‘Essential lugaw’ also part of Filipino culture – NCCA
MANILA, Philippines — The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) has taken up the cudgels for “lugaw” or rice porridge, saying the popular comfort food is not only essential as it is also a symbol of the country’s culture.
“Ang lugaw ay hindi lang basta pagkain, Sagisag Kultura rin!” the NCCA said on its Facebook page on Wednesday night, adding that the month of April also marks the Filipino Food Month.
(Rice porridge is not just food, it is also a symbol of our culture!)
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LUGAW
Ang lugaw ay hindi lang basta pagkain, Sagisag Kultura rin! Abangan ang pagbubukas ng Buwan ng Kalutong Filipino o Filipino Food Month ngayong Abril! –Ang lúgaw para sa batà at maysakít ay bigas na sinaing at maraming tubig. Kayâ sinasabing ang lugaw ay iniluto sa pagmamahal. Sapat ang umuusok sa init na isang mangkok na lúgaw para umampat ng gútom at para pawisan at gisawan ng lagnat ang maysakít. Ngunit ang lúgaw na ginagamit na sabaw o káldo (mula Espanyol na caldo) sa ibang putahe ay may ginisang bawang, sibuyas, at luya. Nilalagyan ito ng pinatuyông bulaklak ng kasubhâ para magkulay dilaw ang sinaing na bigas at binubudburan sa ibabaw ng mga tinadtad na muràng dahon ng sibuyas tagalog (leek). Source: Sagisag Kultura 2: Kalikasan at Kaligiran (2015)#SagisagKultura#KulturaPH
Posted by National Commission for Culture and the Arts on Wednesday, March 31, 2021
According to the NCCA, “lugaw” is usually made for children and for those who are sick that’s why it is said to be a food “cooked with love.”
“Lugaw” is also among the “earliest documented food of our ancestors,” the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) said in a separate post also on Wednesday night.
It cited the 1613 Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura defining “lugaw” as “rice mixed with milk or water or of both (porridge).”
Lugaw is one of the earliest documented food of our ancestors. The 1613 Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by Fr. Pedro de…
Posted by National Quincentennial Committee, Republic of the Philippines on Wednesday, March 31, 2021
“Indeed, #Lugawisessential,” the NQC said.
NCCA’s vivid description of lugaw’s significance in the Filipino culture comes in the wake of a viral video showing a female barangay personnel in Bulacan barring a delivery rider from picking up an order of “lugaw” insisting that the savory food was not essential because people can live without it.
READ: Bulacan barangay execs stop food delivery even if IATF rules allow it
This controversial confrontation between a food delivery crew and the barangay official caught on video has prompted an official statement from the country’s seat of power – Malacañang, which even had to clarify that lugaw is an essential good since it is food and that all food deliveries are allowed and must not be stopped despite the implementation of enhanced community quarantine in the NCR Plus bubble (Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, and Bulacan).
KGA
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