19 April 2023, SEOUL - For Filipino Food Month and in keeping with this year's theme, "Pagkaing Sariling Atin, Mahalin at Pagyamanin", Philippine Ambassador to Korea Theresa Dizon-De Vega hosted a dinner attended by members of leading English and Korean-language media outfits to showcase Filipino food.

Shrimp sinigang (Filipino sour soup), chicken inasal (specially marinated grilled chicken), and sisig (chopped sizzling pork cheeks with a spicy and sour dressing) were among the night's favorite dishes, with media guests saying that these dishes will appeal to the Korean palette based on their unique and appealing taste. Guests likewise enjoyed the Philippines' famous San Miguel beer and were very impressed with the Filipino-style lechon belly roll.

As the Philippines supplies fresh okra to Korean market the menu showcased different ways of preparing this vitamin-rich vegetable such as okra kimchi and okra in soy sauce, serving as side dishes for the dinner.

Highlighting the rich history of Filipino cuisine and Philippine produce, Ambassador De Vega told the media that food has always played an important part in Philippine culture in connecting people and bridging differences. She likewise shared that each region in the Philippines boasts its own rich food culture and agricultural products.

Chef Belgium Villanueva, a Filipino chef based in South Korea, prepared a sumptuous dinner of Filipino dishes with a contemporary twist. The menu included vegetable lumpia and pork sisig served in wonton cups, green papaya salad (atchara), shrimp sinigang, chicken inasal with green mango salsa, Filipino-style roasted pork belly roll and halo-halo with handmade ube ice cream and turon for dessert. Guests also enjoyed Philippine tropical juice drinks and fresh Philippine fruits such as ripe mango and pineapple.

To show that Filipino food can easily be recreated at home, guests were also provided with QR codes of the dinner's recipes, along with a digital directory of where to buy Filipino products and ingredients. Philippine products used during the dinner are also available in most leading grocery stores in South Korea such as E-mart, Homeplus, and Lotte Mart, and online through Coupang and G-Market.

Filipino food promotion is a key priority of the Philippine Embassy in Seoul for this year. Also present during the dinner were members of the Philippine Food and Culture Promotions Program in South Korea (FOCUS Philippines), Third Secretary and Vice Consul Reisha L. Olavario of the Political and Economic Section of the Philippine Embassy, Tourism Director Ma. Corazon Jorda-Apo, Commercial Counselor Jose Ma Dinsay and Agriculture Attache Ma. Alilia Maghirang.

FOCUS Philippines is a joint project of the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, in collaboration with the Philippine Department of Tourism in Korea, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Seoul, the Philippine Agriculture Office in Seoul, and the Migrant Workers Office designed to promote Filipino food, food products, and agricultural products in Korea. END