Today, as the country celebrates the 159^th birthday of our dear national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, many would probably commemorate his greatest contribution to the Philippines—his revolutionary stints during his golden years fighting for freedom. But today, we will remember how ‘foodie’ he was then.

‘Rizal’ and ‘food’—these are not words most people would normally connect with each other. Rizal was not known to be a food enthusiast at all, but little did we know, food plays a vital part in his novels, as well as in his life.

Food historians claimed how fond Rizal was to Filipino dishes. When he went overseas to pursue studies in Europe, his palate remained partial to home-style Filipino cooking, and during his exile in Dapitan, he had often requested some of it as gleaned from his letter.

Who wants to try Rizal’s favorite dishes? You will all be surprised knowing that Rizal’s top favorite dishes are the usual ones we often served in our dining tables, but as we all know, Filipinos are creative in nature.

Through Panlasang Pinoy, a popular Filipino blog who does content about Pinoy dishes, here’s how you can add twists to these Pinoy foods in a budget-friendly way:

PANCIT

Jose Rizal had a fondness for pancit since it was the dish he and his fellow Filipinos in Madrid would cook on their weekends off from school despite the European influences, he still had chosen everyone’s all-time favorite—Pancit.

Bihon, canton, sotanghon, or any type of noodles, you can make a tasty one while the quarantine period continues. This is a perfect dish for the fam.

Watch this video to know how to easily cook with a limited budget with easy recipes.

TINOLA

Our all-time favorite Tinola was used as a political and social symbol in Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere, particularly in the part about the welcome home dinner hosted by Kapitan Tiago for Crisostomo Ibarra—No doubt, this was our national hero’s most requested dish.

In the Philippines, we have different versions of Tinola but we can’t deny the fact that we all go to the original recipe we’ve grown up with.

Here’s one easy-recipe tip for a perfect Tinolang Manok. Watch this video.

It’s known as an excellent source of protein, source of vitamin B3, and can stimulate one’s appetite—these are just some few of the benefits we can get from eating Tinola.

MONGGO SOUP

Probably the cheapest dish on the list. Monggo has appeared to be one of Rizal’s favorites as he also once served monggo soup with young leaves of ampalaya to his visiting nephews and nieces, according to his descendant Francisco Rizal Lopez, as written by Milagros Enriquez in Kasaysayan ng Kaluto ng Bayan. 

“Friday” is Pinoy's monggo day as a custom stemmed during the Lenten season when Christians refrain from eating meat on Friday. Filipinos have a different style and recipes in cooking this dish.

To serve it in a budget-friendly and easy way, here’s a tutorial video.

BISTEK

Our national hero Jose Rizal was said to have loved Bistek while he was in Europe. According to historians, Bistek Tagalog inspired him when he was writing his seminal novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

These are beef slices cooked in soy sauce with lemons and onions. Some referred Bistek’s sauce as “gravy.” If you’re on tight, chicken or pork can be an alternative to beef to achieve a tasty bistek for cravings.

Here’s a video showing how you can make a budget-friendly bistek (chicken bistek) at home.

CHAMPORADO WITH SARDINES SECA (TUYO)

Champorado and tuyo—one of Pinoy's perfect meal combinations when it comes to food which has a sweet and salty component.

Rizal’s craving remained loyal to the Filipino way of cooking. His breakfast was like a deconstructed champorado of sorts, comprised of hot chocolate, a cup of rice, and sardinas secas (a fancy name for tuyo).

The cooking process is really simple with easy recipes that anyone can prepare at home. Here’s an easy video tutorial to make one.

Rizal will always be remembered as a hero who did a lot of praise-worthy sacrifices for our country, but these facts telling about him being a Pinoy food lover largely defined his existence as a human being showing his different personalities.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR. JOSE RIZAL.

Banner image courtesy of pepper.ph