How does food teach us about culture, community and wellness? What stories and social or political contexts shape our relationship with the food that sustains us?
About
UTM International Education Centre and Hart House co-present a multi-session journey to explore and expand our understanding of how food informs culture and wellness. Each session will be an interactive conversation, led by a food and culture expert who will share a recipe that is significant to their culture and personal history.
Taste of Culture
From Hardship to Heritage–Exploring Cultural Resilience, Wellness And Innovation Through Filipino Cuisine
Cultural foods have evolved throughout history to adapt to their social and economic environments. This adaptation often arises out of necessity, as communities find innovative ways to make the most of available resources. For example, Paella from Spain was originally a humble dish made by farmers with ingredients they could locally source, and Gumbo from the United States was a stew created by enslaved Africans using ingredients they could procure. These dishes highlight peoples’ resilience and creativity in transforming adversity into culinary innovation. Discover the fascinating evolution of various foods and how the history, traditions, and culture of the communities they come from shape our understanding of today’s global foodways.
Join food and travel writer Nastasha Alli for an immersive Tastes of Culture food experience, exploring the tastes, regional influences, and innovation of Filipino cuisine. At the event, participants will have the unique opportunity to make the beloved Filipino dessert, Halo-Halo, and learn about its significance as a symbol of cultural identity across the diaspora. Uncover the interconnectedness of culinary traditions across cultures and delve into the rich tapestry of food, culture, and wellness at Tastes of Culture 2024.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Shaved ice (approx. ¾ to 1 cup for a 16 oz. glass)
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- Preserved and Sweetened Toppings (approx. 1 tbsp. each for a 16 oz. glass)
- Preserved sweetened sugar palm fruit (kaong)
- Preserved sweetened coconut gel (nata de coco)
- Preserved sweetened jackfruit (langka)
- Preserved sweetened coconut sport (macapuno)
- Preserved sweetened red mung beans (munggo)
- Sliced bananas cooked in simple sugar syrup (minatamis na saging)
- Sweet potatoes cooked in simple sugar syrup (minatamis na kamote)
- Boiled tapioca or sago pearls
- Prepared Toppings (approx. 1 tbsp. each for a 16 oz. glass)
- Prepared agar-agar jelly (gulaman)
- Prepared purple yam jam (ube halaya)
- Prepared caramel custard (leche flan)
- Pounded and toasted young rice kernels (pinipig), or plain rice krispies
- Ice cream (mango or ube flavour)
Preparation
Halo-Halo is a highly customizable dessert with a variety of tastes and textures. Feel free to sample each ingredient and mix-and-match the toppings in your glass as you like! The rule of thumb is to layer your glass with about a third of toppings at the bottom, followed by the shaved ice and the rest of the toppings
- Scoop any combination of the heavier Preserved and Sweetened Toppings into your glass, adjusting the amounts as needed to fill the bottom third of your glass (about 1/4 cup total for a 16 oz. glass).
- Scoop the shaved ice loosely into your glass until it nearly reaches the rim.
- Pour evaporated milk over the ice.
- Add any combination of Prepared Toppings above the ice, adjusting the amounts as needed to avoid spilling over.
- Use a long spoon to “halo-halo” or “mix-mix” all the ingredients in the glass. Enjoy!
Session Facilitators
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Nastasha Alli
Food and Travel Writer
Nastasha’s interest in the history, traditions, and culture surrounding the foods of the Philippines led her to creating Exploring Filipino Kitchens. On the podcast, she has interviewed chefs, farmers, authors and home cooks across the world about their relationship with Filipino food. On social media, she shares content from her travels across the Philippines. There is so much to learn about and taste!
She has received a Food Sustainability Media Award from the U.K.-based Thomson Reuters Foundation for her story on how the climate crisis affects a staple breakfast food in the Philippines.
Her professional experience includes over 15 years in hospitality and travel services. She has presented at the Kain Conference, the Philippines’ first academic culinary conference; taught a course on food writing; developed and facilitated cultural heritage workshops with community partners; hosted culinary events; worked on global operations for travel agencies; and facilitated stakeholder engagement for industry non-profits.
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