Craving a Piece of Home

By Emily Cristobal

February 11, 2020

The following galleries are part of a photo essay that follows the story of a young Filipino-American woman in college. She is far from home studying in a completely new city. Craving a piece of home, she finds comfort in cooking an easy Filipino meal with lots of baon (leftovers).

The first item of food she cooks is white rice, a common staple with every meal. For most Filipinos, rice is life, it is livelihood and sustenance. When cooking rice it is important to clean it by rinsing it a few times before placing it in a trusty rice cooker (however, rice cookers are expensive so she improvised and cooked rice in a pot on the stove). Some Filipinos say that they never feel full unless rice is served with a dish.

Red, sweet deliciousness! Tocino is sweetened cured pork. It is marinated in sugar, garlic, and salt with a hint of red food dye. The outcome is savory sweet lightly charred protein.

SPAM! Although it is not a product of the Philippines, SPAM is commonly found in many Filipino households. Whether you like it thin or thick or sweet by adding a sprinkle of sugar, spam is good to eat with fresh rice and of course ketchup (or even better banana ketchup)! SPAM is often sent in Balikbayan boxes to their family in the Philippines from overseas Filipinos.