Origins of Biningka (Filipino Rice Cakes) and the Mixing of Culture

My brother posted this on Facebook a few days ago and I found it really interesting. This was from a book called "Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors" by Lizzie Collingham. I found it fascinating that one of my favorite Filipino snacks actually originated as a Portuguese-inspired Goan dish. It's amazing how interconnected the world really is.

Everyone borrows from everyone else's culture. Like my sport of choice, Brazilian Jiujitsu, for example. It originated from Judo from Japan and brought over to the Portuguese-speaking South American country of Brazil where it was altered to focus more on ground-fighting. These innovations, in this case food and martial art, come from the mixing of cultures.

It's sad though that a lot of people are against these types of mixing of cultures. One hand we have the racists that believe that their culture has to be 'pure'. On the other hand we have people who are against any sort of 'cultural appropriation' that they would try to close down a buritto shop because it was run by white girls. Story here.

Personally, as long as the person acknowledges where their influences come from they can take from whatever culture they choose. Up to a certain degree of course because one still has to respect the sacred items of the said culture. That being said food is often the easiest way to mix these cultures hence the popularity of fusion cuisine. But from the story of Bibingka we confirm what we Filipino foodies already know: that Filipino food is and was fusion before fusion was invented.

To end, here is an interview that I did with a 3rd generation Bibingka maker form Asturias, Cebu. Apologies for people who don't understand Cebuano, haven't gotten around to adding subtitles.