Chef Andro Faderanga demonstrates how to make paella (Photo by CHARI VILLEGAS)

For the simple reason that we love to munch on anything and have a meal at least five (or six, perhaps?) times a day, food is quintessential to the Filipino culture and heritage. Our lives are centered on food, making Filipinos one of the most finicky and hearty eaters in the world.

We eat not just to fill our stomach but more so as a way of bonding with our family and friends. We know that cooking food should be done with love and passion, wanting not just to please the palate of those whom we serve the dishes to but also their hearts.

From the gathering and preparing of ingredients to savoring the well-cooked dishes, this is the ultimate gastronomic experience for Filipinos.

We know that kare-kare should have a mild tasty peanut sauce spiked with nothing but the salty relish of bagoong. Caldereta, on the other hand, must be simmered for hours to produce that thick and velvety stew. We love laing, slowly cooked in gata which we meticulously milked out of coconuts, or the menudo and caldereta with their tender bite and prepared with the full-bodied flavor of meat.

Whatever dish we are preparing, we cook with just the fresh ingredients and précise kitchen knowledge that has been passed down from generations to generations, seasoned with a cup of passion and a dash of patience.

Sometimes we travel to sample what other regions have to offer. We scour the markets for the best buys, learning a couple of kitchen tricks and knowledge along the way. We recently traveled to Bataan, a province in Central Luzon via the Mama Sita Food Trip to rediscover the culinary masterpieces that pervade its rich culinary heritage.

The Cradle of History

Bataan is imbued with rich history, recognized for its significant contributions during World War II where brave Filipino and American soldiers fought courageously in the country’s last stand against Japanese invaders.

It is home to the commemorative shrines such as the Death March marker which features a bayonet thrust into the ground with a helmet slung over the rifle butt and symbolizing the start of the Death March, and the imposing Dambana ng Kagitingan atop Mt. Samat in Pilar, Bataan.

Although the province has moved on from the grief of war and is currently realizing rapid industrialization, there are those who want to celebrate history in style. Architect Jose “Jerry” Acuzar, owner of the new resort named Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, is just one of them.

What started as Acuzar’s hobby of buying old houses and rebuilding them has turned Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar into some sort of a museum of centuries-old architecture showcasing the grandeur of Spanish colonial Philippines.

Built on a 400-hectare land area in Bagac, Bataan, the resort time-warped its guests as they walked along the cobblestone streets and rode the caruaje (horse-drawn carriage) to look at authentic 18th century Principalia Mansions, Bahay na Bato, and Indio stilt houses.

Currently, there are 22 structures surrounding the cobblestone plaza. Each structure is carefully and painstakingly taken down from different parts of the country, rebuilt brick by brick and plank by plank, and restored to its former grandeur.

In one area, one can experience the charm of old Escolta. The structure is built with faithful adherence to the period architecture, characterized by shops reminiscent of the old Escolta shopping district. One can dine at the Marivent Café for authentic Filipino-Hispanic cuisine or Taberna del Senor Pepe for Spanish tapas.

A Pot of Gold

Aside from its historical significance, Bataan is a cradle of rich culinary heritage. With each recipe carefully handed down through generations, Bataan cuisine is characterized by simple and delectable yet quite exotic dishes which are centered on the fresh produce from land and sea.

For the Mama Sita food trip, we relished local fares such as sinigang na manok sa ayo, Paella Filipina, pocherong baka with eggplant-garlic sauce, kare-kareng dagat, tinapang kabasi with sukang tuba, and pako salad, among others. All were cooked using Mama Sita all-natural mixes such as Mama Sita’s Menudo Mix for the pochero, Caldereta Mix and Annatto Powder for the paella, and Peanut Mix Sauce for the kare-kare.

Aside from these, tourists can add appetizing finds to their culinary repertoire such adobong pabuka which is sautéed eel in garlic soy sauce. Or, for the adventurous eaters, they can try the relyenong palaka (boneless stuffed frogs) and ginataang suso at pako (snails and fern sprouts cooked in coconut milk).

Being a peninsula, every town of Bataan has access to fresh seafood produce. In Balanga, for instance, one can find fresh and smoked seafood specialties such as bangus (milkfish), kitang (spadefish), samaral (rabbitfish), and kapak (greenback gray mullet), as well as tuyo, tinapa, and bagoong alamang.

Indeed, Bataan certainly takes pride in its illustrious historical past, stylish and charming ancestral houses, and its delectable culinary finds.