Philippine Food, Cooking, & Dining Dictionary by Edgie Polistico

This popular sweet delicacy is as sticky as it gets, literally binding us together as one people, one nation. Kakanin transcends all the boundaries of these diversities. With the diversity of our regional cultures, languages, religion and cuisines, we Filipinos have more in common than we realize. The simple gesture of offering food can be found all over the country, capturing the true essence of Filipino warmth and hospitality. “Kain na” is what this T’Boli woman seems to be saying in this painting by Claude Tayag. Kakanin has endured the test of time, sustaining us in times of abundance and scarcity, peace and war.

More often than not, the same delicacy may be called by a different name in other regions, or, as it also happens, the same name may mean something else to others.īut what remains constant with this merry mix is they all share the same main ingredients: regular or glutinous ( malagkit) rice (white or colored, whole grain, ground or flour) coconut milk and/or its meat (cream, grated, strips, candied, toasted) sugar (white, brown or Muscovado) and the same enduring love and passion it has been made with by generations of Filipinos over many centuries. The myriad of variants may come in different shapes, sizes and flavorings, from north to south of the country. Kakanin comes from the root word “ kanin,” or cooked rice. But let’s not forget the countless rice-based snacks in between meals, be it savory rice noodles ( pancit bihon gisado, palabok, Malabon, etc.) or the endless, sweet kakanin (rice cakes) found all over the archipelago. It is a well-known fact that central to any Filipino meal is rice, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Philippine Food, Cooking, & Dining Dictionary by Edgie Polistico