I hate sweet pasta, dressing, with bloody.

There are exceptions to my rules, but I hate more dishes than I like. This is a problem.

Over the years, my anti-Philippine food stance has caused a lot of misunderstanding and friction among my family.

In Filipino culture, food is a very important thing.

Food is love, so when you reject food, do you reject love and ultimately your culture? ——Jim Agapito

Food is the focal point of all kinds of gatherings, from casual gatherings to picnics in the park to epic debuts and funerals.

The number of dishes always exceeds the number of people at the party. There are leftovers for days.

For many years, I avoided family gatherings, partly because I didn’t want to bear the pressure of being coaxed and “forced feeding” foods I didn’t like. I just don’t want to explain myself all the time.

Food is love, so when you reject food, do you reject love and ultimately your culture?

Know my legacy

I was born in Canada and my parents are immigrants. I am a Filipino-Canadian and I only visited the Philippines once 31 years ago.

But now I want to know more about my Filipino side. I did this for myself and also for my family. Restore the Philippines, My new CBC podcast and radio series is my pursuit of understanding and accepting my traditions, starting with Filipino cuisine.

Filipino sweet pasta has always been a mysterious part of my tradition. It is on my hate list.

Believe me, my honesty has caused controversy at home. I am not alone. Some family members also shared their own stories about post-traumatic pasta syndrome caused by being forced to eat this disgusting sweet food.

Facts have proved that sweet pasta is inseparable from the history of the Philippines. In the early 1900s, Americans introduced traditional pasta to the Philippines when they occupied the Philippines.

At the beginning of World War II, the Philippines could not import tomatoes, so they created an alternative to tomato sauce: banana tomato sauce. It is made of bananas, vinegar, spices and a lot of sugar.

Listen | Restoring Filipino host Jim Agapito’s exploration of understanding Filipino food:

To be honest, I just can’t stand the sweetness of Filipino pasta. Thankfully, my mother doesn’t like it either, so I don’t have to eat it when I grow up.

But when my cousin Kaye Galang moved from the Philippines to my parents’ home in Winnipeg in 2013, a friendly spaghetti war began. We suspect that my cousin added sugar when my mother was not watching.

Sweet pasta is not the only food of my ancestors that I don’t like.

When I was growing up, I refused to eat a lot of Filipino food because I was allergic to seafood.My mom and Titas Although I experienced hives and other unpleasant side effects after eating seafood, (aunts) still do not accept this fact. They continued to eat seafood secretly as much as possible, and I continued to push the plate away with my contempt and good health.

Stew is also an important part of Filipino cuisine. I am a visual person, and the stew is not beautiful. The appearance of the dishes does not appeal to me. Hard pass. no, thank you.

My vegetarian years

Filipinos also like their meat.

From the age of 17 to 27, I became a vegetarian, and family harmony was affected.

There is some kind intervention.For my high school graduation and birthday in early July, my Laura (Grandma) I want to do something special.She bought a golden ticket for the Jimmy boy she thought was her Soul: KFC fried chicken feast.

After I refused to eat, my Laura Said: “You don’t like my food, then you don’t eat it.” He rushed out angrily.

Laura Trying to seduce me with chicken for ten years. I insisted on my position, and I think refusal broke her heart a bit.

Listen | Where are the Filipino vegetarians?

I have come now according to my family’s estimation.I am no longer a vegetarian, I will eat all my fried chicken Laura provide. (Today, I even got a fried chicken tattoo on my thigh.)

I still respect all my vegetarian friends very much, and I often run for a long time without eating meat.

Although I have something in common with my family now, I still can’t forget all the small stings I have endured for a long time on a plant basis.

Rediscover more Filipino cuisine

We Filipinos like sweet, fried and ugly delicacy, and this will not change.

I can’t say I want to eat bloody, Also known as stewed pig blood, or dressing, Which is a fertilized duck or egg, will appear soon.

I have eaten my mother’s Spring rolls, Pancakes And dessert, I like it.

However, I will give more Filipino food.

But this is where I seek to understand the greatness of my culture and my Filipino. You grow up and realize that you may have missed important things.

You begin to appreciate, or at least understand, what you reject in your culture. I think this makes me a Filipino who is recovering.