Ramadan delights bring spotlight to culinary traditions of Filipino Muslims
From banana with coconut milk to rice with crunchy chicken floss and slow-cooked caramelized meat, Filipino Muslims serve special delicacies during Ramadan — rekindling their Catholic-majority country’s connection to a centuriesold Islamic heritage.
There are some 12 million Muslims in the Philippines, or about 10 percent of the population, living mostly on the island of Mindanao and in the Sulu archipelago in the country’s south, as well as in Manila.
As the third-largest Muslim community in Southeast Asia, after those in Indonesia and Malaysia, Filipino Muslims have been key to the country’s efforts to expand its halal industry. A big part of the expansion concerns food, putting Muslim culinary traditions in the spotlight, especially during Ramadan, when hearty iftar feasts close every fasting day.
Fast is usually broken with pangat, stewed banana in sweetened coconut milk, or sindol, a similar stew but with purple sweet potato and jackfruit. For Aleem Guiapal, who hails from Maguindanao in south-central
Mindanao, and is a project manager of the Philippine government’s Halal Industry Development Program, a sweet stew is a staple during the holy month.
“In the Maguindanao culture, we always have that every day during Ramadan ... for the whole month,” he told Arab News.
“After you drink water and eat dates — which is really part of the
Islamic tradition — then you have the pangat or the sindol. It’s sweet, hot and the fruits used as ingredients like banana and purple yam are rich in potassium. So, it’s really filling and gives you energy.”
The light dish in many households is followed by rice with kagikit — an on-the-go meal, which is often sold by street vendors.