Autism

Philippine Cuisine

Ann Parrone

Chaminade University

PHILIPPINE CUISINE

Introduction

I recently ate Filipino food at Thelma’s Restaurant in Waipahu. My Hale Kula Elementary Ohana and I do not really get a chance to see each other outside of the classroom. We make it a point to get together for lunch or dinner frequently so we can stay in touch with each other. One of my co-workers, Mary Jean Corpuz, is from the Ilocanos region of the Philippines. She and her husband Carlos came to the island of O’ahu in 2010. They came here in search of a better life and more opportunities. At Thelma’s, Mary Jean explained all of the dishes to me since it was my first time experiencing Filipino food. That afternoon, it was obvious to me that the Filipino culture loves to eat and is a family oriented group of people who know where there is food, there is family.

This paper will address this viewpoint by discussing the history of the Ilocanos region of the Philippines. Following that I will be a discussing the family dynamics of the culture. Finally, an elaboration on the cuisine. Beginning this conversation, it is important to speak about the history of the Philippines.

History

In the Philippines, the living conditions were harsh and economic opportunities in the Ilocos region were limited. The majority of the migrants were Ilocanos migrating to the United States to seek out a better life since the nineteenth century. Here in Hawaii, the Hawaii sugar planters association liked to import Filipino laborers because they were the lowest paid among the ethnic groups in the plantation. Upon reaching Hawaii, they had to incur much ethnic diversity. There were many differences in the communication process with one another because they did not understand one another. There are several ethnic groups and sixty-five cultural minorities in the Philippines, and they all speak their own dialects and languages.

Major Islands

First, we will...