Rice
6
When I moved out, I lived on instant noodles, desserts, and happy meals (I'm missing one MLP dolly D:), but the typical Asian in me has to concede that a meal isn't really a meal without rice, so I made it a point to have a proper meal at least once a day (When we're not going Thai, or fast-food hopping, I alternate between Zaifu-, Sumo Sam-, and Tokyo Tokyo-gyudon. It drives my friend Mippy nuts. :D).
I'm still unqualified to wear a Kiss the Cook apron since the most I can do is boil stuff in a pot or fry something with a lid for a shield and garbed in unnecessary protective gear, but I can cook rice--and it's good. :D I know the difference probably lies on the kind of rice grains I started out with, but I'd like to fool myself into thinking that it's talent. :DD
Rice is such an important part of our lives that the Filipino term for "eat" is derived from it--kain or kanin. (That might be a problematic chicken-and-egg hypothesis, but you see the point.) It's so important, that we have countless one-word nouns for it. Say, for example... If it's cooked rice, it's kanin. If they're uncooked rice grains, it's bigas. If it's the rice plant itself, it's palay.
We don't even use the generic verb luto for "cook" when it comes to rice. We have a separate term--saing, and I don't think we use that verb for "steam" as well. We even have a term for the water we washed the rice grains in--am. There must be a dozen different kinds of rice grains sold here in Manila, but I can only name two off the top of my head--Sinandomeng and Dinorando.
If it's freshly steamed rice, it's sinaing. If you put it in too long and it gets burnt, it's crusty tutong. If you leave it out cold, it's lamig, and leftover rice is bahaw. If it's fried, it's sinangag.
Rice porridge is lugaw, chocolate rice porridge is champorado (mmm!♥) and garlic rice porridge is goto. Rice batter is galapong. Rice wine is basi. Pounded rice grains are pinipig, and rice puffs are ampaw.
There are a lot of rice cake variants, but they're more often than not puto--and the same goes for the different kinds of suman (wrapped sweet rice). Also, malagkit ("sticky") is understood to be sticky rice, and the more appropriate phrase malagkit na kanin ("sticky rice") is foregone. If you're still doubtful, it's biko, then--sticky glutinous rice.
Add in the dozen other dialects, and borrowed Spanish words that ultimately define the Filipino language, and the number probably would rival the Eskimo vocabulary for "snow". It's a hoax that the Inuit actually have around a hundred, but they do have multiple terms for it, highlighting its cultural importance. And because language reflects culture, Filipinos, who don't even experience snow, do not have a term for it, thus showing how unimportant it is. We refer to ice as yelo, from the Spanish hielo, and as regards "snow", I guess those Tagalog-dubbed cartoons have to make do with the Spanish nieve. :)
Asians definitely view rice differently from people of other cultures. Hop by a random French restaurant and flip open the menu. There won't be any rice-combo meals in there, would there? Drop by an American McDonald's and order a Chicken Nuggets meal. Do they have the set meal that comes with fries? Yes? Well, can you have them substitute those with rice? Only in Asia. Where else can you find the McRice Burger? Only in Asia. :) (..and feck yeah! WILL IS HOT. It's a shame I never got around to seeing him on Big Brother D: lol watch the CM! youtube.com/watch?v=-vJ0rZ-DK-Y)
These might be fallacious, and not being a Communication Arts major, I'm not sure if the Filipino language supports the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which says that language conditions thought. But it sure makes sense how big of a deal rice is on some Filipino myths! My old yaya ( the same one who scares me with the Oatmeal man) used to say that a single wasted grain displeases the gods, or if I don't finish my rice, it's doubtful that I'm actually satiated and my soul would walk hungry after I sleep and eventually get locked up in the rice dispenser or something in its frantic search, which in turn would end in me dying before I wake. D:
What actually got me thinking was that old skin flick, and the running gag on its proposed sequels. :DD That's disturbing, but I guess when my username has reference to heroin, nothing can stop me from posting anything. (And for the record, my username absolutely is not reflective of my lifestyle. :D)
Kapag ang palay naging bigas, may bumayo.
Kapag ang bigas naging kanin, may nag-saing.
(If rice grains turn into rice, someone must've cooked it.)
Kapag ang kanin naglaho, may nagutom.
(If rice disappears, someone must've gone hungry.)
