Philippine E-Journals

Ethnic Variants of ‘Pinakbet’: Versatility of a Filipino Exotic Food

Ivy A. Bartido | Belinda A Ramos

 

Abstract:

Food is one of the things that define the culture and identity of a community and of the people. It is a way of describing the ways of life and the intercultural relations between and among the people. This study aimed to find out the different variants of ‘pinakbet’ as a popular vegetable dish of Ilocanos. The study made use of the qualitative design using community observation and unstructured interview in gathering data. Results show that the different variants of ‘Pinakbet’ are the result of cultural borrowing and accommodation. Variants were created depending on the availability of ingredients, taste preferences, and the desire to make the dish their own, putting their individual distinctiveness that identify the variant according to the culture that adopted ‘pinakbet’. Despite the existence of variants, the uniqueness of ‘pinakbet’ remained to be truly known as Ilocano and Filipino.