Filipino Merienda Food - Part 1

"Merienda" is called the snacktime in Filipino. Merienda is always eaten around 3-4 P.M. after "siesta" or afternoon relaxation or sleep. Merienda food or snacks are also considered the pride of Filipino cooking, even though the word "merienda" is actually a Spanish word for afternoon snack. But because the Philippines was colonised by Spain for 333 years, the Filipinos also adapted the lifestyle of having a siesta and merienda - like it's a must to have these every day around mid-afternoon to continue to be more productive until the rest of the day.

Instead of cakes and doughnuts, these merienda treats are also usually served as desserts to satisfy a sugar craving especially after feasting on a very scrumptious lunch. These foods make use of tropical fruits and vegetables with the use of Filipinos' unique way of cooking or making them.

Here are some common heart-warming merienda food or desserts that Filipinos love:

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Buko Pandan

Buko Pandan, or Coconut Pandan, makes use of shredded coconut and pandan-flavoured gelatin mixed in condensed milk and cream. I prefer it with corn kernels but it is optional. Then it is kept in the refrigerator overnight because it is best eaten when it has been chilled.

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Halo-Halo

_{Image from Wikimedia}

This is a favourite treat especially during hot summer days. It is a delicious snack with a colourful blend of different tropical fruits, crops and beans, such as langka (jackfruit), nata de coco (coconut gelatin), sweetened or caramelised saba banana, macapuno (coconut sport), shredded rock melon, beans, garbanzos (chick peas), sago (tapioca pearls), ube (sweetened purple yam), boiled sweet potato, toasted pinipig (flat rice grains), and some flavoured gelatin.

All these ingredients are put in a tall glass or a small bowl with crushed or shaved ice then flavoured with sugar, evaporated milk, and topped with a little slice of leche flan (caramel custard).

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Sorbetes

_{Image from Flickr, labeled for reuse as per usage rights}

Sorbetes, also known as "dirty ice cream" in the Philippines, is a native ice cream that has many delicious flavours, such as ube or yam, macapuno, papaya, cheese, chocolate, halo-halo, buko (coconut), mango, to name a few.

_{Image from Wikimedia}

When I was still a child, I would awake from my sleep in the late afternoon and anxiously wait for the sound of a bell. This meant that the sorbetero was in the neighbourhood pushing his ice cream cart to sell them. The sorbetes is sold in a small serving either in an ice cream wafer cone or in a bread roll.

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Bibingka

_{Image from Wikimedia}

Bibingka or sweet rice cake is a mixture of ground rice, eggs, coconut milk, and sugar, and added with diced boiled salted duck egg. It is baked in a clay oven over charcoal. After it is cooked, it is topped with sliced fresh white cheese, coconut shreds, margarine, and sugar. It is sold all year round, but it is rather more popular around Christmas time.

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This is Part 1 of my Filipino "Merienda" Food". There'll be more examples to follow.

Related Posts:

• Filipino Cuisine at its Best (Part 1)
• Filipino Cuisine at its Best (Part 2)

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