30 June 2021, Seoul. In celebration of the 123rd Philippine Independence Month, the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, in collaboration with the Philippine Agriculture Office in Seoul and Mama Sita Foundation, presents a classic Philippine cuisine, the "Rellenong Bangus with Pickled Mangoes" on its 4th episode of the Traditional and Contemporary Philippine Cuisine: Lutong Bahay ni Mama Sita.

The fourth episode features Chef Belgium Villanueva, a popular Pinoy Chef in Korea. Chef Villanueva is a food vlogger with a silver play button award from YouTube, and a food enthusiast actively promoting Philippine cuisine in Korea. He demonstrated the delicious way of cooking Rellenong Bangus or stuffed milkfish with the aid of Mama Sita oyster sauce and liquid seasoning, and Philippine calamansi pure extract.

Rellenong Bangus is one of the most popular dishes in the Philippines, served during special occasions like fiestas, birthdays or any celebration. It is a very special Filipino dish because of the amount of work involved in cooking. The cooking process itself involves several procedures in preparing the vegetables and fish: removing the fish meat leaving the fish skin intact, steaming, deboning, flaking, marinating, stuffing and frying. This episode features bangus or milkfish which is now available in the Korean market in whole frozen form, as well as pickled green mangoes as a side dish to promote Philippine fresh green and pickled mangoes that are also available in Korea.

With the release of the fourth episode of Traditional and Contemporary Philippine Cuisine: Lutong Bahay ni Mama Sita, Charge d'affaires, a.i. Christian de Jesus greeted and offered the episode to all the Filipino migrants in Korea in celebration of the Philippine Independence Month. "We could not physically gather together to celebrate this important occasion, but may we collectively remember in our hearts and minds the bravery and sacrifices of our heroes and draw inspiration from them to continue their legacy of patriotism, hope and courage as we work together to help build a prosperous Philippines," CDA de Jesus said.

Moreover, CDA de Jesus emphasized the role and influence of the Filipino community in Korea in the promotion of Philippine culture, and the power of food to bring people together and foster enduring friendships. "Filipinos must love and be proud of our food first, in order to successfully promote the richness of Philippine culture and the excellence of Philippine cuisine."

Episode 4 of Traditional and Contemporary Philippine Cuisine: Lutong Bahay ni Mama Sita featuring Rellenong Bangus with Pickled Mangoes can be viewed at Mama Sita's Recipe YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0HzT2BMSrI

The Traditional and Contemporary Philippine Cuisine: Lutong Bahay ni Mama Sita is a collaborative project that aims to strengthen the promotion of Philippine cuisine in Korea, to preserve and pass on the Philippines' rich culinary treasures to future generations and migrant Filipinos, to support Philippine farmers, fisherfolk and agricultural communities whose contributions have enriched the Philippine culinary scene, to increase awareness of available Philippine food ingredients in Korea such as Philippine sauces and mixes, frozen whole milkfish (bangus), fresh and pickled green mangoes and calamansi pure extract. END

02 July 2021