as baon.

One more term that appears in one of the plays is kanin babuy, which literally means

“feed for pigs” (Diksyunaryong Filipino-English, 2005, p. 57 & 360). Similarly, the UP

Diksiyonaryong Filipino (2010) refers to kanin babuy as “tira-tirang pagkain para sa mga baboy

(leftover food for pigs)” (p. 570). It is mentioned in Guerrero’s Close-Up (1970):

GIRL: What are your favorite foods?

PETER: Such an original question. I just love to eat kanin babuy mixed with saluyot
and balut. (p. 365)

In this particular scene, a female reporter is interviewing Peter, a famous actor. However,

Peter is not in a good mood and answers all of her questions sarcastically. And so, when she

asks him about his favorite food, he responds by saying that he loves to eat kanin babuy.

Kitchen tools. Besides food, three of the entries that appear in the plays are actually

referring to kitchen tools: bandeja, cacerola, and kalan. The Larousse Spanish Dictionary (2009)
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defines bandeja simply as a “tray” (p. 60), while Abiva (2001) describes it more fully: “a large,

oval platter used for serving food” (p. 11). Also borrowed from Spanish is cacerola, which is

defined as a “stew-pan; saucepan” (Cassell’s Spanish Dictionary, 1959, p. 157). It is typically

made of aluminum and is used for cooking (UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino, 2010, p. 589). On the

other hand, kalan is a Tagalog term that means “stove” (Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles,

1973, p. 224). Abiva (2001) refers to it as “a clay stove in which a woodfire is made” (p. 52).

Remarkably, the three kitchen tools, bandeja, cacerola, and kalan, are mentioned in just

one play, Guerrero’s The Best Way (1952). What’s more, these are uttered by just one character:

JOSEFA: Oh Tecla, can you lend me your large cacerola? Mine broke this morning, and
I have nothing to cook the matamis sa bao in. (p. 80)

JOSEFA: Ay naku! I just remembered my matamis sa bao – I left it on the kalan! (p. 83)

JOSEFA: Ay naku, Father! Last Sunday, at Mass, I put twenty centavos on the bandeja!
(p. 86)

In the first two examples, Josefa uses the terms cacerola and kalan as kitchen tools,

particularly in the making of matamis sa bao, a type of candy made from coconut. However, in

the third example, she refers to bandeja as an “offering tray” in church. Here, it can be noted

that the term bandeja is used for something other than food or cooking.

Altogether, the entries under this category reveal some of the most common and popular

dishes in the country. These include various types of kakanin or food that is made with rice or

coconut as the main ingredient: bibingka, bucayo, matamis sa bao, and palitao. In the plays,

these are often sold by vendors along with other snacks like balut, penoy, and camote nilaga.
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Meanwhile, foreign influence is evidenced by the appearance of Spanish-derived dishes

such as adobo, lechon, and relleno. Likewise, the influence of Chinese cuisine is indicated by

the use of hopia, lugao, lumpia, and mami in the plays. Indeed, as Agoncillo (1990) wrote,

“foreign cuisine, both Spanish and Chinese, influenced the Filipino table” (p. 94).

Moreover, it can be observed that some terms are suggestive of the social or economic

status of the characters. Chorizos de Bilbao, for example, is mentioned as an ingredient for

“chicken-a-la-king,” a dish prepared by a cook for her wealthy employer. In Montano’s plays, it

is implied that lechon and lechon kawale can only be afforded by the rich. In contrast, some

dishes are presented as food that “poor” people usually eat. In one of Guerrero’s plays, a woman

talks about donating tapa (smoked fish) and tuyo (dried fish) to a poor community. In another

Guerrero play, a poor boy complains about having to eat lugao (porridge) all the time.