Meal 71. Filipino lumpia and chicken adobo

Stirring the veg for the lumpia

I had recently been seeing a lot of Filipino recipes featured online by one of my favourite YouTubers Beryl, who cooks around the world with recipes she gets from followers around the world...a bit like my blog! It sounded like a very varied cuisine, with some familiar elements I recognise from Indonesian, American and Spanish food. So I felt very lucky to be contacted by Jo, who has been living and studying in Berlin for a few years and was enthusiastic about the idea of this blog. She is also a social entrepeneur and an artist who has set up up an NGO called SendToGive, inspired by the Filipino value of bayanihan (community spirit).

She greets me with a beautiful smile and has the ingredients for the starter prepped so I am able to see how they are prepared. For the main meal, chicken adobo, the chicken legs needed to be marinated in advance (in a mix of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper kernels). So I can just enjoy the smell as this is bubbling away on the stove. Jo confides that she did ask for backup guidance from back home, to get inside tips about preparation.

Folded lumpias before frying

For the starter, we are having spring rolls, called lumpias. I recognise the name as in my childhood in Holland it was easy to find Vietnamese spring rolls for sale in food trucks selling lumpias (spelled loempias). I had no idea they were also popular in the Philippines - apparently also influenced by Chinese dishes and ingredients! However, it was tricky to find the proper lumpia ricepaper in Berlin. The one we used looked alright. After wetting down the paper to get it to soften, we filled it with the finely chopped vegetables, and folded it into rolls. They looked perfect frying in hot oil, but somehow decided to fuse with the paper towel (meant to soak up excess oil) on the plate...once removed, still very delicious. Served with a bit of homemade sweet-sour dipping sauce.

Frying up the lumpias

We chat about how one of the most important generators of income for the Philippines are their overseas workers (OFWs), who sent home $33B in 2020 alone. It helps that most Filipinos speak good English...as more than half of the OFWs are based in the US. Compared to some other countries who have a lot of overseas workers, it is more regulated in the Philippines, with training beforehand, and more efforts to make sure the OFWs are not abused and can return home if they need to. The first OFWs could be seen to be Filipino sailors on boats to Mexico in the 1500s. Jo does tell me about a more recent related development, where foreign companies employ Filipino workers in the Philippines (called BPOs, or Business Process Outsourcing), of which call centers would be the most familiar example.

The chicken adobo is served with rice and is tender and packed with flavour. At one point it becomes clear that Jo's father has a special love for poultry...but not to eat! He proudly breeds and keeps hundreds of beautiful fighting cocks, which participate in cockfighting (sabong) matches, a very popular spectator sport locally, maybe only second to basketball! Karaoke is also very popular, and Jo definitely enjoyed partaking with friends and at home...many families will have their own karaoke set.

Many of the most famous international celebrities with Filipino heritage are singers (Bruno Mars, Nicole Scherzinger, apl.de.ap from the Black Eyed Peas), though boxer Manny Pacquaio is maybe the best known Filipino national (who also likes singing and has even released a few albums!).

The crispy fried lumpias on the fateful paper towel

I would definitely like to try more of the Filipino dishes the country is known for (like pancit noodles), and after Jo tells me about travel options and shows me a few videos of jumping into a crystal clear blue ocean, I think the best way would be to actually travel to the country once corona subsides...in the meantime, I will visit one of the Filipino restaurants in Berlin!

Chicken adobo in foreground, lumpias in background