PH Embassy in Lisbon Organizes an Online Cooking Contest, Panlasang Pinoy Sa Portugal, with the Filipino Community
Panlasang Pinoy sa Portugal, an online cooking contest aimed to promote Philippine gastronomic flavors using Philippine manufactured food products and ingredients, while Filipinos in Portugal were on home quarantine.
LISBON 23 July 2020 – As part of its month-long celebration of the 122nd Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence, and in line with its continuing cultural and economic diplomacy initiatives, the Philippine Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal organized an online cooking contest entitled, “Panlasang Pinoy sa Portugal,” with the Filipino community in Portugal from 12 June to 12 July 2020. The online cooking contest aimed to promote Philippine gastronomic flavors using Philippine manufactured food products and ingredients, while Filipinos in Portugal were on home quarantine.
The mechanics of the online contest were simple: 1) It was open to all Filipinos residing in Portugal; 2) Participants must cook a Filipino dish or a fusion of Filipino-Portuguese dish using Philippine manufactured food products and ingredients available in Portugal; and 3) Food entries must be supported with photos of the ingredients used, photos and videos while preparing and cooking the dish, and a feedback (in written or video format) from a Portuguese friend, colleague or employer.
A total of 18 food entries, which included dishes like pork adobo, pansit palabok, pork barbeque, pinapaitan, beef pochero, pinoy style spaghetti, pork mechado, kare-kare, ube cheese pandesal, sumang malagkit, ube biko, pandan jelly, chocolate mousse, sisig de bacalhau and pan de bacalhau, were received through the Facebook page of the Philippine Embassy in Portugal. The two latter dishes are a fusion of Filipino-Portuguese recipes using, bacalhau, the ubiquitous Portuguese dried and salted cod fish.
Winners won based on the number of Philippine manufactured food products and ingredients used, as well as the presentation of the dish. Panalong Panalong Salo Salo by Brian De Lima Ambulo and Pancit Palabok by Gina Padua won the first, second prizes respectively. While third place was a tie between the Pork Adobo by Kim Mangrobang (Philippine elite triathlon athlete training in Rio Maior, Portugal) and Ube Cheese Pandesal by Emma Lyn Lutero.
Three specific entries, Sisig Bacalhau by Chelita Medel, Pan de Bacalhau by Lawrence Pascua and Mousse Filipinas by Jaymalyn Galiza Day, caught the attention of Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Celia Anna M. Feria making them the recipients of the Ambassador’s award for innovation and uniqueness. The three winners also received a special video commendation from the well-known Filipino celebrity Chef Sau del Rosario, who praised the cooks behind these recipes for being innovative and different from the rest of the entries.
Most of the Philippine manufactured food products and ingredients used in the online home cooking contest were Mama Sita cooking mixes (Palabok, BBQ, Kare-Kare, Pinoy-style spaghetti and Pinapaitan), Super-Q noodles, Silver Swan soy sauce, Datu Puti vinegar, Lorins fish sauce, Eden cheese, Mang Tomas Lechon sauce, Magic Sarap mix, Ajinomoto ginisa mix, Gina mango juice. All of which are available from the two Filipino stores as well as the bigger Asian food stores in Lisbon while some were purchased online from online (Facebook sellers) stores in Portugal and from as far as Madrid.
Through this online cooking contest, Ambassador Celia Anna M. Feria took the opportunity to encourage the Filipino community to continue using and purchasing Philippine manufactured food products and ingredients in cooking Filipino dish or in innovating a Portuguese dish. The cooking contest gave the Filipino community motivation to integrate Philippine manufactured food products and ingredients as part of their home cooking chores. It was also conceived so that Filipinos who work in the many Portuguese households could incorporate the purchase of Filipino made and manufactured ingredients for that household.
The “new normal” as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic led the Philippine Embassy in Portugal to find more innovative ways to engage with the Filipino community. By using the cost-free and available online and digital platforms, the Philippine Embassy in Portugal is able to continue its advocacies to generate more interest in Philippine cuisine and the use of Philippine manufactured food products and ingredients among the Portuguese public that would later result to greater demand and availability of more authentic Filipino food ingredients and products into the local Portuguese market. END
Announcement of winners were posted on the Facebook page of the Philippine Embassy in Portugal.
Pansalang Pinoy sa Portugal food entries can be accessed through the official Facebook page of the Philippine Embassy.
For more information, visit https://www.lisbonpe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinPortugal/.