Retweet, Share, Repeat - Simple Ways to Elevate Filipino Food

More than ever, people are relying on the Internet for their information. Sure the television is there, but there is a huge absence of Filipino cuisine on the airwaves - aside from the ones shown on paid cable networks such as TFC and GMA. The Internet provides Filipino recipes, photos, and restaurant tsismis with one click of a mouse.

Why not take the opportunity to use this great tool? Filipino food is still slowly crawling its way up the ranks. While places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York have Filipino restaurants, vast portions of the country are very unfamiliar with it. Even go five miles outside of the said cities and you will still see people will be unfamiliar with Filipino food. BUT there are ways we can use the Internet and other tools to spread awareness. By using these methods, we may open many more eyes to how wonderful our cuisine is:

1) share share share - whether it is snapping a photo and posting it on Facebook, Foodspotting, etc. Or sharing a link to an article about Filipino food from a prestigious publication. Or RTing (retweeting) someone's 140-word statement about their success making adobo. Any transfer of information is important. Remember to use #filipinofood in your uploads on Twitter and Instagram to see a collection of all the posts from others.

2) take a Filipino food novice to a Filipino restaurant - this is probably the boldest thing you can do. Why? You will be face to face with someone who may either get turned on or off by it. If you get the latter, you have to be prepared to get some grief from them. On the other hand, if your friend likes the food, they'll want to try more and may even suggest the restaurant to their own friends. Because the common mentality is, "my mom makes the best, why should I eat out?" not many people will go out for Filipino food. The truth is, Filipino restaurants will continue to suffer due to lack of patronage. Like going shopping to boost the economy, it is okay to eat out every once in a while, especially to help restaurants stay open to the public. No restaurants means no sources for folks to get their grub on. While at the restaurant, do step #1.

3) cook and bring your Pinoy creations to work, your child's bake sale, or your friend's BBQ potluck - not only will you introduce Filipino food to folks of different cultures, you will get major points if you made it yourself. So find a Filipino cookbook (a favorite of mine is "Memories of Philippine Kitchens" by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan) or a Filipino recipe-driven blog (my go-to's are Jun Blog and Burnt Lumpia) and cook your heart out! If you are lucky and have a family member who cooks, be sure to spend time with them. Passing on recipes is essentially passing on a tradition, an heirloom, a memory. Keeping these alive will keep the cuisine in the forefront. While you are cooking, do step #1. Bonus points if you get a snapshot with your family in it. Trust me, years down the line, you will be happy you did.

4) attend a Filipino cooking class or workshop - the hands-on ones are the way to go. Even though you may already know some basic Filipino cooking methods, it is always good to attend a class to broaden your knowledge. Okay, so you've never steered far from Mom's recipe, but can you imagine all the different ingredient combinations for pancit or sinigang? The Philippines has "so many" of many things - islands, dialects, provinces, etc. Besides, because Filipino food conjures memories for us, the class always ends up being a place to recollect and share experiences with your classmates. During class, do step #1.

5) give direction to others - if you found a vendor at the farmers market that sold fresh calamansi, broadcast it to your friends. Who, what, when, where. Some ingredients are hard to find, so keeping an eye out might even help someone who has been looking all over for it. Then do step #1. Also, who knew that sisig would make a huge appearance in the street food scene in the Bay Area? Do step #1, and give street intersections of your favorite street food trucks. Is a Filipino restaurant going to be featured on television? Yup, step #1. Have a Filipino dinner party! Step #1. Notice a Filipino food event on your news stream? Step #1. Get people to where they need to go!

6) eat - it sounds simple, but the challenge is eating outside your comfort zone and accepting the many transformations Filipino food can go through. Ever had vegan Filipino food? How about tapa in a burrito? How about something Andrew Zimmern would try? This one is always tricky because there are old school and new school ways of thinking what Filipino food is and "should" be. The cuisine is already a "fusion" cuisine because of the many influences it has from other cultures. The best way to eat is with an open palate and open mind. Forget what you think, and try new things. Not only will this keep your spark ignited, but it may also wake up someone else's. There is more to Filipino food than just Lumpia and Adobo. Though they are good, so many other dishes are waiting to be debuted on American plates, like Laing, mechado, mungo, bibingka, and sans rival. So keep eating and yes, do step #1.

You may already be doing all of the above, but it is essential for it to continue. Sharing is the most important thing to do in life. As we learn from each other, the spectrum of what we can do with Filipino food will only get wider. Imagine a Filipino chef on television. Let's get them off YouTube and get them on the Cooking Channel. There has to be an impression that Filipino food is in demand in this country, but that can't happen if we stay silent. We have to keep our voices heard and our image seen. Until we get the recognition Filipino food deserves, we cannot stop. With that said, share, share, share!

PS: no papparazzi at the dinner table until you take a picture with your family first, especially with Lola and Lolo.