Hahahaha! Someone help me with translating? :DD
Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I wish everyone gets to eat tikoy (年糕) and receive angpow (利是)! I'm born in the year of the tiger. Seems like this'd be a year of good grades for me. Heh heh. I hope that's true, but in any case, I promise to do my best! Hope the year of the rat is favourable to you too! :)
When I moved out, I lived on instant noodles, desserts, and happy meals (I'm missing one MLP dolly D:), but the typical Asian in me has to concede that a meal isn't really a meal without rice, so I made it a point to have a proper meal at least once a day (When we're not going Thai, or fast-food hopping, I alternate between Zaifu-, Sumo Sam-, and Tokyo Tokyo-gyudon. It drives my friend Mippy nuts. :D).
I'm still unqualified to wear a Kiss the Cook apron since the most I can do is boil stuff in a pot or fry something with a lid for a shield and garbed in unnecessary protective gear, but I can cook rice--and it's good. :D I know the difference probably lies on the kind of rice grains I started out with, but I'd like to fool myself into thinking that it's talent. :DD
Rice is such an important part of our lives that the Filipino term for "eat" is derived from it--kain or kanin. (That might be a problematic chicken-and-egg hypothesis, but you see the point.) It's so important, that we have countless one-word nouns for it. Say, for example... If it's cooked rice, it's kanin. If they're uncooked rice grains, it's bigas. If it's the rice plant itself, it's palay.
We don't even use the generic verb luto for "cook" when it comes to rice. We have a separate term--saing, and I don't think we use that verb for "steam" as well. We even have a term for the water we washed the rice grains in--am. There must be a dozen different kinds of rice grains sold here in Manila, but I can only name two off the top of my head--Sinandomeng and Dinorando.
If it's freshly steamed rice, it's sinaing. If you put it in too long and it gets burnt, it's crusty tutong. If you leave it out cold, it's lamig, and leftover rice is bahaw. If it's fried, it's sinangag.
Rice porridge is lugaw, chocolate rice porridge is champorado (mmm!♥) and garlic rice porridge is goto. Rice batter is galapong. Rice wine is basi. Pounded rice grains are pinipig, and rice puffs are ampaw.
There are a lot of rice cake variants, but they're more often than not puto--and the same goes for the different kinds of suman (wrapped sweet rice). Also, malagkit ("sticky") is understood to be sticky rice, and the more appropriate phrase malagkit na kanin ("sticky rice") is foregone. If you're still doubtful, it's biko, then--sticky glutinous rice.
Add in the dozen other dialects, and borrowed Spanish words that ultimately define the Filipino language, and the number probably would rival the Eskimo vocabulary for "snow". It's a hoax that the Inuit actually have around a hundred, but they do have multiple terms for it, highlighting its cultural importance. And because language reflects culture, Filipinos, who don't even experience snow, do not have a term for it, thus showing how unimportant it is. We refer to ice as yelo, from the Spanish hielo, and as regards "snow", I guess those Tagalog-dubbed cartoons have to make do with the Spanish nieve. :)
Asians definitely view rice differently from people of other cultures. Hop by a random French restaurant and flip open the menu. There won't be any rice-combo meals in there, would there? Drop by an American McDonald's and order a Chicken Nuggets meal. Do they have the set meal that comes with fries? Yes? Well, can you have them substitute those with rice? Only in Asia. Where else can you find the McRice Burger? Only in Asia. :) (..and feck yeah! WILL IS HOT. It's a shame I never got around to seeing him on Big Brother D: lol watch the CM! youtube.com/watch?v=-vJ0rZ-DK-Y)
These might be fallacious, and not being a Communication Arts major, I'm not sure if the Filipino language supports the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which says that language conditions thought. But it sure makes sense how big of a deal rice is on some Filipino myths! My old yaya ( the same one who scares me with the Oatmeal man) used to say that a single wasted grain displeases the gods, or if I don't finish my rice, it's doubtful that I'm actually satiated and my soul would walk hungry after I sleep and eventually get locked up in the rice dispenser or something in its frantic search, which in turn would end in me dying before I wake. D:
What actually got me thinking was that old skin flick, and the running gag on its proposed sequels. :DD That's disturbing, but I guess when my username has reference to heroin, nothing can stop me from posting anything. (And for the record, my username absolutely is not reflective of my lifestyle. :D)
Kapag ang palay naging bigas, may bumayo.
Kapag ang bigas naging kanin, may nag-saing.
(If rice grains turn into rice, someone must've cooked it.)
Kapag ang kanin naglaho, may nagutom.
(If rice disappears, someone must've gone hungry.)
Hahahaha! Someone help me with translating? :DD
Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I wish everyone gets to eat tikoy (年糕) and receive angpow (利是)! I'm born in the year of the tiger. Seems like this'd be a year of good grades for me. Heh heh. I hope that's true, but in any case, I promise to do my best! Hope the year of the rat is favourable to you too! :)