Tero, Robee B.

Tamales in Mexico and South America

Tamales are a traditional Mexican dish made with a corn based dough mixture that is
filled with various meats or beans and cheese. Tamales are wrapped and cooked in corn
husks or banana leaves, but they are removed from the husks before eating.

Arepas in Mexico and South America:

Mexican arepas are stuffed with spicy sautéed mushrooms and topped with queso fresco.
Arepas, a staple food in both Venezuela and Colombia, are corn cakes made from special
precooked corn flour. You can find this cornmeal/flour in Latin food stores, labeled
masarepa, or masa al instante. Arepas are crispy on the outside with a soft and creamy
center.

Escabeche in Philippines and South America:

Escabeche involves seafood and an acid, but the similarities end there. South and Central
American ceviche is made with raw fish and citrus juice while Spanish and Philippine
escabeche involves cooling lightly fried fish in a bath of vinegary vegetable salad.

Lechon in the Philippines and South America

Lechon, derived from a Spanish word for roasted suckling pig is one of the most popular
dishes in the Philippines. The slowly-roasted suckling pig is usually stuffed with
lemongrass, tamarind, garlic, onions, and chives, and is then roasted on a large bamboo
spit over an open fire.

Lechona, also known as lechón asado, is a popular Colombian dish. It is similar in style
to many preparations made in other South American countries, consisting of a roasted pig
stuffed with yellow peas, green onion, yellow rice and spices, cooked in an outdoor brick
oven for several hours.